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Willie's '67 122 Project

Rear panel

So I got this rear panel from a nice guy on the east coast. I plan on getting the car pulled and this welded on. Is there anything I need to know before I take it in to a shop?

The entire rear of the car is being replaced - I have an undamaged trunk lid, a solid condition rear bumber, and this panel.

 
Legacy Plates

My CA legacy plates finally came in. I originally wanted "THE 122", which is also a 1960s plate lettering pattern, but 3 letters followed by 3 numbers wasn't allowed. Looks like a proper 60s car now.





 
Persistent high idle

First time posting in a couple of years. I?ve been enjoying this car as a mostly daily driver these last few years. Got some major body work done, etc.

These past few months, Ive been struggling with an untamable high idle. The newer SU?s are rebuilt. Some details about the car:

-engine was rebuilt several years back by a reputable source. Under load at high speeds, she ran excellently.

-carbs are rebuilt. If I put on the old, tired ones, I still get the same result. I?ve replaced every hose I can, PCV valve, I even sprayed carb cleaner all over the place and can never find an air like.

-if I disconnect the hose from the PCV valve to the nipple at manifold, and plug nipple,there is no change.

-idle screws turned all the way out, still no change.

-Pertronix electronic ignition less than a year old, was working fine as far as I know.

-new Beru Blue coil, 12v 3 Ohm(I plan on getting the Bosch later)

-iPD plug leads all just a few ,on this old

-cap and rotor look good, they?re newer.

-brand new spark plugs gapped at .028

-valves all at .020

-idle timing is at 10 degrees, I did the static timing thing. Drive pinion is all correct.

-distributor with centrifugal advance seems to be working fine. Springs are intact and functional.

-battery, alternator etc all good.

-carb pistons move the same, give a nice clunk when let drop.

-throttles open and close all the way. Dashpot fluid etc good. Linkage seems to be okay.

-if I pop open the float bowls after running it, they at the level they should be at.

-choke is completely disconnected and disengaged.

-I recently redid the head gasket. Lifters were all healthy as far as I know. All valves opened and closed as they should. Cleaned and replaced gasket with correct torques, etc, valve adjustment after.

When trying to tune the carbs, the rear carb seems to pull in way more air than the front carb for what ever reason. If I pull the plugs, that side of the engine shows me it?s running super lean. Those plugs are whiter and dry, front 2 a nice brown.

And so, I?m finally returning to the forums for some help. I?m at a complete loss, here.

Anyone here might have any idea as to what Im missing here? I?ve noticed the idle drops a bit when under load, but only because it?s under load.

I can drive it but it lacks any gusto.

Thanks, everyone.
 
Id say that your persistent high idle is most likely an air leak. If the rear carb is "sucking" more, I'd look at the front carb. Are you using the aluminum intake? those have a freeze plug in the end of the balance tube and I've seen some that had leaks there. Also, it could be in a place that you cant get carb cleaner or ether isnt getting sprayed onto. I would pull the intake manifold, take a knife sharpening stone, and rub that around all mating surfaces to remove any burrs. Then clean, reassemble, and torque to spec.
 
Also - the SU carb throttle shafts can wear into the soft alu carb body, the throttle valve ends up a little off center, and that can cause one edge to hang up on the bore and hang open a little. Or the throttle valves themselves might not be centered properly and leaving one side open while the other touches. Also check that the choke mechanism isn't hanging open a bit.
 
Low compression wouldn't cause a high idle, but as others have said: an air leak definitely will. Is the linkage returning fully, right away or is it a little sluggish ?
 
Id say that your persistent high idle is most likely an air leak. If the rear carb is "sucking" more, I'd look at the front carb. Are you using the aluminum intake? those have a freeze plug in the end of the balance tube and I've seen some that had leaks there. Also, it could be in a place that you cant get carb cleaner or ether isnt getting sprayed onto. I would pull the intake manifold, take a knife sharpening stone, and rub that around all mating surfaces to remove any burrs. Then clean, reassemble, and torque to spec.


Glad to hear from you Dodson. My manifold is the one where the intake and exhaust are all connected. No extra flaps etc. I actually just changed the gasket recently and installed all new studs. The surface looked good to me.
 
Also - the SU carb throttle shafts can wear into the soft alu carb body, the throttle valve ends up a little off center, and that can cause one edge to hang up on the bore and hang open a little. Or the throttle valves themselves might not be centered properly and leaving one side open while the other touches. Also check that the choke mechanism isn't hanging open a bit.

Thank you for the reply. The carbs on it are new, and if I put the old set on it?s the same result. With the pistons out I can check how the throttles are acting and they look good to me. Both open and close fully the same way.
 
Glad to hear from you Dodson. My manifold is the one where the intake and exhaust are all connected. No extra flaps etc. I actually just changed the gasket recently and installed all new studs. The surface looked good to me.

Surfaces and finish generally aren?t the problem. Sometimes you can?t see it, but after machining, if someone dented the side it will raise a spot on the mating surface. Running an oil stone over it and you?ll feel the hang up and rub it a bit more and it will polish the raised up bit.

All the things you?ve looked at point me to an air leak. Do your throttle butterfly?s have the poppet valves? Or are they a solid disc?
 
Surfaces and finish generally aren?t the problem. Sometimes you can?t see it, but after machining, if someone dented the side it will raise a spot on the mating surface. Running an oil stone over it and you?ll feel the hang up and rub it a bit more and it will polish the raised up bit.

All the things you?ve looked at point me to an air leak. Do your throttle butterfly?s have the poppet valves? Or are they a solid disc?

They?re a solid disc. No TOV valve or anything like that.

I did a compression check today just for giggles, and at first got almost exactly 125psi across al cylinders. Redid the valves and psi rose a bit on all, between 135-145.

I noticed the last cylinder spark plug was clean as a whistle. No burn, no black, just silver. All other spark plugs were a normal brownish.
 
They?re a solid disc. No TOV valve or anything like that.

I did a compression check today just for giggles, and at first got almost exactly 125psi across al cylinders. Redid the valves and psi rose a bit on all, between 135-145.

I noticed the last cylinder spark plug was clean as a whistle. No burn, no black, just silver. All other spark plugs were a normal brownish.

That seems low
 
That seems low


That?s what I was thinking. It?s supposed to be at least 175-180, correct? I know burnt valves can cause you to lose up to 25% compression. 25% of 180 is 45. 180 - 45 = 135, just about where the compression of my cylinders are. I know that?s probably a far reach, but it?s an idea. Could I have some valve issues?
 
That?s what I was thinking. It?s supposed to be at least 175-180, correct? I know burnt valves can cause you to lose up to 25% compression. 25% of 180 is 45. 180 - 45 = 135, just about where the compression of my cylinders are. I know that?s probably a far reach, but it?s an idea. Could I have some valve issues?

Speaking of which....I just did the ?dollar bill? test, where you hold a piece of paper at the exhaust. It would occasionally get sucked back into the exhaust really quickly. More indication of valve issues?
 
Two bent valves!

I ended up just pulling the head and brought it over to the guy that rebuilt it the engine for me, at Engine Components & Machine (ECM) in Santa Ana. He knows these engines and did a good job with the rebuild. He took the head apart and told me I had one bent intake valve and one bent exhaust valve. Should be finished with it any day now.

I was so relieved when I heard this. Finally found something real, that can be fixed. No running around in circles trying to find something to fix or hunches.

I plan on completely cleaning the engine bay while the head is off. I’ll report back once the head is back on and everything is buttoned up and I run it.

The pistons looked good and move good in the block. I understand bent valves can be the result of them hitting the piston. Could this have happened due to maladjusted timing?
 
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