Hey All,

Well I am having trouble with the engine in my 66 Val. The engine is a 1979 225. It has the 1966 intake and exhaust manifolds and carb on it. Carb is a Carter bbs. It also has the 66 points distributor in it.

I rebuilt the carb about a month ago. I followed all the instructions and settings as much as I could. There is a problem with one of the choke circuits. But I have been trying to tune after the engine is fully heated, so the choke shouldn't be an issue.

It idles OK. A little rough, but ok. But drop it into gear and the car dies.

I pulled all the plug wires while the car is running, and I can hear spark at every cylinder. The timing is at least close to a decent base setting.

I tried an old points/rpm/dwell meter on the car. When set to read the "points" the meter needle shows in the red zone. I am not sure if this meant adjust the points or bad points. I adjusted the points gap down. It seemed to make a small difference on the meter, but still in the red.

I pulled the carb apart again and checked my work. It all looks pretty good, but I am no carb master.

I feel the problem is in the ignition or carb but I am stuck. Is there something else to check? How would you guys proceed?

Thanks so much for any info!!!

Chris E.

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-76 Cordoba, 360 4bbl
-68 Valiant, 273 2bbl
-67 Dart /6 4bbl, Leaning Tower of Power!!!

Have the valves been adjusted?
DD

Try raising the idle some and backing out the mixture screw some and see what this does.Did you set the float height properly? It sounds like it's too rich . The points should work real good if you set them at .20 thous.

If the springs are too weak in the centrifigal advance, then your timing will have some advance in it at idle, and the drop out when the RPM goes down as you put it in gear. This drop in timing will kill the engine. I would advance the timing a cuple of degrees and see if this helps. If your idle is too high when you set the timing, then you are setting the timing with some centrifigal advance already in, which also will go away when you put it in gear. Just try bumping the timing up a few degrees. That might fix things for you.

Sam

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Have you put a timing light on it? Does the timing bounce around or is it rock solid. WAtch the timing while someone else puts it in gear. Does the timing stay the same, or does it drop down when you put it in gear? If the springs are too weak in the centrifigal advance, then your timing will have some advance in it at idle, and then drop out when the RPM goes down as you put it in gear. This drop in timing will kill the engine.

I would advance the timing a couple of degrees and see if this helps. If your idle is too high when you set the timing, then you are setting the timing with some centrifigal advance already in, which also will go away when you put it in gear. Just try bumping the timing up a few degrees. That might fix things for you. The best, and most stable idle,in myopinion is to set idle at 650-750 with no advance in the timing at all. For the purposes of drivability, I think it is best not to have the advance start to come in until it gets over the speed of the fast idle. I know this is not the recommended best performance combo, but for pure drivability, it is the most stable.

Sam

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Valves: I did adjust the valves prior to installing the engine. I have not adjusted them when they are warm. Would this make a big difference?

Carb: The float is set at 1/4 inch, per the rebuild kit instructions. I am not sure where the mixture screw is. There are two idle screws right next to each other where the throttle rod is. Then there is one screw in the base of the carb, which they call "Idle Adjusting Needle". These are the only 3 adjusting screws I see on the whole carb. Am I missing something?

Timing: the timing light I was using was a total pos. It was only working intermittently. I'll have to get a better light and try what Sam recommended too.

Ignition question - I have a elec ignition distributor for this motor. What I don't have are the control boxes and wiring. Would it be worth switching over to try and eliminate one factor. I'd like to get it running right with the points before I do the electronic swap. But if it is an easy swap, maybe I should try???

It also has the old voltage regulator. Would this have to be switched prior to installing electronic ignition?

Thanks!

Chris E.

_________________
-76 Cordoba, 360 4bbl
-68 Valiant, 273 2bbl
-67 Dart /6 4bbl, Leaning Tower of Power!!!

Yes... adjust the valve, hot and hopefully while running.
With valve lash, looser is better, one or two tight valves will make the engine idle rough.
DD

Yes. Review the valve adjustment procedure.
it's the one in the base of the carb, pointing rightward-forward.
If you have the Carter BBS carb, the one closer to the carb is the fast-idle screw, and the one closer to the firewall is the curb idle screw. If you have the Holley 1920, it's the other way round. See carb adjustment info here.
Good idea...unless, of course, there are ignition faults contributing to your rough-running problem. :-\
Get a NAPA Echlin #VR-1001 or Standard-BlueStreak VR128.

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