I have a 49 ford flattie miss at the top end starts right up idles killer any thing over half throttle it misses and some pops All stock ,new points and cond new fuel pump tank and lines I took off the carb top off and fuel in the bowl is fine and no plugged jets What gives ??
I'm going to guess it is a dizzy problem. Advance or point settings. It maybe a condenser problem, but I still think it's a dizzy problem. Send that puppy off to bubba and get it tuned.
"Send that puppy off to bubba and get it tuned." Beg to disagree. If it is a stock unit, throw that puppy in the corner and get Bubba to send you a Chevy unit that fits. Make sure he includes his hot sauce.
I just had a very similar problem. The car ran great for a month or so, then would fall on it's face right off idle. Didn't have the power to pull through first gear. It seemed like a fuel issue, but it was a bad condenser.
On advance...stock system is feeble if perfect, quite likely to be producing zero full throttle advance if there are any problems. You CANNOT check that by revving it in the driveway, as venturi draw will be totally unlike actual road use. Onliest way to check this evil piece of Holley invented crap against actual car draw is to measure actual vac with a sensitive gauge T-fitted into the distributor line and read the pull at the actual trouble point on the road. This has NOTHING to do with manifold vac, and even less to do with it at full throttle! Then, using SAME gauge, disconnect the line from carb (pluggit at carb end, too), hook up a hand pump to the line, pull same reading, see what it holds with timing light. The answer will be ZERO, most likely. With that going on, you can't diagnose anything.
To adjust a Loadamatic to perfection: Get a depth gauge, set it at 1/4" Place distributor on an anvil Adjust with 2 pound ball pein until depth gauge will pass over all parts ANYTHING else will be an improvement in car performance. Be aware that recent small cap type Mallories will need rebuilding and recurving, but can be made to work well. The Chevy conversion is an excellent route.
Pull distributor cap and inspect for what looks like pencil lines drawn inside the cap. This would indicate cracks or arcing. This would only occur at higher speeds when the load (and therefore the resistance in the spark plug gap) inside the cylinder increases.
Bruce, Do you no longer recommend the US Navy flotation test? And I can't recall if you said it was best to do in salt water or fresh...
I like salt...faster corrosion helps protect future generations who might recover the thing. Right now, it's too chilly to get down to Wildwood, and all the good oyster places are closed.
To adjust a Loadamatic to perfection: Get a depth gauge, set it at 1/4" Place distributor on an anvil Adjust with 2 pound ball pein until depth gauge will pass over all parts ANYTHING else will be an improvement in car performance. Be aware that recent small cap type Mallories will need rebuilding and recurving, but can be made to work well. The Chevy conversion is an excellent route. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________ Ok Bruce I just fell offn my computer chair..............................
I'll play devil's advocate here. I have a completely stock 80k '51 Ford that starts, runs, and drives excellantly. Ford didn't sell all those cars with a distributor set up that that wasn't up to every day use. Granted, everything in these set-ups should be up to snuff for them to perform adequately, but that's true with just about all systems on all cars. Years of wear, leaks, and bad maintenance always take their toll. The only problem I ever had with this car was that the idle got irregular, which was solved by installing an oversize throttle shaft.
I had a similar problem at Bonneville . Didn't find the problem til I got back home! Cracked dist. cap.
This is an absolute Bruce Lancaster classic. Having had some experience with the evil Load-a-Matic I wholeheartedly concur.
A stocker performing to spec will still be losing performance at full throttle...the specified curve and total were on the weak side. Performing to spec is fairly complicated to measur on the car, too. Measuring it as performing to spec on a distributor machine is an exercise in futility because that is working on defined amounts of depression at the diaphragm, and the actual engine is probably pulling LESS than those vac numbers at full throttle. At part throttle, a Loadamatic with good diaphragm and springs can work fine. It was noted in rod publications as early as 1950 that putting in a Mallory (obviously, this id the good early model!) would produce noticeable gains in a stocker...some article actually state that '49 type Fords would often produce better zero-60 times at 3/4 throttle (where this distributor actually works) than at full throttle...where ACTUAL curve is usually somewhere between sick and deceased. It would, assuming perfect diaphragm, probably work OK on a BIG single carb flathead able to pull more venturi signal...but that would be an engine losing performance to the under-carbing.
Ive gotta agree with Bruce on this with what Ive seen on my '52. I had the stocker "performing" adequately for a few years, and started researching future upgrades. I went with one of Bubba's chevy conversions as something I could use now, and would work with future multiple carbs, cam, etc., as well as not have to do a 12v conversion on the car. I am amazed at the difference it made, the engine pulls much stronger now that it's lighting the fires on time instead of maybe sort of close. A side benefit is now when the engine is warmed up, if I stop for gas or whatnot, it starts virtually instantly when I go to restart, sometimes I wonder if the starter even engaged and its running. It's not that it was hard starting before, but it is better now.
I have got the Vac gauge for the dist and a carb kit just no time to do anything Probably I need a prespective break then get to it again Thanks guys I'll keep it posted
Bruce that explains a lot on my 53 8ba. I have had the carb rebuilt, replaced vacuum diaphragm, replaced fuel pump, petronix conversion with wires and coil by them and always had a higher speed miss. Debated the bubba chevy conversion but want to keep my truck 6v and that's been the limiting factor.
Throw in a Chevy with points. With decent quality points, it might be a good idea to reset them every 10,000 miles, and if they pass a visual check for pitting, remember that on a Chevy distributor you can accurately regap the points through the little window with NO tools other than the screwdriver or allen wrench that fits them...you can, in other words, reset your points in your Sunday clothes without getting your fingers dirty...will that kill you??
I had a hot 286 a few years back. I gave it a new set of Champion plugs gapped right and set off for a rod run. It ran like a million bucks on the 30 mile trip. I got there, and tied it down to the chassis dyno. When it passed 3000 at full throttle it missed so bad I stopped the pull. A change to NGK plugs solved all the problems. If your plugs say Champion, they belong in the trash can. Same for my Y block.
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