Newbie Bronco, Antique, Carb Engine Owner... Uh Oh!

[fedrlbiker]

Alright, at the risk of being verbally abused, I'm a newbie looking for advice!

I've been a long time truck / offroad weekend hobbiest. I've always loved CJ's, Scout's and EB's (favorite), but have never taken the plunge until now. My previous toy was a '01 Tacoma that I regretfully parted ways with 2 years ago for money reasons.

I've been on the lookout for a new toy constantly since and finely made the plunge and bought a '69 Sport. It was restored 5 years ago by a shop in Houston and has been maintained 70% by the PO I'd say. So, there are many visual things that I'm planning to fix / upgrade, but overall the truck is in excellent shape. No rust or anything. The previous owner didn't seem to be an enthusiast, but rather a toy collector. He was not very handy from what I can tell, but still tried to do some things himself. Seat belts, roadster inserts & half doors were all added with mix matched screws, nuts and bolts. Small things like that, but luckily he had the shop do all the REAL work.

Now, I've never owned an antique or any "vehicle" with a carburetor for that matter (yes, I'm 26...). Lawnmowers don't count. I do however handle my own maintenance and upgrades on all my cars and consider myself fully capable. The area I struggle is trouble shooting the problems to start with and now things are totally different than the EFI cars I'm used to.

The first thing I'd like to know is what I need to look / lookout for in general as a new owner. Any general advice, tips, tricks, etc. are appreciated. I am considering / planning to join LSEBC North Texas Chapter in the future.

Second, I've owned the truck for a month or so and have been using it as a fun driver when the weather is nice. It has run like a top. Yesterday however, I decided to drive it to work as I have a few times and it started acting up.

It started up, idled, and drove fine at first. 3 miles down the road I hit a stop light and it stalled. Then wouldn't turn over. Finally, I gave it a second then gave it some gas and it started, but had trouble idling. It would idle for 30-60 seconds mediocre and then try to die again if I didn't give it gas. There were a few crackles / sputters from the exhaust during idle and slowing after that. I made it 20 miles to work at 60mph fine, pulled into the parking lot, making a corner and it dies. I coast into a parking spot and just leave it for the time being.

At lunch it started up fine again, but continued trying to stall on idle. As a quick solution I pulled the cleaner and adjusted the throttle screw a half turn. Better... slightly. This was enough to prevent it from stalling so quickly when stopping. A temporary fix I'm aware.

Here are some other details that I noticed / considered as factors:

1. Weather has dropped 20 degree's (now 60-70) and humidity is way up.
2. A little light grey smoke from exhaust. Not a lot. Not black or white.
3. Strong fuel smell. Was present before, but not sure how much is too much. I do have an unplugged hole / panel in my firewall I need to fix.
4. My temp never went over 130. Thermostat?

I'm not sure if I'm having carb or fuel issues or both. What should I check?

Here are some details and pics of my Bronco right now. Thanks for any help!

New Motor - 4k since built
302 Cobra bored out 40 over w/ mild cam
Thorley long throw headers
New Holley 650 carb
New Painless wiring harness
New starter and master cylinder

 

[broncnaz]

Welcome it looks like you got a nice ride.
Things to look for are the same as any engine EFI or carbed. Looking for old hoses or vacuum caps that are cracked or leaking. Wiring thats in poor condition ect.
As for your stalling issues it could a couple of things. Idle mixture screws may need to be adjusted. They can cause both a stalling issue and rich smeel at idle. Check the fuel level it could be a bit high and flooding out at idle. Choke setting or the carb might just be due a rebuild. I would at least go to the Holley website and download the instructions for your carb it will help you adjust it. Instructions also come with rebuild kits and I would recommend getting a rebuild kit just to at least have the parts around incase you need them.

 

[22213evl]

nice looking bronco,
Thermostat is easy to check, and replace. should be a 180
2. A little light grey smoke from exhaust. Not a lot. Not black or white.
is this just at start up or after driving for a bit
3. Strong fuel smell.
make sure there are no leaks, fire is bad.
sounds like it is running rich. elevation plays a role in how your carb will work you might need to rejet.
use the search function for any repairs you are unsure of and of course ask the board.

 

[fedrlbiker]

nice looking bronco,
Thermostat is easy to check, and replace. should be a 180
2. A little light grey smoke from exhaust. Not a lot. Not black or white.
is this just at start up or after driving for a bit
3. Strong fuel smell.
make sure there are no leaks, fire is bad.
sounds like it is running rich. elevation plays a role in how your carb will work you might need to rejet.
use the search function for any repairs you are unsure of and of course ask the board.

