Hi members...I got a nailhead that is is keeping me up at night. Its a 264 with a 2 barrel carb. Ran great for years, not so good this year. Running like ****. I have done the basics and little change. Im at point now where I wonder if its my carb or distributor that is giving me trouble. I hate the idea of just buying parts. I am wondering if there is anyone close to milwaukee to appleton area that might have a part I can try out instead of paying $ for something I may not need.
Had an Olds engine once I couldn't get to run right. Took it to a shop where they hooked it up to an engine ****yzer which showed the distributor at fault. Lots easier then swapping parts. Gary
Have you tried basics like emery cloth on the points, rotor tip, dist contacts, check the cap for carbon tracks, clean with some WD, check the plug wires, pull the plugs to see if you have a dead cylinder. Check for vacuum leaks, spray some carb cleaner around the intake gaskets, carb base gasket, etc to see if the engine changes tune. You'd probably need gaskets or a kit but pull the carb, and clean, check the float to see if sunk.
I started with the basics, timing, points, dwell. i tested all wires and plugs. compression is 110 to 120. I pull little vacuum at 450 rpm, but in the green at 900 rpm. and then it drops out as i give it gas as it should. I rebuilt the carb 6 years ago, and rebuilt end of last year when the thing was giving me some backfiring at times (no changes after the rebuild). I did find a wire in the distributor last week that had a worn spot that could of been causing my hick ups, but still running off a bit after the repair. I have lack of power and would deisl at times after I shut it off when I would drive it. I figured my distributor moved. When I check timing, I have typically set them at 5 degrees, but timing this out the last few times this week, it sounds better past the mark. As im thinking about this now, maybe i should get a new light that I can dial back and see what im running at with 2000 rpm
I have rebuilt -not tons-, but maybe 10 or 12 carbs in my life. I don't coat the gaskets with anything. should I??
You didn't mention how long it had been sitting, if at all. With todays ****y gas, it could be the carb has plugged jets, or p***ages. It don't take long for this to happen sometimes. Just another thing to think about. I never coat carb gaskets.
I did check that. Not sure if this is the best way to check the balancer, but I used a screw driver down #1 cylinder hole to make sure at TDC the lines where at zero. Im going to get a new timing light and set it at 30 deg at 2500 rmp and see what happens. my dwell is at 28, maybe I'll sneak it up to 30/31
The Jalopy Journal
