Many months ago when I had some crappy tires on, from a standstill I punched the throttle and my car left a gigantic patch of rubber and a big smoke cloud. This was with a stock 350, 2 Barrel, No headers, no nice exhaust system, open 2.56 rear. My engine was and still is in perfect tune thoughp
uh-oh... no I'm wondering if it could be something worse. But It does backfire when you turn it off, so it could just be way outta tune... but we are talking about LC 350's aren't we?
Yeah your timing is way off! Yes even low comp stock 350s are tire burners if tuned right. I'm so sick of this thread!!! Please set your timing and start smiling!!!!!!!
And just go ahead and buy a good timing light, so you don't have to buy 2 in your lifetime... The Craftsman dial-back light will suit you just fine. Here it is: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921023000P?vName=Tools&keyword=timing+light
It's easy as pie. Go to sears and get the dial back timing light. It will have a clamp that hooks onto the #1 cylinder plug wire and two others wires that hook on the battery. Pull the trigger and shine it at the balancer. You should see a tick mark line up with numbers. Loosen the distributor and rotate it. You should see the timing mark move. To use the dial back feature, turn the knob until your timing mark lines up with 0. Read the knob, what ever number it is pointing to is your degrees advance at that moment. Rotate this distributor or rev the motor and this number should change. Read this thread for what to set it at. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=63475 I have my motor set at 20* initial and 34* total degrees advance. This brings it close to the point of pinging, and it will ping if the motor is real hot. I also disconnected the vacuum advance, because it's simply too much timing when you put in lighter advance springs. And my fuel mileage stayed the same after i disconnected it. :3gears: Have fun
To add to what carson said: There is a step beyond what he has done and thats reading and following Larrys "powertiming" thread in the FAX section. That was the second best mod I've done after the Jon O carb. I've got the mechanical advance (hei) limited to 20 degrees, intial at 12, and 9 degrees of vacuum advance on top of that that will disapear under load. mechanical is all in by 1900 rpm using springs from crane adjustable vacuum advance kit (chevy 350 aplication works fine upside down). The difference was HUGE! more power, fuel milage better and no ping at all. warning: to reduce chances of detonation (BAD) take the heads off and clean the carbon from pistons and heads, pollish the heads and you will be able to run higher timing without ping (spark knock).
Everyone has there own setup. One thing that confuses me is that why people want to run such a little amount of initial timing. Smoother, cooler, idle can be a result of more initial timing.:spank:
I've run your setup and agree its far better than stock, so don't get me wrong. I don't meen to discount your combo or tuning, as its certainly better than stock setup. I'm no expert but by not limiting your mechanical you eliminate the possiblity to add vacuum advance without ping and if its a street car then the vac advance is worth an easy mpg. If drag racing only then there is no need to use vacuum advance but on the street it adds needed timing under light load. I find the mid range benefits of lower inital with quicker mechanical outway the smoother idle. My mechanical comes in way quicker than yours due to the lighter springs so even at low rpm there is some mechanical added. Like you said every combo is different but trial and error will prove what works for you.
:shock: Won't be doing this for a while... This is my daily driver still. Pulling the heads... thats not a "quick" job... and I'm pretty sure I couldn't accomplish it one day after school.... I'll be doing over a long weekend or having to find someone to pull the heads and do it...
Chase you can still get the timing set right but just don't push it to the extreme of adding as much timing as possible. If your car is backfiring then its way off. Start with stock spec and move up 1 degree at a time with the intial. Didn't meen to scare ya off, just don't want to see everyone running 34 degrees of timing plus 9 advance without cleaning the carbon off the combustion chambers. Last thing I'd want is someone running my timing setup and detonating a motor because of carbon deposits increasing detonation issues. It was sort of a disclaimer I guess. BTW thats why I suggest getting a spare motor to build/practice with. Build confidence while you drive your car but by all meens adjust your timing ASAP. One more tip then I'll shut up: Use a socket on the harmonic ballancer bolt (lower pulley) and turn the motor back and forth a inch or so and have a freind watch the dist rotor (with cap removed wires still attached) and if there is a delay in the rotor movement vs harmonic ballancer rotation then the timing set is worn out. Also look for irregular flashing using the timing light and run the engine in the dark and look for spark stray (plug wires will arc to least restrictive ground source instead of firing in the chamber at the plug if plug wires are old or damaged). Headers and intake won't help if your not igniting the fire....
A wide open blast down the highway once a month will get rid of most buildup if you start with a clean slate every few years. Your right since carbon is a by product of combustion in our engines it will always be in the picture. Thick carbon deposits take years to build up and driving slow makes things worse so all grany type cars have TONS of carbon buildup.
Did you see this thread ?! http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=139145 :shock: I'm not taking the chance.
Sean, you speak very highly of John O and his Q-Jets, I'm thinking about buying one off ebay or somewhere and sending to him, will any Q-Jet work? And how much should I expect price wise?
Any q-jet will work but he really prefers the 71-74 style since they have less frills and features. The 71-74 Buick carb are my favorite, and I suggest buying one on the board for between $50-$60 for one that is not molested but was running when pulled of the engine. Buying off e-bay for something like a carb is a crapshoot.
