"Baselining" my 225

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The 170 and 225 carbs are functionally interchangeable. A 170 carb is not jetted leaner than a 225 carb. Until '67, most of the 170 carbs had a 1-9/16" throttle bore and most of the 225 carbs had a 1-11/16" throttle bore; this is of no practical significance for the kind of driving one is likely to do in a stock old Valiant.

I would not spend $100 for a pig-in-a-poke carburetor, even if the air cleaner I wanted were included (and that air cleaner on the offered intake is not a '62 item)
 
I'm working on grabbing one of the carbs you linked.
I'm also glad you showed me that electric choke setup. Someone has brazed over the intake where the stock choke mounts, so I'll definitely be needing something to replace that.

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to walk an FNG through this stuff.
 
Been a minute since I updated, but I've done a few things that have really made a difference so far.

First, I did a basic ignition tune up by installing a new cap and rotor, new plugs and wires. Turns out the plugs in it were wrong and, as you may remember, the 8mm wires didn't even have boots on them.
I could tell an immediate difference in how fast it started and settled into an idle.

Before:
spark plug.jpg
old plugs.jpg
old plugs1.jpg

plugs.jpg
 
Then I started on swapping in the Carter BBS carb that @slantsixdan was kind enough to educate me on (and provide a link to). This one kicked my butt for a minute, because the P.O. had the throttle linkage WAY out of adjustment to make the 1982 carb fit. It took me a while to figure this out, being new to the cars.
I'm still running a manual choke at the moment, but the Carter is way, way better and the pedal feel is MILES better than before.
I also installed the missing PCV valve and got the correct air cleaner (though it does have the Dodge decal and I have a Plymouth, but we won't tell anyone...shhh!
I still need to adjust the kickdown linkage at the transmission end, but I have to take it to a shop for that, as I can access it in my garage.

Screenshot (8).png
carter and cleaner.jpg
 
Lastly, I swapped out the distributor for one restored and recurved by @halifaxhops . I also took the opportunity to add the Pertronix.
The car is running so, so much better now. The timing may need to be bumped up just a bit. I was shooting for 19* BTDC at idle and ended at 8*. It's hard for me to tighten down the clamp without the timing moving (operator error....no an equipment issue).
The car runs really well now, so maybe I'll go through a couple of tanks of gas and then pull a plug. Do you think it might like 10 or 12 degrees better?

rebuilt dist.JPG

rebuilt dist spinning.JPG
 
Oh, and I plan to go back and neaten up things in the engine bay when I'm done. Shorten vacuum hose to appropriate length, neaten up wiring, etc.
 
Even with a bunch of idling and "flooring it" to test the kick down, the ignition tune up and carb swap has gained me 2MPG.
I bumped the timing up from 8* BTDC to 12* BTDC (it goes to about 24 total when revved). It seems a little perkier and goes down the road great, but at the cost of needing an extra revolution or so on hot starts. I'll run it like this for a tank or two and maybe try 10*.
It's definitely smooth and happy going down the road at the current settings. Runs cool, no pinging under load, etc.
 
Factory timing settings are conservative because the manufacturer does not know the end use. So increasing timing slightly can yield benefits, as you have found.
 
I finally got a chance to check the gas mileage on a tank of "normal" driving after getting rid of the crappy, 1982 EPA carb and putting in the recurved distributor.
Mostly around town and back and forth to work driving netted me, get this.... 21.29 MPG! That's nearly 10 MPG better than before!
(For those that don't know, I installed the correct Carter carb, a recurved distributor with Pertronix, new plugs and wires, correct air cleaner ... though it is a Dodge ...and set the timing to 12* BTDC)
carter and cleaner.jpg
 
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