I have a 1968 plymouth valiant with a 225/904 combo. It has a rough idle and i just picked up the car about 2 weeks ago. I decide to do a tune up and after changing the cap rotor wires and changing from points to the pertronix kit .030 gap timing set to 5 deg BTDC, no change. I replace all vac lines and plugs after changing the tube seals with a set of autolights 66s with no crush washer .035 gap, no change. I turned towards rebuilding the carter BBS which was rebuilt once before in canada. I dont know who did it but they over tighten the bowl screws from the looks of it. If you set the top of the bowl on a flat surface you can see about 1/8" of day light under it. I fig finish it up and see if it leaks. I reinstalled it and sprayed all around the carb, intake, and lines with starting fluid and no change in rpm. So does it sound like the carb or is there some where else I should be looking?

Valve lash is a big one.

CJ

Welcome on the board. Avoid Autolite spark plugs, which are now poorly made in China. Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this thread. You'll almost certainly need a valve adjustment. And Carburetor operation and repair manuals (and some training movies) are posted here for free download, but from the sound of it your carburetor is well and truly finished, over, and dead with that amount of warp. Do you have a spare? If not, I have a brand new (not "remanufactured" junk) one for ya; send me a PM.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Can I adjust the valves cold not running or do I absolutly have to do it running at operating temp? I was thinking about upgrading to a 2 bbl anyways for the better drive ability and mileage. Ill let you know if I need your spare 1 bbl and thx for the offer.

I allways do the valve adjust first,useally saves me time and money by not needing anything else.Guzzi Mark

There's a couple camps on that.
Some folks set them cold, static with good results.
My preference is to set them running, hot. The bruising goes away after a while.

CJ

I used to set em cold on my 64 barracuda but it didnt sound right (like a john deere). Im going to adjust them warm and running tomarrow. That is if I can. It shakes so bad when the idle is low.

yea its not easy when it shakes like that but once you get a few of them adjusted it will get easier.

So should I go looking for all the stuff to do the 2 bbl swap or should I go with the reman 1 bbl instead?

I like to get the motor running well stock before diving into modifying it. That way you can determine the overall condition of the motor and accurately measure changes once you start making modifications. Make what you have work well and then start changing it.

Don't do the Reman carb. If you search on "Remanufactured" around here, you'll find 98% negative results. They are almost universally lousy. There are exceptions, but they are not to be found in chain auto stores.
Look into one of Dan's NOS units, or find a carb that isn't damaged to rebuild.
Go ahead and adjust the valve lash cold. Make things a thousandth loose. Then warm up. That may get you passed the worst running.
Do you know the cam to be oem? Some cams require different lash settings. If you have an aftermarket performance cam, we may be able to help you get the appropriate lash numbers. Let us know what it is.

Have you checked for timing chain condition yet? Simple test:
Remove the cap, rotate the engine by hand. Watching the rotor, rotate the engine the opposite direction. Note how much lag there is in the rotor turning back the opposite way. It shouldn't be much if any crank rotation.

CJ


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What am I doing up at this hour? Come to think of it, why's Reed awake?

I didnt mean a chain store reman but one of Dans NOS units. I dont know if its an after market cam and I already checked for chain slop when I had to change the distributor gear, there is no slop. The only thing I havnt tested is the compression since I dont have a compression tester.

So I just went out to start the car to warm her up to adjust the valve and after starting the car it died almost immedialtey and was hard to restart. While cranking I noticed a little smoke out of the fill neck. I pulled the breather and it smelled like gas. So I checked the dip stick and low and behold its was almost topped off. Wasnt like that a week ago! The fuel filter looks like its holding pressure so could it be a leaking diaphram in the fuel pump?

Yes, it could be. That or raw gas sitting in the cylinders. It will wash down the cylinders and tear every thing up.

Check to see if you have fuel pooling in the cylinders, pull the fuel pump and make sure it doesn't have gasoline on the oil side. Replace whatever is broke, and change the oil and filter before running it again.

With gas in the pan, you will tear up the rings and bores, and your bearings will go away fast. you also will have excessive cam wear.

CJ

I just got done adjusting the valves while running at operating temp and now it purrs like a kitten. Im not going to run it any further till I figure out whats causing the gas leak. So how hard is it to change the fuel pump on the old hill side hemi? Ive changed em on SB mopars and chebys.