Re: Tuning procedure ?

[Mike & Deb <mdlefevre@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim,
It's not a can of worms but a tall order. Kind of hard to do a Vulcan mindmeld through the keyboard but here goes!
I will assume you have verified even compression pressures on all cylinders. Open the distributor and check for corrosion and carbon tracking, make sure the mechanical advance turns freely and pull a vacuum on the advance diaphragm to watch operation of the breaker plate-it should be smooth. Set the timing first at the slowest RPM the engine will idle at and then watch the timing mark advance while speeding up the engine. Apply vacuum to the diaphragm and ensure the timing advances properly with your timing light. With your vacuum gauge attached now adjust both idle mixture screws equally to achieve the highest speed and vacuum reading while keeping proper idle speed. Try to stay as lean as possible with the mixture screws while doing this. This motor should idle at 500-650 RPM if in good mechanical  condition. 700-800 RPM should not be necessary with a stock engine of this vintage. If you suspect a vacuum leak spray some carb cleaner around the gasketed areas and repair as needed. I hope this description will help.
Mike LeFevre

On Dec 13, 2011, Jim Altemose <jaltemoose@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

At the risk of opening a can of worms, can anyone describe or point me
to a step by step tuning procedure? I started with the factory manual
but the 500 RPM idle setting through me off right away. 700-800
seemed smoothest and gave me the highest vacuum. I'm guessing the
process needs to be adjusted for a 48 year old engine. My car is 63
Polara 500 383 4 barrel (Carter AFB) with 82,000 miles. No points;
someone replaced it with a Pertronix at some point before me.

I just changed all the plugs, which to me all look to be a little
wet-fouled in the same way. I was missing 3 cylinders before changing
the plugs; it's running much smoother now and I don't think I'm
missing any.

I have a vacuum gauge, timing light and tach. Mechanically, I'd
classify myself as competent but not proficient. I don't have nearly
the experience as many of you. The Internet says 100 different things
and confuses me.

I guess what I'm looking for is a general top down procedure; which
comes first, timing, idle mixture, etc. What should I check first?
What am I looking for with the timing light? What's the best way to
make use of the vacuum gauge and when? I got previous links to the
vacuum gauge diagrams from some of you. Cool and helpful, but I'm not
sure of the order of operations and priorities.

As always, thanks.

- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara 500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 Bronco

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Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. That is, send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!
 
1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
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