Red hot headers

[dartman59]

We just bought a Dodge with a 440, set up for street/strip. No one knew the history-the old man died, car sat for five years, yada yada. But man, what a steal! Has a single-plane manifold and a giant four barrel (and no choke). With a little ether we got it fired up, but it required running it at about 1,200-1,500 rpm or it would die. After five-ten minutes, we noticed the header tubes were glowing cherry red ( it was starting to get dark ). We shut 'er down. Figuring the jets are somewhat clogged and the sucker's running super lean.

Any thoughts??

 

[magnumdart]

Check the timing and make sure the exhaust is flowing freely.

 

[805moparkid]

check that the primary blades are not in the transfer slots, if they are then you need to open the secondaries a bit, then retune the idle mix screws.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

My guess is your running very lean. Also check timing.

 

[67Dart273]

Very lean and or retarded timing, and or a cooling issue.

 

[bOb shingler]

it a retarded timing issue, advance it.

 

[dartman59]

Thanks for the responses, guys. Since the car has been sitting for many years, it makes sense to me that the carb might be clogged and thus running lean. Makes more sense to me than the timing being off, but we will be checking this of course. The headers go to dump tubes, so I don't think there's any restrictions in the exhaust! We'll tear down the carb and give it a good cleaning. Seeing the red headers gave me quite a start, and I said, "I know where to ask a bunch of people that know way more about it than me!" Thanks, FABO. (Secret: it's a '71 Charger, so technically it ain't no A-body! But now it's in the driveway right next to my '71 Dart, so I hope that cuts me some slack.)

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

As long as it's a Mopar, it's all good! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[IQ52]

it a retarded timing issue, advance it.

I'm with bOb. 99% of the time glowing red headers are because the timing is retarded, the fuel doesn't burn all the way in the combustion chamber and finishes burning in the exhaust. The timing would need to be a minimum of 20 degrees at idle, maybe more especially if the cam won't idle below 1,200-1,500 rpm. It's also why people continually burn up their new headers when breaking in a new engine. Not enough timing.

Then, what the heck do bOb and I know.