Barrman
Well-known member
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- Giddings, Texas
My truck sat for 25-30 years before I got it. The previous owner told me the engine had been completely gone through, everything replaced and then never started. Never even had oil in the pan or fuel in the carb according to him.
I got it running about a year ago. The engine ran good, the carb was shiny inside, so was the distributor and the oil has stayed clean. But, the radiator hoses had more holes than rubber and then I poked a hole in the radiator with the winch when I put it back on. I had always planned to take it apart, so I just drove it around the house and never let it get much beyond warm.
I got a NOS radiator and finally got it installed this week. Tonight was my time to do a complete tune up since it can stay at opperating temps for the first time since I have had it. Timing, points gap, valve clearance and carb adjustments.
I found the float was set just a little too high. I was enjoying the sight of the new green paint slowly turning to brown on the exhaust manifold when I noticed the Drip, PSSSST of fuel coming out of the air intake. The needle and seat were clean and so was the bowl. I pushedd the float down a little and put it back together. No more Drip, PSSST and no more burble in the exhaust every 30 seconds or so. I got the mixture screws set to the best speed for each and the idle way down low. I don't have a tach to hook up to it right now, so I took it down as slow as it would go and then brought it back up to the smoothest speed.
Then I went to time it. The distributor has been just sitting there with the tie downs loose, held in place by the vent lines. I hooked up my fancy military issue spark plug wire adaptor so I could put my regular car timing light on. A spare battery on the floor provided power for it. My timing light is one of those with the dial in the back. I couldn't find the numbers. Turn the engine by hand until I can use white soap stone to mark 0. Fire it back up and I still can't see it. I started turning the dial, and I could finally see the line at about 70 degrees advance on the dial. That has me scratching my head thinking the rotor wasn't pointed the right way when the distributor was dropped into the block. I hook up the adaptor to the next plug wire in the firing order. I figured since it is a 6 cylinder, the rotor turns 360 degrees and therefore, each plug wire should be 60 degrees apart. Still no marks where they should be. After more than an hour screwing with those very hard to undo spark plug wires it finally hit me that the distributor is turning half as fast as the crank which means each plug wire is 120 degrees of crank rotation apart. So much for setting the timing to exactly 4 degrees BTC. I just turned it to where it sounded best and tightened it down.
Since I had the wires all loose, I went ahead and pulled them out of the cap and pulled the cover off to set the points gap. Supposed to be .0222 and it was around .010. It didn't run any different after I set it right, but it will probably run longer without pulling the cover off again set right. Back on go all the spark plug wires and that one really hard to even see cover screw right next to the really hot engine block.
Then I decided to get rid of my tapping. Or at least find out if it is supposed to tap like a room full of morse code operators. I have never heard another Gasser run so I don't know. Off comes the valve cover and I set about setting all the rockers at .015 gap. They were all loose and a few were 3 or 4 complete turns of the adjusting screw out. I noticed it got better and better as I moved down the 12 rockers. But, it wasn't until I did that last one that I realized how much noise those out of adjustment rockers had been making. Putting the valve cover back on made it even better. The loudest noise now is the alternator fan pushing air and the radiator fan also pushing air. I bet this thing will sound like an expensive watch once I get the hood and fenders on. Right now it sounds like a sewing machine in another room. I used to think Flathead Ford V8's were the best sounding engine at idle I knew about. I don't think that anymore.
Sorry for the long post, but my wife doesn't want to hear about how each rocker got adjusted, my son is asleeep and I am so excited to have this thing running like a top. Now I have no more excuses to keep me from doing more sanding this weekend either. Hopefully, I will be posting pictures of a painted hood on the truck next week.
I got it running about a year ago. The engine ran good, the carb was shiny inside, so was the distributor and the oil has stayed clean. But, the radiator hoses had more holes than rubber and then I poked a hole in the radiator with the winch when I put it back on. I had always planned to take it apart, so I just drove it around the house and never let it get much beyond warm.
I got a NOS radiator and finally got it installed this week. Tonight was my time to do a complete tune up since it can stay at opperating temps for the first time since I have had it. Timing, points gap, valve clearance and carb adjustments.
I found the float was set just a little too high. I was enjoying the sight of the new green paint slowly turning to brown on the exhaust manifold when I noticed the Drip, PSSSST of fuel coming out of the air intake. The needle and seat were clean and so was the bowl. I pushedd the float down a little and put it back together. No more Drip, PSSST and no more burble in the exhaust every 30 seconds or so. I got the mixture screws set to the best speed for each and the idle way down low. I don't have a tach to hook up to it right now, so I took it down as slow as it would go and then brought it back up to the smoothest speed.
Then I went to time it. The distributor has been just sitting there with the tie downs loose, held in place by the vent lines. I hooked up my fancy military issue spark plug wire adaptor so I could put my regular car timing light on. A spare battery on the floor provided power for it. My timing light is one of those with the dial in the back. I couldn't find the numbers. Turn the engine by hand until I can use white soap stone to mark 0. Fire it back up and I still can't see it. I started turning the dial, and I could finally see the line at about 70 degrees advance on the dial. That has me scratching my head thinking the rotor wasn't pointed the right way when the distributor was dropped into the block. I hook up the adaptor to the next plug wire in the firing order. I figured since it is a 6 cylinder, the rotor turns 360 degrees and therefore, each plug wire should be 60 degrees apart. Still no marks where they should be. After more than an hour screwing with those very hard to undo spark plug wires it finally hit me that the distributor is turning half as fast as the crank which means each plug wire is 120 degrees of crank rotation apart. So much for setting the timing to exactly 4 degrees BTC. I just turned it to where it sounded best and tightened it down.
Since I had the wires all loose, I went ahead and pulled them out of the cap and pulled the cover off to set the points gap. Supposed to be .0222 and it was around .010. It didn't run any different after I set it right, but it will probably run longer without pulling the cover off again set right. Back on go all the spark plug wires and that one really hard to even see cover screw right next to the really hot engine block.
Then I decided to get rid of my tapping. Or at least find out if it is supposed to tap like a room full of morse code operators. I have never heard another Gasser run so I don't know. Off comes the valve cover and I set about setting all the rockers at .015 gap. They were all loose and a few were 3 or 4 complete turns of the adjusting screw out. I noticed it got better and better as I moved down the 12 rockers. But, it wasn't until I did that last one that I realized how much noise those out of adjustment rockers had been making. Putting the valve cover back on made it even better. The loudest noise now is the alternator fan pushing air and the radiator fan also pushing air. I bet this thing will sound like an expensive watch once I get the hood and fenders on. Right now it sounds like a sewing machine in another room. I used to think Flathead Ford V8's were the best sounding engine at idle I knew about. I don't think that anymore.
Sorry for the long post, but my wife doesn't want to hear about how each rocker got adjusted, my son is asleeep and I am so excited to have this thing running like a top. Now I have no more excuses to keep me from doing more sanding this weekend either. Hopefully, I will be posting pictures of a painted hood on the truck next week.
