Any Carb Gurus in Raleigh?

[DeezNCSU]

Wanted to see if there are any carb gurus in the Raleigh area that might be willing to help me tune one. I understand them generally speaking but have never tried tuning one and worry I'd make things worse. I bought a vacuum gauge and have a timing light and I would like to learn how to adjust it.

I've got a new to me '68 with a new Blueprint 302 with a few hundred miles on it that has a Holley Street Warrior 600cfm Vacuum Secondary Carburetor w/ Electric Choke.

Here is why I think it needs some tweaking...
1) When it hasn't been driven in a few days and I'm cold starting it, it takes a few minutes to finally start. It turns over repeatedly, sometimes will try to fire then won't, then eventually will. Haven't seen any fuel leaks or pinholes that would cause the fuel to drain out.
2) When it's cold, it stumbles a little if I'm at a stoplight and hit the throttle. It's just a quick stumble then it takes off.
3) I'm not sure if the choke is set correctly, maybe it is. Today I drove it, let it sit for an hour, cranked it and it revved up and idled high for a minute until I hit the throttle. It does that when cold, but figured when it was driven recently, it wouldn't need to do that.
4) Want to make sure it's idling right, not running too rich or lean.

 

[jeffncs]

Look up Paul Powell Performance. He’s a high performance engine / speed guy but is Holley wizard. He’s located in Battleboro IIRC.

https://paulpowellperformance.com/

Full disclosure - I know him personally but have no financial benefit from referring him.

 

[pcf_mark]

If you have a vacuum gage and timing light you are on your way to tuning! A few comments:

Here is why I think it needs some tweaking...
1) When it hasn't been driven in a few days and I'm cold starting it, it takes a few minutes to finally start. It turns over repeatedly, sometimes will try to fire then won't, then eventually will. Haven't seen any fuel leaks or pinholes that would cause the fuel to drain out. It is most likely the fuel in the carb has evaporated or at least in the accel pump squirter. An electric booster pump helps for quick starting.
2) When it's cold, it stumbles a little if I'm at a stoplight and hit the throttle. It's just a quick stumble then it takes off. Choke adjustment - https://documents.holley.com/dfc3e8327bd68dfcd47987b488df77e3b6da6e10.pdf
3) I'm not sure if the choke is set correctly, maybe it is. Today I drove it, let it sit for an hour, cranked it and it revved up and idled high for a minute until I hit the throttle. It does that when cold, but figured when it was driven recently, it wouldn't need to do that. The above document should help manage that too.
4) Want to make sure it's idling right, not running too rich or lean. This is hard to do w/o an O2 sensor but you can get a sense for it. Get the timing set correctly or at least back to baseline. 8-12 degrees at idle, 30-34 degrees total to be safe at 3000 rpm. Then using your vac gage set idle mixture screws to highest vacuum setting. Keep track of that vacuum number for later.

If you get your choke, timing and idle mixture right many of your issues may resolve. Good luck and keep us posted and ask your questions.

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, go to the Holley website and check out the tutorials. I would set the choke a little richer and see how that works out. Any work on the choke must be done on a cold engine. The choke should snap closed when you press the pedal, and be held open by spring pressure when the engine is warm, These engines run best with more initial timing than Ford specified, try @ 10*-12* BTDC. The ignition tuneup must be 100% before you adjust the carb. Here is how I set the idle; adjust the idle stop screw so the engine idles @ 750 RPM. Slowly turn in one of the mixture screws until the engine starts to stumble, and then turn it out one full turn, do the same with the other mixture screws. Adjust the idle if needed. You may want to repeat adjusting the mixture screws, and set the idle RPM. Good luck

 

[skrit]

Off topic but we Triangle area EB enthusiasts need to get together!

 

[DeezNCSU]

Off topic but we Triangle area EB enthusiasts need to get together!

Would love to! Just need the warm weather to stick around.

 

[raleigh_bronco]

Wanted to see if there are any carb gurus in the Raleigh area that might be willing to help me tune one. I understand them generally speaking but have never tried tuning one and worry I'd make things worse. I bought a vacuum gauge and have a timing light and I would like to learn how to adjust it.

I've got a new to me '68 with a new Blueprint 302 with a few hundred miles on it that has a Holley Street Warrior 600cfm Vacuum Secondary Carburetor w/ Electric Choke.

Here is why I think it needs some tweaking...
1) When it hasn't been driven in a few days and I'm cold starting it, it takes a few minutes to finally start. It turns over repeatedly, sometimes will try to fire then won't, then eventually will. Haven't seen any fuel leaks or pinholes that would cause the fuel to drain out.
2) When it's cold, it stumbles a little if I'm at a stoplight and hit the throttle. It's just a quick stumble then it takes off.
3) I'm not sure if the choke is set correctly, maybe it is. Today I drove it, let it sit for an hour, cranked it and it revved up and idled high for a minute until I hit the throttle. It does that when cold, but figured when it was driven recently, it wouldn't need to do that.
4) Want to make sure it's idling right, not running too rich or lean.

Sorry I can‘t help you. I tried tuning my old engine/original carb many years ago, but it wasn‘t perfect and would puke fuel intermittently. I ended up taking it to a local shop - that is no longer around - and they improved the performance, and definitely reduced the number of puking instances.

 

[raleigh_bronco]

Would love to! Just need the warm weather to stick around.

Definitely. 15 yrs ago we had a small group that would get together in Raleigh to talk broncos and help each other wrench. Those were some enjoyable and rewarding get togethers. Let me know.