Thanks. Sounds like I need a new thermostat. Especially with winter coming up...

The smoke is after driving for a bit. It's not heavy enough to notice from a distance, but when standing behind the truck it is obvious and I've caught sight of it while stopped with a tailwind.

I haven't noticed any leaks while parked or idling. Although the first time I filled it up gas poured out of the fill tube! The hose clamp had slide completely off! These are areas of neglect I mentioned about the PO.

 

[1970mule]

this may be a silly add, but check the fuel filters and also the carb may need to be cleaned, the needle and seat may be a little fouled, causing flooding. have you looked at the carb when it stalls?does gas come from the carb?

 

[fedrlbiker]

this may be a silly add, but check the fuel filters and also the carb may need to be cleaned, the needle and seat may be a little fouled, causing flooding. have you looked at the carb when it stalls?does gas come from the carb?

I have not seen gas come out of the carb. It only stalled once with me under the hood. I plan to replace the fuel filters and all fluids this weekend.

Isn't there a way to "flush" the carburetor without taking it off? A way to MAKE it overflow? I think I've heard that before as a way of getting trash out. May not be a good technique though. Again, never dealt with a carb and I've had lots of people tell me how much of a headache Holley's are so I feel overwhelmed just starting...

Does anyone have advice on fluids? What viscosity oil should I be running? I'm running 93 octane fuel, but should I think about any additives? Some older engines need lead additive right?

 

[av bronco]

read up on holley float adjustment, sounds like your floats are too hi.

 

[broncnaz]

You can remove one of the lower fuel bowl screws that will drain the fuel and hopefully any dirt that may be in it but really its best to just pull the carb and go through it. Its not all that hard only takes about an hour or so.
The headaches people complain about are only because they dont try to learn about them they figure it should just run as is. Holleys are real simple tear it apart and you'll see theres nothing to be scared of.
For oils depends on where you live. but 10w30 is usually fine in most areas. as for running 93 octane you might not need to run it try some lowgrade as long as the engine doesnt ping you should be good. Keep in mind that it probably only has cobra valve covers not a actual shelby engine. Additives are usually not needed you could put some lead subsitute in the gas but if its been a recent rebuild the heads should have had hardened exhuast seats installed.

 

[fedrlbiker]

The story on the engine is that the rebuild was planned with the original, but then a guy restoring a 67 Shelby gt500 was hard up for cash and had to sell the engine in a bind. I'm still waiting for all the receipts and bills of sale, but supposedly there are 30k worth. I'll find out next week when I meet him again. I'm running 93 octane because I don't know the compression right now. Better safe for the time being I figure. I'm in Dallas so I don't know if that would affect the oil. Any brand reccomendations? Can I use synthetic?

I'll pull the carb off this weekend and check it out. Any cleaner suggestions? I usually use b-12 chem tool.

 

[22213evl]

I have always used royale purple syn, can get it at napa.

 

[broncnaz]

B12 is very good. A 67 gt500 should have had a 428 not a 302. Even then in 67 a gt350 would have a 289 again no 302 they didnt come out until 68. I would doubt they have 30K in that engine the only reason it would be worth 30K is if was a numbers correct shelby engine. But it is worth getting all the info you can on it.
As for fuel next time you fill up only fill it half way with low grade then if it pings fill it the rest of the way up with premium or just back off the timing a little. I wouldnt waste the money on full synthetic oil in a carbed engine semi sythetics are fine and way cheaper. Carbed engines tend to get a lot of carbon fast and the oil dilutes quicker because more raw fuel goes past the rings. So right around 3000 miles the oil tends to need to be changed.

If it was a high compression engine and bored .040 over I doubt you'd be running temps of 130 especailly without a fan shroud. Your temp gauge could be reading incorrectly. Many people have issues with keeping stock engine cool in broncos.

 

[fedrlbiker]

Yeah, I looked up the car and saw it wasn't the correct engine for the gt500. Also, the total truck supposedly has 30k in it, not the motor. Again though, I'm meeting him to get receipts next week so we'll see. I assume the motor is from a clone and not an original. Hence the reason for the mismatch.

 

[leewillis92]

I saw that bronco on craigslist!!! I'm so glad somebody on here got that purdy thing. Looks great!