Are you sure that the timing is right? If you've got it too far
advanced, this will happen. Also, there's an idle speed adj on the side
of the carb, as well as the high-idle screw. If you get one or the
other turned in too far, it'll be hitting on that. The
earlier-suggested vacuum leak is also a good thing to check out. You
could have left a vacuum port someplace uncovered.
J. Stacey wrote:
>All,
>
>For those who don't care about the background to my request, I've put that
>part at the end of this note.
>
>I am doing a shade-tree, ground-up restoration of a '73 4drht. I've now got
>to the point where the completely overhauled 440 was first started up this
>weekend (Friday).
>
>I also put a kit in the Carter ThermoQuad carburetor myself. The engine
>finally started after several failed attempts, (too embarassing to say what
>things were preventing it from starting at first!). All in all, everything
>is quite satisfactory, and it is a real pleasure to hear her run after all
>these years, but there is still one small problem....
>
>The engine continues to run at about 800 - 900 rpm even with the primary
>throttle plates COMPLETELY closed and the idel mixture screws turned
>COMPLETEY in against the stops!!! I am wondering if this could be caused by
>the float level being too high? I have conflicting specs between the
>instructions that came with the carb kit and the FSM. I went by the kit
>instructions and set the float level at 1.0 inch (height of the bottom of
>the float above the inverted bowl cover w/gasket). After I had the thing
>assembled, I noticed the FSM says 1 1/16 inch, which would be a LOWER level
>of gas in the bowl.
>
>Are there any TQ experts out there that could comment on this? I don't
>really want to take the carb apart again, but obviously I will if I have to.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Jim Stacey
>'73 4drht slowly going back together
>Near Toronto
>
>
>BRIEF BACKGROUND
>
>I started this in the early '80's at which time I gutted the interior
>(except dash), removed all the front-end sheetmetal, etc. and stored all the
>parts in the attic of my garage. What was left of the car in tact - body,
>doors, glass, subframe, engine & tranny - was stored in various friends
>garages, delapidated sheds, etc, over the years until the fall of 2001 when
>the old girl finally had to come home at which point I could not ignore her
>any longer.
>
>I had the engine (which turned out to be a '68 high performance 440) totally
>rebuilt professionally with special cam and pistons. I removed and totlaly
>disassembled the stub frame, front suspension & brakes, steering, rear
>springs, axle and brakes and sandblasted and painted all these components.
>I removed all the dash, wiring harness, heater & A/C, steering column,
>parking brake, etc., from the interior - all that is left is the headliner
>at this point.
>
>I have re-painted all inside the cowl and air plenums, the firewall, and the
>floor (inside & outside with undercoating on the outside as well), back to
>about the rear of the transmission. (Only went that far back for now to
>accomodate installation of the engine & tranny).
>
>I now have the stub frame, front suspension, rad yoke, radiator, engine,
>tranny and first part of exhaust back together - all that is required to
>start the engine.
>
>I picked up some used rear quarter panels, and a bunch of other parts from
>Kerry P. in Feb '02. My son is good a MIG welding, so after I finish
>painting and undercoating the underneath side of the floor pan and trunk, I
>will start on putting in the new quarter panels. After that I'm going to
>study Kerry's latest 300 painting saga and start on the body work and
>priming. Don't think I'll ever have the nerve to try painting the car
>myself.
>
>I think MAYBE by the end of next summer I might just have her driveable. My
>goal is to take her to Carlisle in July '05.
>
>Thanks for taking the time to read my story.
>
>
>
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network