My idle seems... backwards?

[Tristan]

I just put a Tach in my car just so I know more of what is going on with it and noticed something odd. When the engine is cold it idles around 550, when it reaches operating temperature, it idles around 950. Does anyone know what could cause that? Speak dummy to me, i'm not much of a carb guy... yet.

[Groover]

Do you have a vacuum gauge?

Maybe as it warms up, it creates more vacuum and advances the timing (advancing the RPM).

Take the vacuum hose of the distributor (it goes to the carburetor) and plug the line it with a golf tee or screw or something. Then see if the idle drops.

[popscomet]

IT's got a vacuum leak that opens up worst when hot,on those 6's check the thick gasket under the carb 1st.AND make sure all screws holding the carb together are tight,you may have to take it off and flip upside down to check them all.Those little motors are not that smooth when ideling and the weight of the air cleaner can actualy work as a fulcrum on the top half of the carb,there fore looseing the screws,,JMO....Not saying this is your problem but this is a good starting point,your carb may need a kit put in it,,,but you have to start someplace ,,,,good luck and keep us informed on your progress,so when can either try to come up with some other things to try or can go to bed and forget about it.thank you POP,,,,,does it ever miss when hot? IS it auto-matic or stick-shift??

[popscomet]

IT's got a vacuum leak that opens up worst when hot,on those 6's check the thick gasket under the carb 1st.AND make sure all screws holding the carb together are tight,you may have to take it off and flip upside down to check them all.Those little motors are not that smooth when ideling and the weight of the air cleaner can actualy work as a fulcrum on the top half of the carb,there fore looseing the screws,,JMO....Not saying this is your problem but this is a good starting point,your carb may need a kit put in it,,,but you have to start someplace ,,,,good luck and keep us informed on your progress,so when can either try to come up with some other things to try or can go to bed and forget about it.thank you POP,,,,,does it ever miss when hot? IS it auto-matic or stick-shift??

take the air cleaner off,start it let the motor get to normal temp,then take your hands and cup together around top of carb,slowly start covering the top of carb,if you have a vac leak,it will be hard to choke it down to die,but if it is easy to choke down and die you may not have a vac leak at all. pop

[Tristan]

Hey Pop, thanks for the pointers. While the car does run good, it does not run smooth at all. Sounds weird saying that. The idle is rough and sounds like its missing and when I'm cruising around town 30-45mph I can feel a miss here and there. It's a 2-Speed automatic. I'll see if i can
t give your trick a whirl tonight when I knock off or in the morning before I take off!

[Tristan]

Well I'm swinging to nightshift in a couple of nights so I'm staying up late tinkering.

I've found that all of my spark plugs were only finger tight, its a wonder I haven't lost one. Plenty of losse screws on the carb and my distributor is stuck so I can't rotate it to play with the timing.

[Tristan]

I got the distributor moving but the timing light stopped working... Go figure. I adjusted it by ear and test drove it. Had a scare when the throttle got stuck. The linkage got caught on the metal vacuum line. I think the idle is lined out and its smoother as well. I'll know more as I drive more.

[Tristan]

The car ran amazing today! Huge difference!

[popscomet]

that is good news,give yourself a big PAT on the back.....just think MAN,you did all the work , pop

[Tristan]

hings I noticed when tinkering today... there is another screw on the carb that haven't seen and my carb is leaking under the choke's thermostat. I believe I found the source of a lot of my issues. I just wish I knew what each screw was for and how to adjust it properly. It won't do much good while its leaking though.