Idles great, sounds good….but…

[Road Grabber]

Did plug the power booster line? If you have a bad unit it will cause a vacuum leak.

It’s not a good idea to have those ignition wires wrapped around each other.

Check your firing order? Watch the engine run in the dark and see if you have any spark jumping anywhere.

Do the plugs have oil on them? If the intake is leaking underneath it’s likely you won’t see anything cause the fluid runs down. A leaking intake will touch on top runners but not seal underneath if the gasket thickness is not matched properly

Switching out a distributor would rule that out. A cough up the carb is typically a lean condition or intake valve open during ignition.

Are these hydraulic lifters?

If it’s not a carb situation then ignition or still a leak you haven’t traced down.


I have also had a warped intake one time that drove me crazy.

I’d start with cutting and separating the ignition wires properly. If not now it will cause issues in the future.

 

[Road Grabber]

Curious
If you hook up the timing light and watch is the flash consistent?
Have you tried retarding the timing just to see if it has any effect?

I have heard that sometimes the rotor has to be phased.

I always set my distributor by
1. Get your 1 cylinder on the compression stroke
2. Remove the distributor and set the drive gear groove pointing directly front to back. This will set your rotor pointing at the right terminal on the cap although I know people compensate for that I still do it. This is a proven method.
3. Put your distributor back in a make sure you point the rotor pointing upwards around 11 oclock
Your 8 wire should easily run from the cap down along the top of the valve cover to the back of the engine to number 8 plug

If you call about the distributor ask them about phasing the rotor.

How does the engine run after you accelerate? Does it just “pop” and then run okay the rpm rises?

Also confirm that your float bowl setting is correct. Very important. Can you remove a bowl screw and check the level? I’m not familiar with this carb.

You will get it resolved sooner or later. Just keep checking things off the list.

 

[PRHeads]

I’d go thru and readjust the lifter preload.
Might have a tight one.

I’d probably do a leak down test too.