Hi guys. Just bought a 68 Dart 270 with a /6. I picked it up from a guy that has literally put 1 mile on the car in the last 3 yrs. It has some rust on the rear quarters and the paint is pretty worn out, but over all seem to be in good shape. By the way I got it for 50 bucks!
I drove the car home today and it ran really rough. I drained the gas, put two bottles of carb cleaner and 15 gallons of 93 octane in and did a tune up. Cap, rotor, wires, plugs, all the basics. Plus the motor mounts were pretty much gone, so I replaced both motor mounts and the tranny mount. I played with the distributor a little, tried adjusting the carb, so far nothing seems to have helped at all. It just does this at idle. It does make some ticking noise at speed (havent been above 35 yet) but has plenty of power. It just rocks back and forth in the engine compartment. Also, it doesnt like to stay started after it gets warm. Sorry this post is so long. But I would really be thankful for any advice you could give me. Thanks

You should really rebuild the carb after sitting for so long. There is probably stuff in the idle circute that carb cleaner won't touch. Also, do a valve adjustment. If your mechanicly inclined, an easy operation. Don't forget its .010" for the intake valves, and .020" for exhaust. Both measurements are with the engine hot. Also, change out the fuel filter, and make sure the choke is fully open when hot.

Fifty bucks....gotta love it!

Cool, Thanks for the info. Ill check all that stuff and let yall know where I am at. Thanks

Welcome, $50 is sweet for a running car!!

I agree that the carb is a common reason for trouble. It might need replaced.

Also, have you cleaned and gapped the points?

Good luck with your new toy, let us know if you get stuck.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

Welcome Dart Simpson ( Ay Caramba $50.00 bucks!!!), I am new in all these too and have no technical training at all, but these guys are really cool and have been very nice with me helping out with a lot of problems I've got with my Slant. This site is like a big family of Slant 6 lovers, being part of it goes beyond technical questions and answers, you can make good friends that share the same interests. Don't be afraid to ask and good luck with your project.

Ed

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My other car is... another DUSTER!!! .·.

Hey, thanks guys. I agree any running car is worth 50 bucks. Only 'bad' thing is its a four door. I kinda like the 4 door cause I have 2 kids, so we can all go cruisin together. Anyways...I bought some feeler guages today, so Ill be trying to adjust valve lash tonight. Im new to carbs, so that will be a real learning experience with the rebuild. I havent checked the points, honestly, I dont know how. Ive always just thrown on a new dist. and ran. Any technical info available for this stuff? I have Haynes manual for it. but Haynes has always confused me before, Im partial to Chilton or better yet, a shop manual. Are there two different Carter carbs? Which gaskets should I buy? Thanks

Dart, I started my mechanical adventure with the help of the Haynes manual, but when I posted that I was using it, everybody told me that it was not possible to get any useful work done with it. Even said that the Haynes manual was like a comic book. Actually one of the guys gave me the Haynes manual instructions, check it out:

http://u225.torque.net/haynes_instructions.html

The advice given was to get the shop manual.

Finally, 4 door, 2 door... any is cool as long as it is SLANT POWERED

Ed

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My other car is... another DUSTER!!! .·.

Thats awesome! Id hang it in my garage if I had one.

Just playing around, I decided to pull a plug at a time to see if I could find a 'dead' cylinder. What are the possible causes of number 5(?) not working? I pulled each plug individually and every one made a difference in the way it ran except for the second one from the firewall. Does this mean I need to rebuild the whole motor or could it be something simple? Thanks

Pull the plug and see how it looks.
It could be filled with oil and crap, and not fire.

As I told you, I am a newby here too, and can't tell a car from a TV... but I've asked a lot of questions in this my first month. If you check on my profile, you will have access to all of my posts, and there are similar questions I've asked. Also feel free to browse all over the forum, it is amazing the amount of good info you can get.

In a problem similar to yours, I installed an extension for the spark plug of the dead cylinder because it was getting soaked with oil, but then I decided to take it off and replace the plug along with the whole set of cables. It worked fine for a while, until it got wet again (have shot rings ). SlantSixDan recommended me to install a different model of spark plugs with longer electrodes to temporarily fix the problem. He recommended the Champion RN13LYC, but instead of those I found Autolite 985 and he approved them. I am posting a pic of the electrodes on those plugs tomorrow.

Anyways I have to replace the rings soon...

Good luck,


Ed

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My other car is... another DUSTER!!! .·.

Ok. I checked the plug, it looks good. Very good, in fact. I also adjustd the rocker arms. Warmed it up, shut it off and set exhaust to .20 and intake to .10. After lash adjustment, it seems better. Still shimmies a little but I think I have more adjustments to make. How do you get the feeler guage in the space with the engine running? I couldnt get it in there to save my life. Also need to rebuild carb, but figured Id try some tinkering while I wait for parts. Thanks again guys for your help.

First off, you are sliding the feeler between the rocker arm and the valve at the top of the valve spring, right? Not difficult at all in my experience.

It's easier if you slow the idle down, but otherwise, if you can't slip the feeler in, then the lash is set too tight. Loosen the lash until the feeler slides in freely, then tighten it back up until you get the feel of how it should be. A little loose is better than too tight on this adjustment.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

Will it hurt anything id they are too loose? I was thinking open them up to .015 and .025 then readjust it when its running it. But I dont want to screw anything up. Is it supposed to tick a lot? Im used to hydraulic lifters. Its hard to keep it running at low RPMs I should have carb rebuild kit soon.

It will not hurt anything at all...
Better too loose than too tight, and they make a little "tick" sound, not like a diesel "clack"