Rackarboda
Active Member
Will do, I just made myself a piston stop from an old spark plug, and will get back as soon as I've confirmed the actual TDC and checked the timing.
Hesitating engine
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Rackarboda
Active Member
Ok, just did a small checkup after applying the tape. Initial 12° and around 35-37 advanced, unfortunately without a tachometer.
Total timing should be good there, but if it's got any kind of better-than-stock cam it probably wants more initial....BUT that will give you too much total which is not good...distributor adjustment is then needed. Have you examined the distributor for wear or swapped it with a different one? Bad/slipping distributor could surely cause what you have
Rackarboda
Active Member
I thought a lot about changing the distributor, but I have changed both the lid and put an ignitor inside along with a Pertronix coil, is there still a chance it might fail?
You bet..slop in the shaft or internals can cause timing to jump around...hmmm is it a Mopar performance distributor by chance? I had problems with mine, and have read about others having issues as well... I yanked it and put it in a firecore distributor and been rock solid ever since
Rackarboda
Active Member
I will try with a friend's distributor and see if it helps.
A small update, don't know if it matters, when putting the shifter in neutral the engine purrs just fine. Could it be something with the transmission under load? Don't have my kickdown (Lokar) connected because of no place to put it on the Carter.
A small update, don't know if it matters, when putting the shifter in neutral the engine purrs just fine. Could it be something with the transmission under load? Don't have my kickdown (Lokar) connected because of no place to put it on the Carter.
Rackarboda
Active Member
Yeah, I should of have done that a long time ago. I bought the cable last year, and couldn't find out how to put it. By the time I figured out someone assembled it wrong I had already switched carburetor to the carter, which lacks the correct throttle lever to attach a kickdown cable. Guess I will have to make someone handy manufacture one for me.
Rackarboda
Active Member
Yeah, that oughta work if I tighten the top attachment screw hard enough.
Rackarboda
Active Member
Ok, finally. The bracket from Edelbrock didn't work at all, so I had to make my one lever. I can tell you it was a LOT more fun to drive, like night and day, but the initial problem remains. Also noticed that the acc pump doesn't give any squirt until after 3 pumps.
Rackarboda
Active Member
Update: Like I said before, the timing mark on the damper was about 5° off, which I compensated for when I strobed the engine. But naturally I compensated in the wrong direction, hence my timing degree read 2°, not 12... 
The engine now runs much better without any noticable coughs, just have to retune everything else first to see if all is fine, but that's another story.
The engine now runs much better without any noticable coughs, just have to retune everything else first to see if all is fine, but that's another story.
Rackarboda
Active Member
When I pulled up at a nearby straight road and floored the pedal, you bet ya a wide grin drew upon my face combined with various obscenities of joy shouted into the atmosphere. When I released the throttle, a feeling of stupidity came flowing through my body and I cursed myself for a bit there. I knew the problem couldn't have been quite so hard, yet I already spent about $1.500 trying to figure out what was wrong. Most of the money was well spent, considering there were lots of stuff that had to be done sooner or later, but I could have spent them later on and prioritized for example correcting a paint job that looks like a smurf with psoriasis.
Now I just feel relieved and can start to focus on the more fun stuff. The feeling of success is not something I am very familiar with when it comes to cars.
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