I say "I think" because I suppose the issue could be something else, I suppose. Here's what I have, and what it is behaving like... I have a 66 Skylark with a 310 Wildcat (I am informed that this is a 300ci motor) with a two speed automatic. It seems to have a very pronounced hesitation when you first mash on the throttle. It also doesn't seem to require a very heavy foot to create this big "gag" in the accelleration. What is this? Is it a lack of fuel? It seems to make sense to me. Anyone willing to help me on this? Other than this, it seems to run fine. Sometimes it takes some love to re-start after it's already warm, and it seems to like to run at about 200 degrees. Is that normal? The oil pressure is about 30 at warm idle. I think that's within spec from what literature I have found regarding this motor. I have no idea what carb is supposed to be on it. Nor do I know what carb is actually on it, but I'll be glad to check if someone tells me how. What can I check for and what would the possible solutions be? Help a newbie! Please!
Check the vacuum advance mechanism. If you pull the vacuum advance hose off the distributor with the engine running, there should be a strong vacuum at the hose and the engine idle should drop. It should pick up again when you reconnect the hose.
i would recommend that you find a decent local guy ( maybe check first at a local buick garage/dealership , look for somebody about 50 yrs old ! ) that can show you a few basics "hands on" , enough so you can tune it up a little to smooth out the run and do some extra good regular servicing . then maybe drive it on up to bowling green ( gsca nats ) in may and up to columbus in august ( bpg/horsepower meet ) , neither are too awful far away for 'ya - especially bg , ask questions and look around and maybe get a feel for whats going on . everyone is usually real helpful and willing to talk to people , even the ones with the dumb "newbie" questions , i know that ! don't get crazy throwing parts at your car to make it run better , max what ya' got , ask questions , keep track of what people tell ya' , ask for second opinions if something does not seem right to ya' - its your money . when you do get into a position to add parts to the car - add one at a time if possible and keep track of individual improvements . del
Well...an update. I did what Larry suggested and pulled the vacuum hose off the distributor and observed what happened at idle. As opposed to what Larry suggested should occur (the engine idle speed dropping) the opposite happened. When the hose was disconnected, the idle went up noticeably. It did indeed create a strong vacuum at the end of the hose, but the idle speed dropped back down every time I put my finger on the end of the hose. What does this mean? Also, I noticed that it is very easy to turn the distributor by hand. This obviously changes the idle characteristics of the car. What do I need to do? Where should it be set? Could this be part of my problem? More info please! Help!
Sorry to horn in, but should ignition timing or carb adjustments first be addressed when addressing drivability issues?:Comp:
He mentioned the distributor is loose, so who knows where his timing is. Also, unhooking a full manifold vacuum line makes the idle increase. That may indicate a rich condition. I want to find out if his vacuum advance is working or not. That's why I asked him to unhook it. He needs a timing light to make sure the timing is right, and to see if the vacuum advance is working.
Larry: I hope my dumb question was understood for what it was. (me not knowing trouble-shooting processes) I have your ignition timing tutorial post next to me. I need to diagnose drivability issues of my own.o No:
David always get the timing set first then the carb,a lthough I always go back and fine tune the timing after the carb is set. Eventually you will get to the point where you find the sweet spot of both the carb and the timing but keep track of your adjustments in a notebook so you dont forget where you are... make notes after each adjustment of how the car drives and try to tune out any issues you have. If you start your own thread we can get into detail on your issues as well.
