Tuning (PLEASE HELP!)

King Big Ben · 09-01-2003, 11:15 AM

Ya it's me again...anyway I've had this 650 speed demon carb in my car (69 coupe w/ 351w, edelbrock intake, and what I think is a stock cam, and stock exhaust manifolds w/ aftermarket h-pipe exhaust) for a while now and it still needs tuning. It runs rich and you have to rev it up slowly or else it will backfire (which i thought was a symtom of it running lean). I figured i need to adjust my timing, so i bought some timing tape but I'm not sure how to put it on (What's a TDC mark?). I did put new spark plugs in which actually made it run perfectly for about 10 seconds. It didn't hesitate or backfire and it sounded perfect...and then it got back to the way it was before. I took out one of the plugs out and it was clean except for around the edge it was a little...i guess you would call it sooty but where the spark was was perfectly clean. Please help me with this...I dont like how my car sits at home all week because i can't tune it and none of my friends know how to tune it and the people who actually can help me are always busy.

Thanx in advance,
Ben

mustangII460 · 09-01-2003, 05:32 PM

First off you need headers.

TDC is marked on the balancer. There is a seris of lines and it says TDC & BTDC. If you take out #1 plug, stick your finger in, bump it over until the compression forces out your finger, your on TDC. With it there the rotor button should be pointing at #1 on the dist cap. And the timing pointer on the front cover should be real close to the TDC line.

To time you car do the next step. You dont need to find TDC , just do the following.

Mark the balancer with a thin line of chalk, white out, at 10 degrees BTDC=before TDC. Get a timing gun hook the leads to the battery and to # 1 plug wire. Loosen the distributor bolt. Fire up the motor and point it at the Timing pointer at the balancer. You will see the white line appear. Turn the distributor untill the white line and pointer come together, while the motors running. Tighten dist.

Adjust carb per instructions in the box.

Hope this helps.

King Big Ben · 09-02-2003, 12:23 PM

Thanx for the reply

I thought i'd either have to buy new jets for the carb or a new cam or headers. I've been meaning to get headers eventually anyway, now I have an excuse. Whats a good brand for headers? My mustang's been lowered (don't ask i bought it like that) so i dont want anything that might scrape the bottom over speed bumps or something.

And I don't have any marks on my harmonic balancer, thats why i bought the timing tape. It does have 2 white marks on it already, 3/4" apart. One is whiter but the other has a white dot above it. And there is no timing pointer. Is it possible to just do it blindly? A friend and I did it earlier, we just played with the timing and listened to it to see if it sounded better...of course it didnt work

Thanx again,
Ben

mustangII460 · 09-02-2003, 03:53 PM

Headman headers are good and not expensive. Most headers will hang down and get scrapped, with stock ride height.

If your balancer is stock , the marks are on it. Get some sand paper and uncover them. The front cover will have the timing pointer on the passenger side, at the balancer. If its not there, go get one from a junk yard.

Without the pointer, timing tape etc is useless.

red · 09-02-2003, 07:52 PM

The timing gun usually gets me in trouble.

I just do it by this seat of the pants method.

Let it warm up.
Take it for a wide-open throttle (WOT) blast.
If it does not ping, stop and advance the timing.

Keep repeating this procedure, advancing till it starts to ping (detonates) when you are running at WOT, then back off the timing a little until no more detonation at WOT.

Once it pings, let off the gas or you could cause some damage

You really want it to run as lean as possible without detonation.

King Big Ben · 09-03-2003, 11:16 AM

whats the difference between shorty headers and long-tube headers? Like i said before my car's lower than a stock 69 and i dont want to hit speedbumps with my headers. Is there a performance difference? And are you sure its the headers because a friend of mine said its probably not.

HotRoddin · 09-04-2003, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by King Big Ben
And are you sure its the headers because a friend of mine said its probably not.

I don't think he ment your headers were causing your problem ... he just ment you needed headers with the set up you have. It sounds like a timing issue to me. Could be ignition timing or it could be valve timing. Double check and make absolutely sure your firing order is right. A vacuum guage reading would be helpful. Also check that your accelerator pump is working, that will for sure make it cough and fall flat when you stomp the throttle.
You really need to join a local mustang club or car club ... there will be lots of people there willing to help you.

