52degrees @ 3500rmp!?

[Crank]

I am looking for some advice or maybe someone that can confirm I am heading in the right direction or not.

I bought dual 40mm Kads with chokes and was having an issue getting them dialed in. I hired a shop to set them up and get me through aircare. Getting through aircare never happened, and by the time they were done, I had a huge bill and the car ran no better than when I set them up. I check the timing yesterday, and it is at 52 degrees@3500 rpm!!! What the heck! I set the timing at 32 degrees @ 3500rpm and the engine starts heating up fast and runs like crap. What is this all about!?

Now from my understanding, on my current engine configuration, my jets should be fine ... maybe drop the idle jet to a 50? and the next thing would be a new distributor and dump this 009. I was thinking of going back to a SVDA distributor setup by Lowbudget.com and having my kads tapped for vacuum by AJ as well. What other options do I have or is there a better way to go here? Does it sound like I am moving in the right direction?

This setup is nothing new, so hopefully someone here can give me some advice, or direction. I'm afraid to drive my car like this!

Thanks much.

The setup:
type 1 - 1776cc
New rings 500 miles ago
Engle 110 cam
Compression is 8.5:1 or 9:1 - can't find my receipts to verify which.
Dual 40mm Kadrons
Main jets - 130
Idle jets - 55
Venturies - 28mm
Currently a 009 dist. w/petronics
Bugpack Hideaway exhaust

[Hansk]

I have heard the new kadron kits are having a little trouble getting a good idle. You have a 110 cam so it will make the idle a little rougher too. But other wise this combo should be no problem.  32* is about right, not 52! Your going to have to make sure you have no vacuum leaks, good  even compresion on all cyl's ,  and your mixture screws are working(not plugged) and set right , ie turn them in ..the idle drops off , turn them back out again.. the idle picks up again etc. ( there is info out there that explains this better) , the two carbs are balanced  etc. Once you get it running good the best is to get it on a gas anilizer to fine tune the mixture for air care  or... take your chances.  (you may have to set the idle a little higher to help keep the hydrocarbons down)
The vacuum advance would be nice but it should run pretty good as is too.

[Bruce]

I think you should check your timing light.  It is unlikely that a mechanic at a shop would set the timing to 52

[Crank]

Thanks Hansk, I needed to hear that what I have should work fine.
Previosly I had set it up to run with these carbs, and not being a guru at setting mixture etc. I could only do as good as I could do. That is why I took the car to someone else to fine tune it. They had it on the analyzer and ran the car through aircare 3 times... once it failed twice no reading so they wouldn't finish testing. At this point, I am just worried about the timing and realize that I should not be driving around like this as I don't want to cook my engine.

Bruce I thought the same thing... who would set it at 52degrees? So I grabbed another light to test it... same deal ... 52degrees @ 3500.
At 32 degrees it isn't running well at all... in fact barely running. I am going to double check TDC and go over the car today to see if I can find anything out of the ordinary. I'll even toss in another 009 I have just for fun and see what happens there. I'll check compression on each cylinder and see what I get too.

Also I was wondering where to get the vacuum done... Thanks for that... Bruce do you know why Aircooled.net says that his throttle plates are for Kads without chokes? Is the choke in the way of the port or something?

Thanks so much for the support, this is a big help.

[Crank]

Ok I sent a little time on my engine this weekend.

Checked over everything ...
Compression on all cylinders is 100-105.
TDC is dead on.
Plug wires all in order 1-4-3-2 and working.
All the plugs are firing fine.
Checked the accelerator squirt on both carbs... steady flow there.
cleaned the carb filters, float bowls and jets... all looks good.

Today I hope to try that other dizzy and maybe set the valves although they should be fine.

On another note... I emailed aircooled.net and asked why his website states that the throttle body they sell with a vaccuum port only works on Kads with no chokes... the reply I received was:

\"We do not sell Kadrons with or without a choke, so I have no way to be able to tell you if it fits or not (I'm not a Kadron expert).

If you find out the TBs are the same, then yes it will fit.

John
Aircooled.Net Inc.\"

Looking at them, I think they are the same and it will fit. Anyone know for sure? Spend 100bucks to have aircooled.net do this, or should I just port this TB myself by pulling the plug and blocking off the manifold vaccuum hole? Seems simple enough.

Thanks again.

 

[Hansk]

just keep in mind , this will not cure your current problem or guarantee an air care pass.
and btw compresion seems a little low, should be maybe 130ish  

[Crank]

Yes I understand this will not cure my problem, but while I am fixing this, I have decided to upgrade that ;]
I'm planning on installing the new distributor and porting the Kads. I'll tune it to the best of my ability, and then take it somewhere to fine tune and put it on the analyzer. I just have to find someone that will fix the problem before writing the bill ;] Any suggestions? I don't mind paying to have the job done right but my last 2 experiences have made me a little less trusting.

Thanks again, I'll have my son give me a hand and redo the compression test tomorrow to make sure I was seeing straight.

[Crank]

Update:

I found numerous other reasons for the timing being so off, including 2 intake leaks that were a little harder to find as they would only show up after the engine RPM would hit and sit at 2500 or so. The 2 set screws on the throttle body to carb were a little loose. Once I tightened these up and reset the valves, I started to see a little promise with my 009.

I got my timing down into acceptable levels, adjusted the air-fuel mixture and idle, but fouled a set of plugs in the process. Still not happy with the 009 flat spot and I was having issues dialing everything in, I ordered and installed a 47 series Mallory Unilite with Vacuum can, a Mallory Coil and some suppressive ignition wires. Also while I was in the neighborhood, I installed a CSP linkage.

All I needed then was a vacuum ported Throttle body. Aircooled.net has a huge backorder on their vacuum ported Kad throttle bodies, so after some doing some searching and research, I decided to make a vacuum advance port myself.

So far so good! Everything is running great, running cooler and soooo much nicer to drive. The difference this has made is unbelievable. This is like having an entirely new car, with WAY more power... It makes me think that I have been running on 3 cylinders all these years!

Best part is... I have learned sooo much about setting up my carbs and linkage.
Thanks for the help.

[Russ]

good to hear man