Help needed with 318 (timing, ruff starts)
If the OE distributor is really OE, then start with about 6* BTDC at about 700 rpm's idle and no vacuum advance.
Understanding this will help you understand why its very difficult to set timing "by ear".
Look at the posts and graph here
Large RPM and Vacuum drop when shifting from park to gear
was rebuilt professionally locally so i know and or think thats good lol
Yup. Paying someone doesn't always mean it was done, done well, or done correctly.
Rough starts could be just a simple choke setting.
choke is electronic it is set and does work
Will has already responded but I'll add this. It's not electronic. It's an electric assisted mechanical device. As the bi-metal coil gets heated, it acts like a spring on the choke linkage.
There are several settings:
a. Initial (this is the position when the engine is cold and turning at less than a couple hundred rpm)
b. Qualified (this is the position the choke plate moves to when the engine fires. Manifold vacuum is used to open the choke to the 'qualified position')
c. relation to fast idle (there's usually some method of adjusting this)
Those are the most important ones.
i know im getting 6.5 psi of gas at the carb
A carb doesn't work on pressure in the fuel line. In fact 6.5 psi very well may be too much pressure and can cause the bowl to overflow.
The fuel pump is just to supply fuel into the bowl. The bowl is open to atmosphere. The pressure in the bowl is essentially atmospheric pressure.
The vacuum under the throttle plate sucks the fuel from the bowl.
One analogy for the fuel bowl is a toilet tank. LOL If that helps you picture how it works, then its a useful one.
More here:
Won’t start
just frustrating with all the new parts ive thrown at it. but yes i will get a vacuum gauge. what are the settings for that on the carb?
OK. So stop that and don't buy the vacuum gage unless you really want to.
A vacuum gage is a useful tool, but not essential and I hate to see you throwing more money at a problem. Now if you like to have tools, its not a bad one to have and you probably will find occassions to use it.
There is no setting that uses a vacuum gage. In a situation like this it can be used to see if a small change in fuel mixture screws improves the engine's pull (higher vacuum). it can also indicate some problems. For example a broken valve spring will show up a jump in the gage every time that cylinder fires. You may need some vacuum tees and adapters to hook it up to a port or an existing hose line.
What you definately need with the timing light is a tachometer. As you can see in the
graph I posted in the linked thread, a difference in 50 or 100 rpm can cause a big change in timing. Some digital timing lights have one built in, traditional ones do not.
If you don't get the vacuum gage, use the tach to confirm to confirm when fine adjustments create more power.
With an automatic transmission, the test for power and torque at idle is when you put the car in gear.
