I've been trying out things suggested by the list and it's time for a
progress report.
I've got the eratic high idle down to something like a low of 1500 and a
high of 2500. Yes, that's an improvement over a constant 3000 rpm. :)
I don't really think it has much to do with the throttle plates I soldered
up. The amount of gap in the (looser than I like) fit would not account
for 3000 rpm. So I'm trying to act on the list's ideas about vaccum leaks
and timing.
It's a little hard to test for vaccum leaks with an eratic idle. You never
know when it was just going to spike up anyway and when it is reacting to
the sprayed carb cleaner, but repeat tests make me think that there is a
leak at the exhaust manifold right where it meets the engine at the very
front of the car.
Would a leak here actually make sense? Intake manifold yes, but exhaust?
On the other hand it seems sort of consistent with a few other things I'm
noticing:
1) the occasional backfire is only out of the =front= carburetor
2) the front carb seems to be feeding significantly more gas out the jet
than the rear
3) the front piston is rising much more than the rear carb's piston and
tends to fluctuate up and down whereas the rear carburetor is steady
I don't seem to have leaks at the throttle shafts or anywhere else around
the caruretors.
About timing - I thought maybe a spark plug had cracked or something
accounting for the suddenness of this problem, but I changed the plugs and
saw no change in the car at all.
Could it be points? If you burn up the points or they get damaged, what
symptoms do you get? Burnt completely would stop things all together
wouldn't it?
One last question for this post - could my problems be the result of a
malfuntioning jet on the front carb or something else carb related like the
needle going bad?
I've really appreciated the tips I've been getting and I know I'm going to
lick this eventually!
Philip
1974 Damask Red Midget - Arioch, Lord of Chaos
1960 BRG Bugeye Sprite - First up for restoration
1973 Damask Red Midget - Project car for sale
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