440 Help Needed

PRH said
Has the vacuum at idle been checked yet?

A two corner idle carb might be a bit finicky with a [email protected] cam....... with exhaust manifolds.

Yes Idle vacuum is roughly 10-15inHg. It is not really steady as the vacuum sways between those values.

OldmanRick said
No way in the world a 3.75 stroke with that compression should need 25 degrees to run properly at idle with a @230 cam. Two carbs, same problem. How does it run going down the road? What do the plugs look like?

Any chance your right side manifold has a stuck closed heat riser?

The car had the heat riser removed and the holes the shaft went through closed off.
It runs okay down the road. It is fairly smooth. It has a 727 going to a 3.55 rear end. It has okay pick up. Pulling away from a dead stop its good, second gear pulls arent what my dad described these cars being. But again he was working off of memories and cars have changed drastically since then.

Originally the plugs were black, appearing to be running rich. Now they did not look like that when I removed them for the compression test. The porcelain had like a red huge to it.

Bewy said
Carfreak,
Another thought about your idling problem. The vac from that cam might be too low to actuate the PCV, which would then act like a large vac leak, needing more fuel [ t\blades open more ] to keep the engine running. Not quite sure what you did with the PCV, but I would plug the carb port for now & try readjusting the idle settings. You may need an adj Wagner PCV or just use a fixed 7/64" orifice.

Never thought of that. But the PCV is just plugged into the front port of the carb.