I finally got the 59 pickup running after rebuilding the carb, fixing a short in the ignition wire and replacing the spark plugs. And now it will idle fine but it pops through the carb if I give it any throttle. And it also wont take a load(put it into gear and let the clutch out n she dies). Is this a va***e advance issue? there is an adjustment on the base of the carb next to the hard line. I put it back at 3 turns like it was when I got the truck. Or is this a timing issue? Please help! I want to drive the truck!
boy, your ride dosn't sound right. I'm no expert but it sounds like timing may be the problem. two things to check; that the va***e advance works, on this chevy the whole distributor should turn! That the distributor mounting isn't loose. I dont know if this could make it pop, but it would cause mine to quit. I wonder about the screw you mention as that sounds like the idle screw. It's for the fuel, not the va***me. I would start over from square one. Find top dead center! pull the valve cover, and bar the motor over until the intake valve closes, this will be after the exhaust valve closes. get the piston to the top, and note where the rotor is pointing. rewire the plug wires from #1 thru 6 (153264???)( I dont remember). But then again you said it idled fine..... Other things that may cause this would be your valves, if they are bad or improperly adjusted. Like I said, I don't know, just throwing some ideas out there. How'd it run before you messed with the carb?
It popped before the carb rebuild. And the idle screw is on the side of the carb, this screw is on the very botom of the carb right next to the hard line going to the va***e advance. The dist. will turn a good bit left and right but seams to be mounted fine. And it wouldnt idle as nice as it does if the dist. was timed wrong. How do I check the va***e advance? And I have been charging the battery with it still in the truck.... (bad for the condenser?)
Bump... I know theres a bunch of real good stove bolt experts on here! Any more for the condencer replace? It does look new.
Sticking valve? I have two stovebolts, they both did that popping thing, both had a sticking valve. Pull the cover and check them. There are two idle screws, the one sets the speed by cracking the throttle a bit, the other sets the gas/air mix.
I pulled the valve cover and the valves were way out of adjustment. I adjusted those and it helped a little. But it still does the popping. The va***e advance costs a ton! I think im going to try the condencer and then bite the bullet and get the va***e advance. Any other ideas?
If you watch the dist. and bump the throttle a little and the dist. moves your va***e advance is working correctly. do you have the idle mixture adjusted for smothest idle? Is the accelerator pump squirting? Is your initial timing set to about 6-8 deg.? Points at .018 or 36deg. dwell?
I dont know how to mess with the points. What do I need to do? And the only adjustment needle is the one at the base of the carb. I closed this needle all the way down and it made no difference. And I know the p***ege is clear because I was able to spray carb cleaner through it when I cleaned the carb. And yes, the exelerator pump is working. Does charging the battery while it is hooked up hurt the condencer?
You might have to go thru your valves again, they should be adjusted while hot, (and pumped full of oil). Watch for the rocker arm shafts to be worn where they meet the valves and be sure to be on top dead center of each cylinder. And that screw shouldnt be turned all the way in, regaurdless of what it is.
I just turned it in to see if it effected anything, I set it back at 3 turns. It doesnt have hyd. lifters, what would fill with oil? And I had the piston at top dead center. I have adjusted valves on SBC's before, hyd. and solid. Im 95% confident that they are good to go. I used a manual to guide me. .006in, .018ex
Vacuum leak. Or the cap is wired backwards. I bought a 60 Chevy for $50 from a guy who couldn't get it to run right after a tune up. I rewired the cap in the right rotation, and drove it away. He was pissed.
I just checked my manuals, and found a .006 / .008 valve lash for solid lifters in a six for 55 and 000 valve lash for the six in 57' but I thought I used to set mine at .016 and something else unless that was the points......One thing to note though was that chevy started using hydrolic lifters with their auto trans motors back around 1953!!! I know that your timing should be about 5 degrees btdc with the va***e line disconnected,(plug it) and the motor should run at about 450 -500 rpms with the points gapped at .016". Adjust the points first then adjust the timing and the rpms untill they match up. Do your homework on the valve lash, and good luck.
a 59' motor? I shure would imagine those would be hydrolic lifters, and possibly a bigger size of six cylnder.
