63 Problems

Sounds good then, thanks. I think it may be the timing now that you mention it. I asked the PO about the timing when I noticed this and he said it's set at 12 so who knows. I will look it over and see. Idle air screws are turned out at about 2 turns. They were at 2.5 but I turned them in some.

 

Don't know how long the carb sat before you bolted it back on, but a stuck float or some debris in the needle and seat could make it run rich. Also take the covers off the power pistons and make sure they're moving freely and not stuck in the upward (full rich) position. Pull them all the way out and make sure the tips of the metering rods aren't bent. And if they aren't, be careful putting them back in so you don't bend them. If something doesn't look right, swap in the power pistons, rods and springs from your other carb.

 

Well the first carb did the same problem. On top of that the first carb had bad accelerator pump. I put the good working carb from my 66 in it and fixed the starting problems and idle problem I was having but it is still burning very rich. I am going to mess with the timing sometime this weekend and see what I can do... Hopefully timing is what it is and I can fix it and get it to run a bit better. I changed the plugs and wires too. Seems that the car has a pretty lumpy cam though too which I dont care for on this car since it's going to be a work vehicle and daily driver at times. What disadvantages would I have with a daily driver with a big cam?

 

OK! Now we're getting somewhere! As a rule, bigger cams like a manual transmissions or a looser converter in an automatic and maybe a little lower rear axle. They also make less manifold vacuum at idle and lose a couple more inches with a stock converter in gear at idle. You need this manifold vacuum to control the power pistons and metering rods as a means to sense engine load and fuel demand. With a stock cam and carb you might idle at 15" vacuum which will pull the power pistons down against the springs underneath them, dropping the metering rods into the jets and keeping things leaned out as not much fuel is needed at idle. The throttle plates are practically closed.

Throw in the lumpy cam though and now it might want to idle with only 5" to 7" vacuum. The springs now overpower the low vacuum signal and the power pistons raise in their bores, lifting the tapered tip of the metering rods farther out of the jets allowing more fuel to enter the main circuits. And you don't need this extra fuel at idle. The carb is fooled into thinking that the throttle is open more than it actually is and that there's a heavier load on the engine, so it tries to compensate by adding more fuel. And your eyes burn and you foul spark plugs.

You can cure most if not all this problem by installing a set of weaker springs under the power pistons to delay their opening. Ignition timing will also affect idle vacuum readings: advancing it will increase vacuum (up tp a point) and retarding it will drop the vacuum. With an auto trans and stock converter you may only be able to do so much, unless you want to slip the trans into neutral at every stop light.

If you've never done so before, get a vacuum gauge, a length of hose and some duct tape or a hose clamp. Connect the hose to a source of manifold vacuum, route it inside the car and tape or clamp the gauge someplace where it's easy to see it while driving. Then watch how the vacuum reacts to different driving conditions, idling, accelerating, gear changes, going up or down hills, etc.. For best mileage, the higher the vacuum the better. For power and driving under a load, the vacuum (and fuel mileage) will drop off. After a while you might find yourself driving like you've got an egg under your foot!

So you could make a daily driver out of something with a lumpy cam in it, but you may have to experiment a bit and make some other modifications to make it an enjoyable and dependable daily driver.

 

Thanks for clearing this up for me! I will see what I can do then... I would like to just change the cam in it but I dont know. Say I do get it to run good with the cam in it, will it hurt my gas milage by having it in there or no?

 

A lot is going to depend on just how radical the cam is, as well if it's a stock converter and the rear axle ratio. A wilder cam tends to move the torque peak up higher in the RPM range, probably higher than where you'll do most of your driving. The trade off is that it will make the engine less efficient in the lower RPM range, where it sounds like most of your driving will be. So yeah, it's going to probably cost you a bit of mileage. But from the sound of it, if you can get the carb sorted out and keep the power pistons from coming up to soon, you'll pick up some mileage and driveability right there.

If the cam's not too radical, advancing the cam timing a couple degrees will bring back some of the low RPM torque, get the vacuum up a bit and maybe make the carb less fussy. Maybe try to think in terms of what kind of RPM range the engine spends most of its time in, and plan your mods to boost efficiency and toque in that range.

 

Thanks again! I'll take your advice and see what I can do. I wish I knew the size of the cam but I just dont and the guy I bought the car from said he doesn't have a clue. If anything I can pull the motor and put in new lifter/cam kit that will be good for the street and then I will know for sure what I have.

 

How is the starter to block condition? If the surfaces between the two are all dirty and corroded, that will do it. This is a big problem with 6 volts and starters...FWIW

 

The condition on these are actually good and painted with no corrosion. It's got a 327 in it now with 12 volt. Thanks for telling me this though because I did not know that could be a problem. You learn something new everyday!