Car not running right

[Mr Lee]

Unfortunately I never received a cam card from my engine builder and it was rebuilt many years ago.  Thumbs down there.

So, tonight I checked my float levels and they were way off.  Like more than an 1/8 of an inch off.  I was actually happy that I found something wrong because it means I am getting closer to figuring things  out.
(The primary jet in there was a 64)
The float that i had repaired sounded like it had a very tiny bit of fuel in it again so I will get a new one but for now i wanted to take it for a drive so I put it back together.

It ran smoother and a little more responsive but not as much as I'd like.  I think the plugs may be fouled pretty good. Definitely a step in the right direction though.   For now, I will get some new plugs and then continue on with Chryco's tuning guide and go through everything again.

Appreciate all the input and help.




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[Chryco Psycho]

 
Good you are making progress , 64 jet is correct as I recall , if the plugs are firing a 20 min run on the hwy should clean them right up .
if there is fuel in the float even with the correct setting it will sit slightly low in the fuel raising the level a bit .
Always Glad to help .

[Mr Lee]

Ok so since last night i also noticed that my distributor cap was cracked and a little loose so i replaced that w new one w brass fittings. 
Replaced all the plugs w new this morning. All same brand, same plug.  Delco RS43.
Took it for a 5 minute drive.  Car was sputtering at cruising speed and for the first time ever felt a little lean, but still not right.
Came back. Checked two of the plugs right next to each other #3 and #5.  One is totally black and wet (not oily), the other is orangeish and dry.
I think this issue is the next thing i have to figure out before i go any further.  Cant understand it. How can two plugs right next to each other look so different.  I changed the wires already, the plugs.  New dist cap. 






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[blown motor]

Wow! That's a big difference! Sorry you're having so much trouble but this is interesting to follow. I'm sure I'll learn things here.

[Shane Kelley]

#4 is on the same runner as #3. What's it look like?

[Mr Lee]

To clarify, (my pics may have been misleading) # 3 was dry and 5 was fouled.
Here are the rest of them.  Again,  all have about 5 minutes of driving on them since new.
5 and 8 are worst.
7 and 6 are the next worse ones after 5 and 8.   And those are also on the same intake runner, yes? 





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[Shane Kelley]

5 & 8 share one runner and 7 and 6 share the other. If it's a carb issue and that's what it's looking like the issue is coming from the secondaries. 

[Shane Kelley]

After you run the motor can you see any signs of fuel seepage looking in the rear venturies? Look for hints of smoke of fuel dripping. Possibly a needle and seat issue?

[JonH]

What is that spacer under the carb? Open, or 4 hole? Gasket from spacer to manifold appears to be messed up, left front corner. Why do you insist on AC spark plugs? I would use Champion in any Mopar engine....your problems may be ignition, not fuel. If you have an ignition misfire plugs will appear to be fuel fouled...

[Chryco Psycho]

It is also possible to have internal leaks with bad or missing gaskets warped parts , bad power valve or gasket etc .
Something is way off having only run for 5 mins !

[Mr Lee]

So here's the thing about the secondaries... I'm pretty sure they never opened til just this last test drive or two that I did, because I put a paper clip on the little push rod under the diaphragm so that I could see if the paper clip moved when I come back from the drive, and it hadn't.  But now today, I noticed that it did move.  It was either this last test drive or right after I adjusted the float levels which was the test drive before this one that it moved.  But the plugs still fouled even though the secondaries (apparently) opened up.  So, I don't get it.  But I will re-set the clip and move it back up and do the test again to be sure.   

The spacer under the carb has 4 holes the same size as the bottom of the carb.  The front left corner you see is just the outside edge of the gasket that's a little torn but there is plenty of meat left intact under the carb.  I inspected it when I had the carb off to adjust the floats. 

I haven't seen any smoke or any drips in the carb but I will look again. 

About the power valve - from what I understand, a way to test it is to turn the air mixture screws all the way in, and if the car dies, it's good.  I did this and it stalled. 

Spark plugs - Before I started posting about this problem I had all Champions in there - #14 and still had this problem.  I bought what the store had and the Delco's are supposed to be compatible. 

I was convinced that the problem was ignition, but now I think it may be fuel / carb...  but I keep going back and forth.  But I think it's clear that the plugs in the front of the car are looking normal and the ones in the rear of the car are not.  I replaced the valley pan and intake manifold gaskets about a week ago.  Felt like I did a good job.  (shrug)  Cleaned everything really good.  Paper gasket under the valley pan and used some fuel resistant permatex above the pan.  I couldn't fit another paper gasket on top of the pan cause the bolts wouldn't go in straight.  I torqued it down to 40 ft lbs like the book said, twice.  So I'm hoping I'm good there.  The plugs don't look oily so that's good. 

From what I understand about the transfer slots, if the idle is too high, it exposes too much of the slots and causes the engine to run rich.  So I'm going to investigate that. 

My brother has a Carter carb I may try too, just for kicks.  We'll see. 
To be continued...   I've come a long way, but I got a long way to go   

[DeathProofCuda]

I replaced the valley pan and intake manifold gaskets about a week ago.  Felt like I did a good job.  (shrug)  Cleaned everything really good.  Paper gasket under the valley pan and used some fuel resistant permatex above the pan.  I couldn't fit another paper gasket on top of the pan cause the bolts wouldn't go in straight.  I torqued it down to 40 ft lbs like the book said, twice.  So I'm hoping I'm good there.  The plugs don't look oily so that's good.

From what I understand about the transfer slots, if the idle is too high, it exposes too much of the slots and causes the engine to run rich.  So I'm going to investigate that. 

My brother has a Carter carb I may try too, just for kicks.  We'll see. 
To be continued...   I've come a long way, but I got a long way to go

Did you follow a recommended torque sequence when you reinstalled the intake?  Have you checked the intake for vacuum leaks?  Just thinking this might be causing uneven fuel distribution in the intake, hence the differences in your plugs.

Trying a good known carb sounds like a good idea.  Seems like you are on the right track.  Good luck with it.

[Mr Lee]

Affirmative, the tightening sequence was followed. 

I did a vacuum leak test on the intake as best I could but did not hear a change in idle.  But you can't really get on the inside lip of the intake (under the intake).

Adjusting the idle mixture screws, I get the most vacuum at about 1 turn out.  If I back the screws out further than that it doesn't give me more vacuum or higher idle.  And if I turn them in it starts to die. 

I am a beginner when it comes to all this stuff but more and more, I am feeling like whatever is going on is something that I can't fix with tuning. 
It feels like something is majorly wrong, like cam timing or something.     When I adjust timing, I literally can't get it to ping.  No matter how far I advance it.  At idle, I can turn that distributor til my timing is up in the high 40's and it wont ping.   Isn't that a bad sign?   And I verified top dead center on the compression stroke matches the mark on my balancer.  I just don't get it.   

I think it's time to hand it over to a pro.  I've been messing with it for two months and it's still not right. 

[Shane Kelley]

What do you have for ignition system? I was having some funky timing issues with a new orange MP ignition box. I don't recall if it effected the plugs but I could turn the timing up like you and it didn't ping either.

Be nice if you could try another carb so you can eliminate or confirm it's a fuel issue.

[Mr Lee]

The distributor I think I got from Rock Auto or somewhere like that but I put in a Pertronix Ignitor 1 which replaces the points but looks stock.  Running a normal volt reg and ballast resistor.  MSD plug wires.  The mopar wires I had in there just pulled apart.