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When you say the end carbs are blocked off, do you just mean no fuel or are they actually sealed off between the carbs and manifold?? If they are not, could it be that they are drawing air in, throwing off the mix?? [S:confused:
Are the end carbs the same as the center one, if so, do they also have idle mixture screws? If they were active, even with the throttle linkage disconnected, being able to adjust the mixture screws on them could compensate for the air leak.
One more thought is that the accelerator pump was bad on the center carb, not giving that shot needed when you hit the throttle...
 
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Don, I'm in the same boat as you. My newly rebuilt flathead with three deuces is not running properly and I can't find the problem. Tomorrow morning it's going into town to a professional tune-up guy, so I'll know whether it's a spark or carb problem in the next few days.

These things can drive you nuts, can't they ? Hope you find your problem tomorrow.
 
If the carb doesn't solve the problem, make sure you have a good ground to the engine.

There should be a really good ground, I ran the black battery cable right to the starter and fed off of that for all the rest of the car. But that is something to look at too.
 
If the carb doesn't solve the problem, make sure you have a good ground to the engine.

Also Don.... Does it run any better after the engine is warmed up? I'm wondering if you have a "Cold" manifold issue......
[P [P [P [P
Torchie

Yes, it does run slightly better when warmed up. I had the same thoughts as you about it being not warmed up yet. But even when up to temperature, it still bogs like mad and will not rev very high under load.
 
When you say the end carbs are blocked off, do you just mean no fuel or are they actually sealed off between the carbs and manifold?? If they are not, could it be that they are drawing air in, throwing off the mix?? [S:confused:
Are the end carbs the same as the center one, if so, do they also have idle mixture screws? If they were active, even with the throttle linkage disconnected, being able to adjust the mixture screws on them could compensate for the air leak.
One more thought is that the accelerator pump was bad on the center carb, not giving that shot needed when you hit the throttle...

No, the end carbs are not in the picture at all. I made block off plates to go underneath the two end carbs, and also some block offs in the fuel lines going to them. So, they are getting no fuel and no air intake.

The end carbs are the same, but I bought Speedway kits to convert the end carbs to just dumpers, so no mixture screws , etc. That kit turns them into what cars like GTO's used back in the tripower era.

I agree with you, there is something messed up with that center carb, like the accelerator pump you suggested, or a blocked port. I bought 6 carbs off of Ebay and used the 3 best ones for this setup. So, who knows what could have been wrong with the one I chose, or if I did something wrong when rebuilding it. But I will have the new carb on Wednesday and will install it and see what is what.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys, much appreciated.
 
My upholstery guy came by today and picked up the interior side panels. He says he isn't as busy as he was when he did my seat, so he feels two weeks should do it. He is also doing the carpeting for me.

In the meantime, Dan worked on the stake pockets for the bed tonight and got two of them all done. He clamped them on for a trial fit and they really fit nice and finish off the bed sides.

Here ia a picture of what he got done.
 

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Thanks guys. Last night, as I was laying in bed, I ran this thing through my head and came to the conclusion that I may have been chasing my tail and looking at the wrong problem. Instead of it being carburation, it might actually be ignition..........like my distributor or coil.

The distributor and coil are brand new, but something has always been strange about this distributor. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, no matter how far I advance the distributor, it does not act like every distributor I have ever had. It does not get to the point where the engine refuses to turn over because it is advanced too far.

So, when my carb comes tomorrow, I will bolt it on and see if that cures the issue. If it still runs like crap I will order another distributor, and maybe a coil too, and try those out.

The distributor I am running is one I bought at Daytona Turkey Run from a vendor there, and I have always had luck with those in previous setups, but maybe I just got a bad one, or maybe the coil (chrome coil) is mismatched or messing up. The one thing I have noticed is that the engine really is not making much HP, and that leads me to believe that the ignition may be way off.

There are only so many things that can affect the way this thing runs, either fuel or ignition, so I think I am getting closer to finding the culprit here.
 
I was surprised to see that my new carb showed up today, and I only ordered it a day ago ! Rock Auto is pretty cool, I use them a lot. The coloration is just slightly different than what is on the engine now, and I am considering, if this one fixes the problem, of ordering two more so they all match.

But first things first, let's see how the car runs when I install it tomorrow. I would do it tonight but I want to watch the Presidential debate tonight.

Here is the carb that came today, it looks really good.
 

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Don. You probably already checked this but is it possible that the cam timing could be off. Way back when I was working on Datsuns, Nissans and Hondas. If the timing was off 1 tooth on a belt or chain set up it would start and run but have no power.[S[S
 
Don. You probably already checked this but is it possible that the cam timing could be off. Way back when I was working on Datsuns, Nissans and Hondas. If the timing was off 1 tooth on a belt or chain set up it would start and run but have no power.[S[S

I sure hope that is not the case because this was a brand new crate motor, but who knows. I just have to get back to square one and first of all figure out why my timing marks on the damper changes once I fire up the engine.

I thought , by buying everything new that this engine would fire up and run like a new car. Guess I was wrong.
 
Don, when I first put the all in one electronic distributor in my 302, it acted just like you describe. idled and ran pretty good up to a point, then after that, fell flat on it's face. I didn't get to drive it, but knew something was wrong. I went to the truck I pulled the engine out of, it was running FI and a Dura Spark distributor, and got the coil off of it. Hooked it up, and it started instantly, and would rev to the moon! I had seen notations on some distributors to run a certain coil, but just figured they were trying to sell more parts. There is a difference in points style and electronic ignition coils! I never believed it before, but do now.

By chance, you reckon you have a points coil? I'd change it out for a known good electronic ignition coil and try that, just might fix what ails ya.....:D
 
Don, when I first put the all in one electronic distributor in my 302, it acted just like you describe. idled and ran pretty good up to a point, then after that, fell flat on it's face. I didn't get to drive it, but knew something was wrong. I went to the truck I pulled the engine out of, it was running FI and a Dura Spark distributor, and got the coil off of it. Hooked it up, and it started instantly, and would rev to the moon! I had seen notations on some distributors to run a certain coil, but just figured they were trying to sell more parts. There is a difference in points style and electronic ignition coils! I never believed it before, but do now.

By chance, you reckon you have a points coil? I'd change it out for a known good electronic ignition coil and try that, just might fix what ails ya.....:D

Where did you get an idea like that? ;)

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37864&page=4

.
 
I'll tell you, guys, more and more I am leaning toward this problem being electrical. It is as if the distributor is just not putting out the right spark, or the coil is the wrong one, or something of that nature.

Tomorrow I will put the new carb on, and see what is what. If that does not fix it I will know it is electrical and probably order a new distributor and matching coil from Summit.

Even with a messed up carb the engine should still rev better than what I am seeing.
 

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