440 Help Needed

I am aware of getting the distributor timing done before messing with the carb. The issue is that the car will not idle with less than 25 deg BTDC and either because of that or due to the carb, the transfer slots are opened up well past the .040" you mention. I have tried the idle air by pass by adding more air in through the PCV port on the carb and no changed happened.



I am aware this is not that radical of a cam, which is why I am stumped. Could this idling issue and the high compression be two separate issues? Could this timing issue being something along the lines of "rotor phasing"?

I did find a picture of the pistons we used in this car:

View attachment 1715971195

I am not to sure if this helps or adds in confusion, but I appreciate any and all help.


If you drilled holes in the throttle blades and it didn’t get the blades closed then drill the holes bigger. You have to get the throttle blades closed. Then you have to clean up the idle circuit. I need to read all the thread again, but I wouldn’t touch anything until the throttle is shut and you have cleaned up the idle circuit