Jump to content

No power at 50mph and sooty plugs


Chrysler49

Recommended Posts

Jesus these threads run amuck! :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jeff, they're 1 7/8 and 2".   Y'all are free to make your own captions for this picture.

Well that is not what I was not was I was thinking when I made the comment.......but I just about pissed myself when I saw the photo you posted. I spent the day in Dana Point Harbor helping some friends get their boat running. Inboards with poor access. My buddy had mentioned that it backfired quite a bit. Not surprisingly both flame arrestors were loose, Salt water boats are much more difficult than our old Dodges. You should see the wiring.... :eek: :eek: :eek:  Crimp connectors and not a bit of heat shrink tubing......OMG x 10000000. And they think it's ready for a trip to Catalina. :eek:

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess that if you like them,

strongly suggest they wear life vests and both have locators beacons in them!  :rolleyes:

 

Not for me and I love boat trips on open water.

 

Do you like wiring jobs?

 

Would love a safe trip to Catalina Island in a Safe small boat!  ;)

 

DJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

timing looks to be the culprit here, you replace the points, gapped them correctly, did you check the timing? if retarded, poor performance and the fuel will not burn properly. as the points wear, the timing changes. second clue, carb backfired, check the carb for a clogged vacuum port on the baseplate, remove carb to do this, you might have blown some carbon into it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems like you have too many unknowns at the moment.

 

In your case I would return to square one and have the distributor properly bench tested at a competent auto electric shop.

 

I once had my distributor tested; the shop guy was surprised how well it performed way beyond the red-line of a flathead.

 

Tom

Edited by sorensen_dk
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rechecked points, verified timing, and even lowered the float to a point I know is a tad too low. Car runs alright down the road but is still burning way too rich, particularly at idle; vacuum port at the base of the carb is clear. I tried both advancing and retarding the timing a touch just to see what happened, and the car didn't like being anywhere but 0 degrees TDC at idle.

Haven't found a way to properly vacuum test the carb, and the car doesn't have vacuum wipers. This has to be something to do with the carburetor, which baffles me considering it's been rebuilt and cleaned to a T several times over the past year. As I posted earlier, I haven't taken out the main vent tube and I'm still thinking this could be a part of my issue. I don't have the tool and it isn't easy to come by. Only place that I can find it is open Mondays and Tuesdays and that's it. Other than that I guess maybe I've got too high of fuel pressure coming through the rebuilt pump. Not being able to kill the car by seating the idle mixture screw at idle tells me it's in the carb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't found a way to properly vacuum test the carb, and the car doesn't have vacuum wipers. 

 

Most intakes have a vacuum port on them, a little square plug, you can take a reading from there if you have one. Remove the plug, install  the tester, and start the car...18 inches is considered to be acceptable for these engines.

Edited by Frank Elder
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I removed the spring from the power valve. The idle seems to want to hang a bit before falling now, but when it settle I'm still getting too much sooty black exhaust. When idling around 2000rpms the exhaust appears relatively clean. I do have the square plug on the side of the intake, but nothing that screws in with which to attach my vacuum gauge. I'll have to go to the parts store tomorrow and attempt to either find or fabricate something. The plug size appears to be 11/16th, which hopefully isn't too much of an issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vacuum showed 14 at the idle. If I loosened the vacuum gauge to allow more air in the idle went up a bit, and the vacuum would set steady at 18. Perhaps my idle is too low? I raised the idle a bit, and the vacuum is right where it needs to be. I'd estimate the idle at 600-700 rpms, but the black exhaust stops and the car runs great. I think I'll call it good for now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use