Isaiah Estrada
Well-Known Member
A few weeks back, I had been questioning the way my fresh 440 was running. This is my first engine build, so I don't know much - but I could still tell it was running pretty rough. Any adjustments I tried making just made it really upset and so I decided to just let it run for the sake of the cam… Still, I knew there were problems that needed to be addressed!!
For one, it was running RICH. I mean, it burned my eyes real bad to even be near that engine. Super hard to breathe (not good I know…) Also, my timing seemed to be REALLY off. It wouldn't stay and idle at a low RPM either. It's been a little busy for me lately, so I haven't been able to go back to the car until this week! I could finally address any issues that I've been having.
To begin my troubleshooting, I started back at square one. I removed ALL the plug wires and labeled them accordingly. Popped the distributor cap off - and then set the engine to TDC on compression of cyl number 1. Next, I rotated the engine backwards until the little mark on the damper matched with the 10° BTDC mark on the timing tab. I confirmed the rotor was pointing at my number 1 mark that I made on the distributor body (which I made with the cap on so I could be fairly accurate.)
Snapped the cap back on, re-wired, and made EXTRA sure my firing order was the correct 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. Before I even tried to fire the engine up, I wanted to be sure my number 1 spark plug would fire immediately… So I tried a new trick I learned from Thunderhead289 on YouTube. With one end of the #1 spark plug wire plugged into it’s spot on the cap (as it should be,) I had the other end hooked up to a spark plug - but not screwed into the head. Rather, I had the spark plug positioned near a ground connection that would allow the spark to arc across. With the ignition hot, I rotated the distributor body very slightly until I could see and hear the plug arcing. This way, I could physically SEE and know exactly where and when the spark plug would fire. Once I found that point, I tightened the distributor down just enough to where I could still make adjustments when I had the engine running.
With everything set up fairly close to where it should be, I added fuel and BOOM!! She lit off immediately. However, I noticed it was still running at a high RPM (1,200 +/-) Come to find out; not wiring up the electric choke and having the fast idle cam engaged doesn’t help… OOPS. Newbie mistake, yes I’m still learning.
Lit her off again and bam, she’s PURRING at 800 rpm. Now, when I checked my timing at 800 rpm I was reading 25° BTDC. After I saw this, I tried to back off the timing a little by spinning the dizzy counterclockwise and then the engine became real unhappy…
Thinking I may need to get a piston stop to see if my damper has spun at all and whether or not I’m possibly 10° off? Based on how it sounded and was running - I’d say my timing was close. I’m wondering if instead of 25 I was really at 15°? I am using a dial back timing light. I moved the dial until the line on the damper was lining up with 0 (which is when the dial landed on 25.)
Some people are saying I have "wayyyy" too much advance, also why my starter is acting funny. HOWEVER, this starter cranks just fine. When it gets hot, it starts to act all funny on me. So again, I'm a bit lost and don't know how to tell if I have way too much advance if my engine sounded happy like it was?? Open to any and all advice / opinions / criticisms!
BIG QUESTION. This IS a stock spec motor, no mild cam, fancy head work - nada. Dizzy was rebuilt by Ray at Halifax Shop up in PA. Would anyone have any other recommendation for initial timing besides 10 BTDC?
For one, it was running RICH. I mean, it burned my eyes real bad to even be near that engine. Super hard to breathe (not good I know…) Also, my timing seemed to be REALLY off. It wouldn't stay and idle at a low RPM either. It's been a little busy for me lately, so I haven't been able to go back to the car until this week! I could finally address any issues that I've been having.
To begin my troubleshooting, I started back at square one. I removed ALL the plug wires and labeled them accordingly. Popped the distributor cap off - and then set the engine to TDC on compression of cyl number 1. Next, I rotated the engine backwards until the little mark on the damper matched with the 10° BTDC mark on the timing tab. I confirmed the rotor was pointing at my number 1 mark that I made on the distributor body (which I made with the cap on so I could be fairly accurate.)
Snapped the cap back on, re-wired, and made EXTRA sure my firing order was the correct 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. Before I even tried to fire the engine up, I wanted to be sure my number 1 spark plug would fire immediately… So I tried a new trick I learned from Thunderhead289 on YouTube. With one end of the #1 spark plug wire plugged into it’s spot on the cap (as it should be,) I had the other end hooked up to a spark plug - but not screwed into the head. Rather, I had the spark plug positioned near a ground connection that would allow the spark to arc across. With the ignition hot, I rotated the distributor body very slightly until I could see and hear the plug arcing. This way, I could physically SEE and know exactly where and when the spark plug would fire. Once I found that point, I tightened the distributor down just enough to where I could still make adjustments when I had the engine running.
With everything set up fairly close to where it should be, I added fuel and BOOM!! She lit off immediately. However, I noticed it was still running at a high RPM (1,200 +/-) Come to find out; not wiring up the electric choke and having the fast idle cam engaged doesn’t help… OOPS. Newbie mistake, yes I’m still learning.
Lit her off again and bam, she’s PURRING at 800 rpm. Now, when I checked my timing at 800 rpm I was reading 25° BTDC. After I saw this, I tried to back off the timing a little by spinning the dizzy counterclockwise and then the engine became real unhappy…
Thinking I may need to get a piston stop to see if my damper has spun at all and whether or not I’m possibly 10° off? Based on how it sounded and was running - I’d say my timing was close. I’m wondering if instead of 25 I was really at 15°? I am using a dial back timing light. I moved the dial until the line on the damper was lining up with 0 (which is when the dial landed on 25.)
Some people are saying I have "wayyyy" too much advance, also why my starter is acting funny. HOWEVER, this starter cranks just fine. When it gets hot, it starts to act all funny on me. So again, I'm a bit lost and don't know how to tell if I have way too much advance if my engine sounded happy like it was?? Open to any and all advice / opinions / criticisms!
BIG QUESTION. This IS a stock spec motor, no mild cam, fancy head work - nada. Dizzy was rebuilt by Ray at Halifax Shop up in PA. Would anyone have any other recommendation for initial timing besides 10 BTDC?