Technical 8ba starts and runs fine but once it's warmed up it doesn't want to idle

Hey!

I have a 239 8ba, all stock. It's been running fine and never really had any issues with it. Last week, I took it out for a spin and after it had warmed up, maybe 20 minutes of driving, I noticed it seemed like it wanted to die when I was stopped. I thought maybe I needed gas so I rushed to the gas station but it had plenty. I've driven 3x again since and it's been doing the same thing. I'll drive it until it warms up ~ 160 degrees, and then it'll sound like it wants to die when it's idling.

I popped open the hood and noticed the carb was leaking a bit of fuel at one of the gaskets. It's a Holley 94. Nothing crazy but enough to notice some moisture around the area and it was indeed gas. I went ahead and ordered a Holley 94 rebuild kit, a new power valve, new float and needle and some new jets. I was going to rebuild the carb this week once everything arrives. I am curious if I am poking around the in the right direction? I am a newb and have been tinkering with the motor since I bought it and am a little more comfortable with it but just want to make sure I am headed down the right route.

The car does have a new fuel tank, new electronic fuel pump, I put in new spark plugs, gapped at .03. I checked the fuel filter (glass bowl) and it looks clean. Like I said it starts just fine every time but once it's warmed up it doesn't wanna idle always gotta give it gas to keep it happy.

Thanks guys!

 

Check fuel pressure. Make sure your rebuild kit has the correct power valve , most dont . Order from 3rd generation for the correct .
Is it still 6 volt pos earth ? Check coil or replace same with condenser.

 

Check idle screws haven’t moved, or throttle linkage hasn’t freed up a little, thus creating issues, - otherwise -
Coil or condenser is where I would start !
Or possibly regulator, but not as likely as the above two.
If it was a fuel delivery issue, such as a blockage, the amount of time until dying would vary, not be consistent.
What you describe is more along the lines of something that takes a certain amount of time to get to failing point, such as reaching a certain temperature, then failing.
Although I did have a fuel blockage that was similar, - the homemade ( by previous owner) rubber gasket on the gas cap disintegrated and would take varying amounts of time to stop fuel delivery.
Felt like spark/timing/tuning issues…….
Blew air through the line backwards and drained tank (also new gasket) and all was well again !

 

To get the carb really clean, in all the small orifices, I would buy a ultrasonic cleaner, such as this one from HF. Properly stacked, a complete 94 will fit. I have a roadster with 2 -94's, and after sitting for a long time, it wouldn't idle, until I went through both carbs.

 

Check the fuel pressure. The fuel pump could be making more pressure than needed for your gaskets and could cause the leak. Gaskets can become dry and brittle. Be sure that the vacuum line isn't cracked or pinched.
Always check the timing after a carb rebuild.

 

You were spot on (I think) lol

 

I took your advice and went to autozone and bought a duralast 6v coil. I ran my car until it started doing the "Thing" again and swapped out the coil. Once the new coil was on, I left it idling for a good 10 minutes and it didn't have any problems whatsoever. BUT... I went out to drive it and once I got on the gas... man the car was shaking like a leaf and did not want to run. I'd stop and it idled just fine... but when I tried giving it some gas... it was twicthy and didn't want to run... So, I putted back home, threw the old coil on and it ran fine at speed but didn't want to idle.. again.

The new duralast coil had a '+' and '-' sign on each of the terminals where the old coil read 'Dist' and 'Bat' I connected the distributor to the '+' sign but I think maybe it should've been the other way around? I feel like it is obviously a coil issue so tomorrow, I am going to try and connect it the other way around and then take it for a cruise and see if it will actually want to idle AND drive.

Thanks guys!

 

Dist to Neg on coil, your timing is probably wrong to compensate for weak coil

 

Do you think I may have caused any damage driving it like this?

 

What is the cars polarity? Positive ground I would assume?

 

Yea it's 6V positive ground

 

Then you had it right with the new coil. Positive to dist.

 

Interesting; then why do you think it was running like it was about to run out of gas with the new coil on? As soon as I swapped it out for the old one it was running fine at speed.

 

That’s strange. I think what needs to be figured out here is if this is ignition or fuel. Is the car actually sputtering like it’s running out of fuel or is it more like a miss?

 

The car was running just fine but not idling well after warming up. I changed the coil and it idled fine but when I tried driving it, it was sputtering like it was about to die. I changed the coil back to the original one and it ran just fine at speed but had the idle issue again. That seems like a clear indicator that it is an ignition issue, I assumed that because it was sputtering with the new coil when I gave it gas, that I mustve installed it backwards.

 

Find someone with a Sun Distributor Machine. You’ll find your answer once you wind that distributor up on that machine. Dad and I had to drive from North Platte to Omaha one winter night in his 41 Ford Pick up due to the fact we were caught in a blizzard back in the 70’s. The Old flathead ran the entire trip on 4 cylinders. Dad and my uncle took the distributor to a parts house. They installed the unit back in after the shop rebuilt and wound it up on the Sun Machine.She came back to life and we drove back to Denver a few days later. So, no I don’t think you hurt your motor.