1947 Dodge 230

[John431]

Howdy all,

I am new to thses old motors, so some suggestions/advice. My engine has a miss, a little rough at idle, when Accelerating smooths out a little, then miss at higher rpms, I did do "static" timing, although distributor appears to be fully retarded, and points seem to be somewhat ("flimsy") but going to install Pertronix soon. The cap,rotor plugs and wires seem to be somewhat recent. vacuum gauge 18-20 a little "bouncy" also timing mark unsteady. compression test

#1 100

#2 105

#3 100

#4 100

#5 100

#6 100

I believe that to be pretty good.

So I guess that leaves ignition or carb/fuel or both ?    Any tips/suggestions greatly appreciated !

John

[DJ194950]

Check dwell angle running . Should change very little at idle or revved up.

While shut down remove dist. cap and try moving the shaft side to side. Very, very little is OK. I t alters dwell and timing if loose. Can cause these issues.

A Pertronix Ign is less touchy about this but not to excess.

This is all with ign. type issues but other ideas mentioned can also but these are easy and cheap place to Start.

Compression is Very good and even. Checked cold and hot?

 

DJ

[John431]

Check compression warm...also I forgot to mention plugs appeared to be sooty, actually slightly smoother after cleaning them. And other than the "mis" it runs pretty good.

[greg g]

Make sure the plug wires are fully seated in the distributor cap.  For sooty plugs check that your choke is opening all the way when fully warmed.  Also take a look under the hood in the dark, checking for any wayward spark tracks, and check the inside of the dist cap for evidence of carbon tracking.

[John431]

Greg i checked for any wayward sparks in the dark coming from anywhere, all good.  Choke does open fully, waiting for Pertonix to arrive with that, I will most likely change cap wires and plugs just to rule those out.

Hopeing for success ! ?

Thanks !

[greg g]

Remember you need the distributor number to assure you get the correct cap.the number starts with IGS, IAT or similar on the data tag on the side of the distributor.

[John431]

Howdy all,

Just an update, installed pertronix all went well, pretty straight forward simple install, running much better BUT !  A "stumble" at high rpms with a little backfire through carb, timing is tdc. So I will recheck ignition and then I guess start to look into fuel system carb/fuel pump etc.  I did notice when i was hooking up vacuum gauge looking inside manifold(throughplug hole) it looked kinda wet if that means anything. Suggestion,

advice always appreciated.

Thanks, John

[soth122003]

Hey John,

If you haven't done so so, try timing it with the vacuum gage. Time to the highest vacuum you can get then back it off about 2 clicks on the gage. Once done check with the timing light and see where you are at. 

 

If you still have the slight miss or stumble, check the carb's throttle plate rod bushings and see if you are sucking air in that area. My 48 has the same problem, worn bushings, so I have to adjust the air idle screw in a bit to compensate for that. Doesn't cure it but it does help.

 

Joe Lee

[John431]

Joe 5hanks, will give that a try hopefully with success, if not prob next will be rebuild the the carb. The pertronix really helped smoothed it out alot, but as mentioned stumble and intermittent backfire at higher rpms. Always a work in progress.

Thanks for the advice !!!!

John