Its probobly got a 261 in it if its got solids. Check your points adjustment and change the condenser. If it wont take any load but Idles all day it very well could be the condenser,hell it could be 50 years old!
pull the cap and spread the points apart and see if the are clean and shiny if they are ****py looking change the points and condenser that will make it pop and bang for sure you can file them smooth but for 8 bux put new ones in to check the vac advance pull the line at the carb and **** on it it should hold a vac*** and the dist should move but it should hold vac***m
Your problem sounds like a timing issue. Is the motor a high mileage motor? If it is, the old fiber timing gear may be worn out. Maybe even jumped a tooth. If I remember correctly, too many teeth off can cause expensive noises. Check wear by watching rocker arm motion while turning the crank back and forth a little. Things should move pretty much all at the same time. I dont know how to mess with the points...... Take the cap off and make sure there is no moisture or carbon tracking up around the contacts. If you don't have a point file use some fine sandpaper to clean the points. There is a screw that locks them to the baseplate. Loosen (don't remove) that to adjust the points. Also make sure there is not too much wear in the distributor gear by turning the (rotor) shaft back and forth. Make sure the point rubbing block is on top of a lobe, not on a flat spot.
If it's truck engine the timing gear should be aluminum,at least when new. You say it idles fine,does that mean it runs smooth on 6 cylinders or it just runs ok?.Just for a test,can you turn the distributor counter clockwise? It should move some against the spring loaded vacuum advance.For a test hold it in this position and rev the engine to see if it runs better.And get someone to check the points.And the carb accelerator pump and or main jet circuits may be at fault. You also mentioned the valves were way out of adjustment.Sure about this engine having solids and not a car engine with bad hydraulic lifters? These engines sit around,valve guides get gummed up.You try to start it and some pushrods bend..Check it all out if you haven't allready
I've had NEW points in my 228 (GMC) and they weren't perfectly flat against each side and they ****ped up very fast. Just my .02 Jim
The motor runs beautifully when at idle. I can drive it around but If I try to rev it up it will SOMETIMES sputter and pop black out of the carb. Adjusting the valves helped out alot! But it is still an issue that I need to figure out. I will be picking up points and condencer today. It has a 235 with solid lifters. The previous owner said that it ran fine before it sat. So Im thinking its something that would go bad through time not damage. Thanks for all the advise, now I have some more options to try.
So, I set the points at .016 (is this the right number?) Between the points with a feeler gauge when the arm is on top of the lobe right? The biggest gap that it can produce? Or is that the minimum? should the points touch? Ive always had HEI dist. before now...
when on top of lobe they should be open when on the flat they should be closed make sure they are clean
It is difficult to come up with a diagnosis when the conditions change. These two things are not the same. Symptoms #1 And now it will idle fine but it pops through the carb if I give it any throttle. And it also wont take a load(put it into gear and let the clutch out n she dies). Symptoms #2 The motor runs beautifully when at idle. I can drive it around but If I try to rev it up it will SOMETIMES sputter and pop black out of the carb. Adjusting the valves helped out alot! But it is still an issue that I need to figure out. I will be picking up points and condencer today. It has a 235 with solid lifters. The previous owner said that it ran fine before it sat. So Im thinking its something that would go bad through time not damage.
.019 new points .016 used points. If it sat long enough for the fuel to start smelling bad/funny then you ran it the valves may be gummy and sticking. This would be more noticable at higher revs. The reason some of the valves were way out of adjustment could be bent pushrods caused be sticky valves.On some of the valves that were the furthest out of adjustment with them closed try spinning the pushrod with your fingers. If you can see them wobble they are most likely bent which again points to sticky valves. Spray each valve stem down good with soem spray carb cleaner. Finally buy a 50s-60s "MOTOR's repair manual and read the front of it on trouble shooting tips and how the various systems are made/repaired. Be the best 15-20 bucks you ever spent.
The symptoms are different because the valve adjustment helped the situation. Before adjusting the valve lash, I couldnt get the motor to rev much at all if any before the carb would pop and maybe shutting down. Now that I set the valve lash I can rev the motor. Only sometimes it will pop through the carb. It doesnt happen at a set RPM. It will do it more when cold then when it has a chance to warm up. I believe that this improvement points toward a problem with the timming. If the condenser and points dont solve the problem then I will check for bent pushrods.
Hook up a dwell meter if you really want to know if the points are set right. Did you use a timing light when checking the timing? was the idle speed correct when you checked the timing? did you disconnect the vac advance when setting the timing? If the condenser was bad it wouldn't run at all. 50 years later, who knows what it has for lifters. You would need to take it apart and look at them to be sure, but it should be solids.
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