09-03-2003, 11:16 AM	#6
King Big Ben Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tampa Florida Posts: 14	Header types? whats the difference between shorty headers and long-tube headers? Like i said before my car's lower than a stock 69 and i dont want to hit speedbumps with my headers. Is there a performance difference? And are you sure its the headers because a friend of mine said its probably not.

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09-01-2003, 11:15 AM	#1
King Big Ben Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tampa Florida Posts: 14	Tuning (PLEASE HELP!) Ya it's me again...anyway I've had this 650 speed demon carb in my car (69 coupe w/ 351w, edelbrock intake, and what I think is a stock cam, and stock exhaust manifolds w/ aftermarket h-pipe exhaust) for a while now and it still needs tuning. It runs rich and you have to rev it up slowly or else it will backfire (which i thought was a symtom of it running lean). I figured i need to adjust my timing, so i bought some timing tape but I'm not sure how to put it on (What's a TDC mark?). I did put new spark plugs in which actually made it run perfectly for about 10 seconds. It didn't hesitate or backfire and it sounded perfect...and then it got back to the way it was before. I took out one of the plugs out and it was clean except for around the edge it was a little...i guess you would call it sooty but where the spark was was perfectly clean. Please help me with this...I dont like how my car sits at home all week because i can't tune it and none of my friends know how to tune it and the people who actually can help me are always busy. Thanx in advance, Ben

09-01-2003, 05:32 PM	#2
mustangII460 Factoy Five Roadster Join Date: May 2000 Location: Sevier Co,Tennessee Posts: 1,681	First off you need headers. TDC is marked on the balancer. There is a seris of lines and it says TDC & BTDC. If you take out #1 plug, stick your finger in, bump it over until the compression forces out your finger, your on TDC. With it there the rotor button should be pointing at #1 on the dist cap. And the timing pointer on the front cover should be real close to the TDC line. To time you car do the next step. You dont need to find TDC , just do the following. Mark the balancer with a thin line of chalk, white out, at 10 degrees BTDC=before TDC. Get a timing gun hook the leads to the battery and to # 1 plug wire. Loosen the distributor bolt. Fire up the motor and point it at the Timing pointer at the balancer. You will see the white line appear. Turn the distributor untill the white line and pointer come together, while the motors running. Tighten dist. Adjust carb per instructions in the box. Hope this helps.

09-02-2003, 12:23 PM	#3
King Big Ben Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tampa Florida Posts: 14	Thanx for the reply I thought i'd either have to buy new jets for the carb or a new cam or headers. I've been meaning to get headers eventually anyway, now I have an excuse. Whats a good brand for headers? My mustang's been lowered (don't ask i bought it like that) so i dont want anything that might scrape the bottom over speed bumps or something. And I don't have any marks on my harmonic balancer, thats why i bought the timing tape. It does have 2 white marks on it already, 3/4" apart. One is whiter but the other has a white dot above it. And there is no timing pointer. Is it possible to just do it blindly? A friend and I did it earlier, we just played with the timing and listened to it to see if it sounded better...of course it didnt work Thanx again, Ben

09-02-2003, 03:53 PM	#4
mustangII460 Factoy Five Roadster Join Date: May 2000 Location: Sevier Co,Tennessee Posts: 1,681	Headman headers are good and not expensive. Most headers will hang down and get scrapped, with stock ride height. If your balancer is stock , the marks are on it. Get some sand paper and uncover them. The front cover will have the timing pointer on the passenger side, at the balancer. If its not there, go get one from a junk yard. Without the pointer, timing tape etc is useless.

09-02-2003, 07:52 PM	#5
red Registered Member Join Date: Sep 1998 Location: Millburn, NJ Posts: 310	The timing gun usually gets me in trouble. I just do it by this seat of the pants method. Let it warm up. Take it for a wide-open throttle (WOT) blast. If it does not ping, stop and advance the timing. Keep repeating this procedure, advancing till it starts to ping (detonates) when you are running at WOT, then back off the timing a little until no more detonation at WOT. Once it pings, let off the gas or you could cause some damage You really want it to run as lean as possible without detonation.