Holley 1904 questions (with some background)

[luketrash]

I bought my car about a month ago now..

When I got it the previous owner said it had a miss, and that it ran fine before he stored it outdoors all winter.

Anyway, I've been chasing this damn miss the whole month I've had it. I have had the carb off (and apart) a handfull of times already.

Here's what I've done for the vehicle since I got it:
-changed fluids (rear axle, transmission, engine oil)
-new plug wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser
-vacuum tested the engine to determine valve leaks (none seen)
-checked for vacuum leaks all around (seems to be sealed up currently)
-pissed around with timing (it seems to like to run REALLY advanced, as in 20 degrees or more, and no, I'm not off a tooth on the distributor (i'm pretty sure))

Anyway, I tore down the carb which was pretty clean as it was, and soaked it in acetone, sprayed at least 3 cans of carb cleaner through every passageway (which all seem to be free of obstructions)

However, I noticed that one piece is missing from this carb, a little plastic ball that sits in the vacuum advance galley that offers up vacuum to the diaphragm either high or low in the barrel, depending on engine speed.

My car will start and run with the choke on, but it will not idle. It dies immediately without choke. My question is would the car run like ass if this ball is missing ? I didn't lose it, it just wasn't there when I removed the throttlebody...

I currently have the vacuum advance plugged up at the carb, since I've been dinking around with the timing anyway.

ALso, what are some reasons that the car only likes to run with such aggressive advance? (the way my distributor is set up, I have the thing turned as far as it'll go counterclockwise til the vac. adv is sitting against the cylinders..)

If you time it to zero degrees (I verified that my damper is accurate by checking TDC on the piston) the car basically wants to die. The rotor is pointing right at cylinder #1. 3 degrees is 'spec' and the car won't run worth a poop there either.. it runs best super advanced, and doesn't ever start to ping either.. Someone told me that unleaded gas will require you to advance it, but I didn't think THAT much..

Anyway, here's a diagram of the carburator, the part I'm missing is #64 (little nylon ball).

Exploded Holley 1904 Carburator Diagram (http://www.whiteboard.net/~luke/54ford_tech/holley_1904_exploded.jpg)

Any info about this carb, or possible leads on my miss would be appreciated.

Thanks much.

[yorgatron]

i've been thinking about this all fucking day and the best i can come up with is;buy a carb rebuild kit and follow the directions.BTW what do your sparkplugs look like? what brand are they? i won't use Champion any more,the quality is WAY downhill-george

[luketrash]

[ QUOTE ]
i've been thinking about this all fucking day and the best i can come up with is;buy a carb rebuild kit and follow the directions.BTW what do your sparkplugs look like? what brand are they? i won't use Champion any more,the quality is WAY downhill-george

[/ QUOTE ]

None of the rebuild kits come with that nylon ball, and the parts that are in my carb look fine. I could probably use a new 'economizer' diaphragm in there though because the one I have has been in and out so many times that the edges of the rubber are a bit frayed. At idle, that should not matter though...

The plugs are Autolite. They did turn sooty, but that's because the car only runs with the choke on, and I've had it running plenty when messing around with stuff on it.

I will pull them tonight to see if any one or the other stands out as being cleaner (meaning misfiring more often)

The plugs and all ignition components are new.

[yorgatron]

i run autolites too,damn good plug for the price.i wish i was more familiar with those carbs,but i probably haven't touched one in 15 years or so.you could always scrounge up a carter YF i suppose http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif