jaredi

One problem breeds another...

Keep in mind this is all done in my driveway under very light throttle load and the car not getting on the road (hasn't been tagged yet).

OK, I had the car running OK, it just had rubber hose strung everywhere and a set of plug wires that were burnt through in a couple places, running Delco R45TS plugs. It had an intermittent miss which I expected. I had set the timing with the car not running at 12-14° BTDC, and it had been fine there.

I replaced my rubber hose with hard line running from the stock TPI line on the driver's rail down across the K and up to the mechanical pump. I also replaced my plug wires with Moroso Blue Max wires. The fuel line leaked a little and wouldn't get the carb any fuel. The car started to run like poo so I stopped trying to run it. It was not keeping itself running unless I could see the carb spraying fuel down the primaries (while giving it quick shots of throttle). As soon as the fuel stopped coming out of the primaries it would want to die. If I held it up at about 2500 rpms it would be fine until the load was removed and the fuel stopped coming out of the primaries at which point it would develop a miss and start backfiring through the exhaust.

I was thinking it was lean because of the fuel issue but when I fixed the leak the problem was still there. So I went to the next thing I'd messed with, the wires. I ohmed them all and due to my inexperience with multimeters couldn't get a true reading. I just gauges one off the other. All of them are where they should be with none showing erratic readings. The long ones showing a bit more resistance than the short ones etc. So while I was at it I pulled the plugs and they were black and covered in soot. So I shot them with carb cleaner and reinstalled. Fired the car up and it was doing the same thing. So I thought, it's bound to be ignition lets play with the advance, so I advanced the timing probably in the neighborhood of 6° and it started running alot better, keeping itself idling, throttle response was better, etc.

Went, got some new plugs installed and started the car. Ran good, better than before even. So I ran it for probably 3 minutes. I pulled a plug and found what appears to be on the lean side of OK, but on the ground strap I was looking for a mark to indicate what I should be doing with the timing. What I found was that on the old plug, the ground strap was cleanly burned back to the curve, which I've read is correct. The ground strap on the new plug is burned all the way to the plug housing, which I've read means too much timing. So I started the car again and ran it for about 5 minutes and when I retarded the timing anywhere close to where it had been the car started exhibiting the symptoms it was before (not wanting to idle, backfiring, etc.). So, I am between a rock and a hard place it would appear. Would a colder heat range plug help? I have attached two pictures, one of the old plug (blackened) with what I think is a correct burn marking on the ground strap and the new plug with what I think is too much timing.

I have the vacuum advance line hooked up to the driver's side port on the Edelbrock 1407 which I understand means manifold vacuum.

I am terrified of detonation as I have never heard it or if I have I have never realized it was detonation and I know it destroys motors. I have open headers and have no idea what pre-ignition would sound like.

So, richen the mix? Colder plugs? Keep in mind the only changes that happened that could have caused this is 1.) Aluminum tube instead of rubber hose, and 2.) New plug wires.

Thanks

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

so how about setting timing with a timing light instead of guessing?

battyice

I'm no expert at readying ground straps, I adjust timing and jetting based on drag strip results. However, I can share my experience with those plugs. R45TS is a fairly hot plug, I tried running them in my engine and they looked similar to yours, I have since gone down to the 44's. 43's run good but get pretty carbon'd up in the pits.

jaredi

Don't have a light, don't have anyone to show me how to use one, don't have anyone to borrow one from, can't get one rented or bought until tomorrow.

Whatever the timing, doesn't my plug say its too much? Or is there not enough run time on it to tell?

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

without DRIVING the car with proper timing, the plugs are meaningless. There must be a load on the motor