So i need some help to figure out what the hell is going on with my new motor. This is the first engine i have built, so bear with me. Sorry to have to post things like this, but the guy who helped me take every thing apart ditched out when it came to putting things back together. The motor is a rebuilt 390 FE that is stock except for a edelbrock performer cam/lifter set, a big coil and a holley 600 4160 (which was a freebe and i overhauled, and might be my problem?) This morning i got the last little bit together and with my dads help, fired it up for the first time to break in the cam. It fired right up and i get to reving the hell out of it for about 5 minutes until my thermostat opened and my radiator cap (which is shot) started spraying me with hot ass water. Since I was loosing alot of coolant and was wasnt running an air cleaner to keep water out of the carb, we shut it down. After replacing the cap and checking over things, we tryed again. Crank crank nothing. didnt even try to start. pulled the plugs and they were a little gassy so we let it air out for a few hours. came back, tryed again, it putt putted and then nothing. Then gas started dripping onto my manifold from the linkage side of the carb! What the fuck is going on? it ran like hell and now nothing. Could it be that my carb is flooding it? the throttle plates were really wet, but why would it do it now and not when i first fired it? I REALLY can't afford to wipe out the cam or tear up something expensive. What should I do?
I think you know the answer Wet Throttle plates. Sounds like the carb is flooding . Likely a bit of shit on the float needle,was OK as long as you had it wound up.
Pull the dist cap off and check and see if it has water that has condensed inside of it from the hot water that was spraying all over. It is very common for that to happen on fords with the dist up front! If so just dry it out and try it again. Good Luck!
Simlar thing happened to me with a brand new Edelbrock carb..after the first few starts....couldnt get it started again....after running around in circles...took the carb apart and bingo...all kinds of crap! Cleaned real good, replaced my fuel filter too just in case...no problems since....
That was the second thing i did after toweling off my carb. but i will check it again in the morning. I will check the carb too, but the fuel tank and filter are brand new. i guess some crap could have been hanging out in the lines.
If the plugs are still wet put in some new ones and try it again. FYI if you ever need to change the cam on that FE block you can pull the lifters out with only taking off the valve covers .Ps put a AFB ON IT .
The guys are right in saying that the Front Mount V8 Ford distributor caps tend to attract moisture and condensation inside. Did you check to see if you are getting spark to the plugs? You can pull a plug wire off one of the plugs and see if you get a spark to the exhaust manifold when you hold it a bit away from the manifold and someone cranks the engine over. Just make sure you don't have gas on top of the engine . After going back and reading your whole post again I think that you either have the float level set wrong, or one of the floats is sticking. You did set the float level as per instructions and put any and all clips on the end of the rod that the floats pivot on? If you used a Holley kit with the blue bowl gaskets you can pull the bowls off without having to worry about changing gaskets. I'd pull them off and make sure that the floats were properly in place and then check the float level. I usually pull one of the bottom bowl screws out with a cup or something like a tuna can under it to catch the gas that runs out to keep it off the engine.
Thanks guys. I pulled that float bowl, cleaned out some crap and readjusted everything, and it fired right up. Break in went ok, but the oil in the filter definitely had some glitter in it. Is that normal? or should i be pulling valve covers and making sure everything is going up and down?
Also, While attempting to get this thing's timing locked down, I noticed that my distributor seems to be 'backwards': Instead of clockwise advancing it and counter clockwise retarding it, it is opposite, same with both my mechanical and vacuum advances, they retard it! the only thing i have messed with on the distributor is adjusting the dwell, and i have it right on spec. the points and condenser were replaced by the last owner (who is an idiot), and i had the machine shop who did the work on the engine assemble it to short block for me, so the cam timing SHOULD be right. What am i doing wrong/ did wrong a few minutes ago?
I can't help with the timing,I don't know much about Fords. A little glitter is normal,alot is bad.If you had a machine shop assemble the shortblock,I wouldn't worry too much yet.CHANGE THE OIL AND FILTER! After that,then worry about resetting the timing,check all hoses and lines,and reset the carb.Go for a couple of rides and then CHANGE THE OIL AND FILTER AGAIN! Recheck all hoses and lines,check all bolts recheck timing and carb adjustments.Good to go. After 500-1000 miles do it all again.Everytime you change the oil you should see less "sparkles." That's what I do anyway...
The thrill of a fresh engine firing is often replaced with a million small questions. Fix stuff, change the oil often, keep asking us and asking the motor what it wants. The satisfaction of having that fresh engine purring along, knowing exactly where the timing is, the carb is set and that it's the running the best you can make it is something you will achieve after a little time, but feels even better.
When i am at work, i can't wait to get home and wrench away on this thing. When i am at home, i can't wait to get back to work so i don't have to deal with this. Its like having a hot girlfriend that is a psycho...
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