eaglescout526 Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 So for those who may not know I have a ‘60 T-bird with the 352ci and an autolite 4 barrel. I got the engine running but I can’t seem to get it to come down at all. I’ve checked for vac leaks and can’t seem to find any that I know of and I adjusted the fuel to air ratio screws at the base and still nothing. My next step is to start making some adjustments to the carb and what not but I’m wondering if anyone who has more carb experience has any thoughts. what’s bothers me the most is this car ran 20 some odd years ago but then was parked. As far as what I have gotten into it, I haven’t ripped anything out that would’ve made it run nice and smooth. Now I know it can’t be because the engine doesn’t have a load on it as I don’t have any of the pulleys hooked up, could it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 have you pulled the carb off and cleaned it? could easily be something stuck from years of sitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m2bandit Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 22 minutes ago, Pete M said: have you pulled the carb off and cleaned it? could easily be something stuck from years of sitting. That's what I'd do before adjusting anything. A carb sitting with for a few years can get sticky from fuel varnishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 X2 on cleaning it. Also, there should be an idle adjustment screw that you can use to change how fast it idles. Also, is it a manual choke? If so, engaging it would bump up the idle. If it's an automatic choke that isn't working properly, that would hold it at fast idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 Whoops. I left out the part that I did fully disassemble and clean the carb as it was pretty much stuck and not moving at the throttle plates. I’d like to think I rebuilt it right. The only thing that seems to elude me is this high idle. I haven’t done any adjustments other than linkage to get it to set right and more or less for the throttle closed thinking that the linkage is not adjusted and holding it open. So far no true adjustments have been made other than linkage and the fuel to air ratio screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 Disconnect the throttle linkage. If the idle goes down it's the cable/linkage. If not, it's the carburetor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 Just now, derf said: Disconnect the throttle linkage. If the idle goes down it's the cable/linkage. If not, it's the carburetor. What’s bad is I have a feeling it is the carb. I’ll give it a shot and see what happens. I have a feeling I put the throttle discs in the wrong spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 Take a look down the bore with the engine off. The throttle plate should be closed. Idle air should be delivered through a by-pass port that's only there for idle. If there's a gap between the throttle plate and the bore, the idle speed screw isn't allowing the throttle plate to close completely. Or it might be held open by the choke. Does it idle too fast when fully up to temperature, or only when first started cold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 22, 2021 Author Share Posted December 22, 2021 55 minutes ago, Eagle said: Or it might be held open by the choke. Does it idle too fast when fully up to temperature, or only when first started cold? As far as I could see the choke shouldn’t be holding it open. But I can’t get it up to temp yet because I don’t have the cooling system running at the moment. I plan to get that slapped in and back together shortly. Encountered an issue with one of the t-stat/reservoir mounting bolt being messed up in the block. But it is a high fast idle on start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 part of me would wait until the cooling system is in place. it might help diagnose if the idle changes as the engine warms up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 22, 2021 Author Share Posted December 22, 2021 Yeah thats also what I was thinking. Ill proceed to the next step and get it together and try to get at least the front pulleys together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 So I did some searching on just carbs in general after getting all the belts on the pulleys and it still did not slow down the RPM much. But my dad helped me with this beast and there was a brief moment where the engine did calm down and then ramped the RPMs right back up. After doing my research I found a hot rodder forum that had a guy trying to figure out a high idle issue and another person said that the needle and seat could not be being pushed down to stop the fuel flow and overfilling the bowl and causing the engine to just run away in similar situation like mine. Since I did rebuild the carb myself, it seems very likely this is my issue as I saw the top gasket between the carb itself and the top plate was moist with fuel. Sound like a good theory or crazy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 certainly sounds worthwhile enough to investigate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ωhm Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 That fuel bowl is vented to atmosphere. You'll know it when the needle valve sticks OPEN. Wet gasket could mean float is set too high. I think it your choke and all the choke linkage between the bi-metal spring and the choke plate. That choke cam needs to be free swinging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 When you cleaned the carb did you replace any parts inside? If not, I suggest ordering a rebuild kit from Mikes Carburetor Parts. Rebuild kits are about $50 for a 4 barrel. I used one of his kits to rebuild the carb on my '66 K20 (a 1 barrel) after it had been sitting for more than 10 years. The kit included all gaskets, springs, needle, seat, other wear parts like check valves and even detailed instructions on setting the float height. https://www.carburetor-parts.com/ford-appl.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 As far as the choke goes, I’m not entirely sure if it operates correctly. I haven’t gotten the engine to be warm enough. I wanted to test things one at a time. First was giving the engine load with the pulleys. No dice. Next is to throw the radiator back in and give it some water(hoping it all stays in the block and not out some gasket). And while I’m at such I’ll be looking into the needle and seat. Now I did rebuild the carb with a genuine Ford rebuild kit that the PO purchased sometime in the 90’s from a Ford dealer(that must’ve been a tricky find) and everything inside the kit was in brand new shape. Nothing rotten or dry. Wasn’t exposed to the sun, heat or the elements so I’m confident the parts with the kit are correct and right to the specs but if adjusting the seats doesn’t help then I’ll be looking into a new rebuild kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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