A few upgrades for my '78

Oh man.. you guys are too much! My eye is giving you the finger.

I set the float levels in the carb today (Holley 770SA).. it was way too low out of the box. I probably should have done that a while ago. Oops. I also followed the instructions and turned both idle mixture screws in, then backed them out 1.5 turns. I got my best vacuum (10") by turning them in to 3/4 turn from bottom. I am thinking this means my primary jets are too big. Is this something to worry about?

I think the mains need to go up 2 sizes.. maybe 4. but I will install my o2 and confirm before I go messing in there.
 
your primary jets shouldn't affect the position of the idle screws. I suspect that you either have a butterfly that isn't closing completely at idle, or you have a fuel leak (perhaps from setting the float level too high)...

but it's hard to see what's going on from here :)
 
According to the instructions that came with the carb, the float levels need to be set so the fuel level in the bowls covers just under half of the sight glass. Thats where i set it.

I will check the butterflies. I thought they were good but I could be wrong. I will check later and report back.
 
um - that should be bottom of the site glass. Even there it can be too high. Do try the wiggle test - open the butterfly up they see if there is any play in the main shaft

but I can see where you'd be misled




I really can't stop the puns... :)
 
The carb is brand spanking new so I hope there is no mainshaft play already.

Here's the excerpt from the instructions:

Observe the sight glass for the fuel level. If none is seen, the level is too low. If it is higher than the middle of the sight window, it is too high. NOTE: A properly set float level will have the fuel level located at the middle or slightly below the middle of the sight window, as shown by the line in Figure 14.

And a link to the full document:
http://holley.com/data/Products/Technical/199R10487-1rev4.pdf

It doesn't have removable plugs, it literally has glass windows to see the fuel level.
 
So get this. I can't keep my damned distributor from turning. I set the timing and tighten the clamp.. and it doesn't seem to keep the damn thing from moving. WTF?!

Also - The engine builder left the vacuum advance off of the distributor. Do you think I should hook it up?


Oh. You know when you realize that you're really dumb? Yea. I just had one of those moments. So my dumb ass has not wired up the choke because I'm in Texas.. and it's effing hot all the time.. so I don't need a choke, right? Well.. umm. The choke is not opening.. which is why the idle mixture screws probably don't do dick. Yes. I am dumb.

I guess on a positive note making a dumb ass mistake is a good way to learn something.
 
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I live in Seattle and the first thing I remove is the choke.... if my foot can't stab the pedal; then it's time to stop driving :beer:

I'm used to the Holley instruction where "if you remove the plug and fuel comes out, the float is too high".... as for sight glasses, I'm used to the ones that you screw in (and apparently can pop off)

Make sure the clamp is actually on the base of the distributor. I've done this as recently as my Corvette where I tighten it down, and it still wants to move because one of the 'feet' isn't actually on the distributor base.

You can hook it up (vacuum advance), if it pings, remove it.... I like vacuum advance, but it requires a lot of adjustment to get it right (when it comes in, how fast, how much advance). Vacuum advance helps in stop and go traffic... race track, not so much, but IRL - it's a useful feature.
 
It is easy enough to hook up so i will likely connect it.

I made sure the clamp was on the distributor shaft. It just seemed like I couldn't get it tight enough. I think it was bending.

But i am off to colorado until next week so no more tinkering for a few days.
 
On that loose dizzy, if the heads are cut enough, that will lower the intake a bit, and make the dizzy gear ride too low on the oil pump, and you have to take some of those washers out from between the dizzy gear and body....

you should have a tiny bit of vertical slop on the rotating shaft when it's clamped down, not anything stupid, but a little bit

:D:crutches:
 
pancake said:
I think the dizzy clamp might be bent or something. It looks like one of those five dollar crappy ones.
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sounds like a reasonable possibility..... I've also had issue with the ones that had bent tabs on the end vs. simply raw ends that would dig into the base
 
After working out of town for the past 2 weeks, I finally made it back to the vette and did a little work. The choke is wired up... and the dizzy stays tight.. and the vacuum advance is hooked up. It runs so much better.

Go figure, though.. the fucking outer door handle on the drivers side shit the bed so now I have to open the door through the open window. I swear 5 things break for every 4 I fix.
 
oh good grief.... that one is a bastard to fix too... pancake, have you ever considered getting a holy life to balance out (aka excise) your Corvette? thinking a mid-level monk, or bishop should be enough to balance :nuts:
 
I have not considered having anyone exorcise the vette yet. I think I might have to break out the whips and chains for this thing, first. Or threaten to send it to a youth football camp at Penn State.

The problem is the pin that holds the spring on the handle where the little actuator rod attaches is worn out. That lets the little steel tab catch on the side of the pot metal and prevents it from moving through the entire range of motion. I pulled it out, used a punch and hammer to splay the pin and tighten it up, and trimmed the steel with a file... and it still catches. It is just worn out.
 
pancake said:
I have not considered having anyone exorcise the vette yet. I think I might have to break out the whips and chains for this thing, first. Or threaten to send it to a youth football camp at Penn State.

The problem is the pin that holds the spring on the handle where the little actuator rod attaches is worn out. That lets the little steel tab catch on the side of the pot metal and prevents it from moving through the entire range of motion. I pulled it out, used a punch and hammer to splay the pin and tighten it up, and trimmed the steel with a file... and it still catches. It is just worn out.
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I'm not sure how Catholic camp and Penn state youth football camp would be any different... still, the demon in your 'vette may enjoy either of your punishments :eek:h:

ebay? or the for sale section on CF? for a cheap replacement
 
They are very close to being the same. That's why it would be a valid threat.

Willcox has new ones with a gasket for $30 bucks. I'll just order one of those.

I put on about 150 miles today. I cannot wait till it is broken in.. damn does it want to go.
 
pancake said:
They are very close to being the same. That's why it would be a valid threat.

Willcox has new ones with a gasket for $30 bucks. I'll just order one of those.

I put on about 150 miles today. I cannot wait till it is broken in.. damn does it want to go.
Click to expand...

this should make you feel better... today, I was glad I'd just bought new mud terrain tires for my H3 - it was raining so hard that the streets were simply black streams.
 
It is cold out down here.. in the 60's. Which I realize is not that cold in other parts of the world.. but when you acclimate to 110 in the summer it is!

We had some pretty serious rain yesterday that I ran through for three hours on my way back from Louisiana.

I am damn glad I got to drive it finally, though. That makes all the problems worth it.. and makes me think that there are a few more issues to work out.
 
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