Im running a 239 Flathead, and notice that the PO has adapters on every plug? The plugs are Autolite 216's. Does this make sense to anyone? Before I pull adapters off I was wondering if there is any reason someone would do this. Maybe to run a hotter plug or something? Im a bit stuptified Thanks guys!
I remember seeing those in old JC whitney catalogs. they were suppoed to move the plug up out of the combustion chamber to help prevent oil fouling on a tired engine
They might be "anti-foulers". If this is a tired engine, it looks as if someone recently took it down and replaced mostly everything, so Thats the reason Im confused. The engine runs great, but I guess Ill see how she runs with the sleeves taken off. All this flathead stuff is new to me, but my old thoughts of pulling the Flathead and putting in a SBF are completely out the window now. To me, the engine is the coolest part of my car (as it should be). Im gonna pull them and let you guys know.
I removed the intake and the galley looks relatively clean, although Im getting a bit of smoke now and then when shes running hard. Could this be something bad? I know smoke is no fun.
You can still get them ... Wouldn't shrouding the spark plug like that reduce the effectiveness of combustion though?
Yeah, running anti-foulers is not something you do for performance reasons! more to keep the engine from fouling plugs every week when it gets to burning a lot of oil
They work great for that though. My first car burned a quart every 20 miles, and fouled plugs very quickly. I put 8 non-foulers on a fresh set of plugs and didn't have to mess with it again. I drove the car 20 miles each way to work for a summer... 2 quarts of oil and check the gas.
Isnt this a bandaid on the problem? I need to know why my car is fouling plugs and fix it. Its not my daily, so pretty much whatever it takes to get my Flatty running at peak. Ive been reading tons of posts and info on Flatheads, but am still having a hard time understanding exactly how this engine works. Keep reading, Ill get it here eventually. *sigh
Yes, it's a bandaid. Exactly what I needed as a high school student to keep the car running so I could get to work. The car wasn't worth rebuilding the engine, it was a '74 Buick Regal that had spent too much time on the sand bars on the Arkansas River, as well as muddy roads along the Verdigris River with my older brother at the wheel. It had about an 8" hole rusted thru the rear quarter panels. The engine was a 305 out of a '77 Camaro, and had been run hard for many years. Depending on why your plugs are fouling as to the fix you need. Oil fouled or fuel fouled? Oil fouled points towards worn cylinders and rings, possibly also bad valve guides. Fuel fouled can be either carb or ignition. Fuel fouled plugs are usually not worth cleaning.
you might have nailed it there from the pic it looks like at least one too many carbs for a stock appearing engine and are those FOAM coverd air cleaners i see?
Nope, the air cleaners are br*** with screens. Also; only one of the carbs is hooked up at the moment. The other two are connected through the linkage, but the fuel hoses arent ****ing fuel. The main Fuel pressure valve (cheap one) is set at about 4.5. Is that too high for a single 97?
4.5 sounds a bit high for a 97, try around 2. the cheap regulators seem to be kind of flaky at real low pressures though. also since you're new to this, one way to tell if it's fuel or oil causing the smoke is to look at the color of the smoke, oil burns blue, fuel burns black.
Running one carb, but all 3 hooked up? Seems to me that when you open the throttle, you'll have a hard time getting it to run properly, as the extra carbs opening without adding more fuel will throw off the A/F ratio. Try removing the linkage from the 2 carbs that don't have fuel running to 'em.
Squirrel, the smoke is definitely blueish, not black. Doesnt smoke all the time, but does occasionally- especially when getting on it. oktr6r, I disconnected the two that arent hooked up to see how she runs. Pic: I removed the rear oil breather (if thats what it is called) Because I had oil leaking around there a bit. The PO had one bolt that was too short and not tightening down and added some gasket sealer and the right sized bolt and snugged them down. After having a good look at my engine, it seems as if the PO threw this thing together in a hurry. Intake bolts werent torked properly, and Im finding new things everyday- mainly loose bolts all over the place.
I disconnected the linkage. Also, I am wondering what this thing is in the pic. It is just sitting in a hole in the front of the intake, and dumps into nothing in the front of my engine. Is this necessary? Is there a plug I can install instead of having this loose ugly pipe, or a way to secure it? I dont know its purpose.
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