Calling all 'high altitude' guys . . . . .

Hello everyone.

I'm new to this site. I've just received my Vintage Speedster from Fresno California. What a beauty it is. The little bit it was out of the garage, neighbors and friends are all giving it the thumbs up. However, living in Arvada Colorado, I found out in a hurry the importance about proper jetting and setting up dual Kadrons on my 1915cc motor .

After only driving it off the trailer into the garage, and around the block a couple of times, my oil level was about an inch above the full mark and smelling of gas. This car already came with the Facet electric fuel pump, so I knew it wasn't a leaking diaphragm on the pump causing this problem.

I went the same route as 30West and got the 32 venturies, high altitude jet and high flow kit from Kaddie Shack. I also did noticed that the gaskets were paper thin and leaking all over. When I took of the driver side carb, the manifold was still wet from the gas. The Kadrons looked older than 9600k miles on it. I don't know if this was due to all the leaks. I did replace both throttle bodies too, thinking that was part of my problem. Nope, the new ones have the same amount of slop/play. Regardless I installed the new ones. After flushing the crankcase with new oil and initial adjustments on the carbs, it fired right up. It runs better than before, but I still need to do some tweaking.

In addition I found that my points weren't opening. So I got a new set because the old ones were pretty worn out. Looking at the cap, rotor, coil, and spark plugs are next. Probably going to do a compression test too, to insure I didn't do any damage to the cylinders with all that gas in the oil. 

I'll keep you all posted as I stumble through this new adventure. Any advice on the do's and don'ts would be greatly appreciated.  

I can't wait to get this thing running properly again.

Congrats on the car.  Posting a pict would be nice too, and of course of the engine.

Not sure how much experience you have with ACooled cars but you certainly will have to go through all the systems in the car to familiarize yourself and to make sure it does not leave you stranded. 

All I can tell you is check everything and keep checking.  

Oil, tranny oil, every nut bolt, filters etc.  

Sometimes, things just get loose on these cars as they are nothing like the new cars.

Enjoy the ride.

Ray

1racejunky posted:

Hello everyone.

 

 

In addition I found that my points weren't opening. So I got a new set because the old ones were pretty worn out. Looking at the cap, rotor, coil, and spark plugs are next. Probably going to do a compression test too, to insure I didn't do any damage to the cylinders with all that gas in the oil. 

I'll keep you all posted as I stumble through this new adventure. Any advice on the do's and don'ts would be greatly appreciated.  

I can't wait to get this thing running properly again.

What do you mean when you say that the points weren't opening ?  They need to open now and then for the motor to run. 

Come to think of it, while you noticed that the points were not opening,  did you think of looking at the rotor and cap while in there ? 

David Stroud IM Roadster D posted:

 

...What do you mean when you say that the points weren't opening ?...

Weren't opening...all the way ?

Much bigger problem now than back in the day. That little heel on the points that contacts the dizzy shaft used to be made out of real phenolic.

Today, it's made out of puppy dog tails and wears down really quick.

Another reason for (decent quality) electronic ignition.

Ignore this if you already know it but for those that don't- a little bit of grease gets tucked into (this is the important part-) the forward side of  that 'phenolic' block so the distributors shaft is continually lubed and the grease isn't thrown around (like it would if it was on the trailing side).

To be quite honest if you're buying those parts you might as well just get a Magnaspark and be done with your ignition problems. The dry pack coil is hotter in terms of spark and with the new distributer you'll eliminate spark scatter for a more consistent spark.

Points should be set between .016" - .020", but I hardly ever get anal about measuring the point gap (I used to use a matchbook cover to get in the ballpark).

Instead, use a dwell meter and set them for 44º-46º for new points, or 42º-44º for used points and make sure there is no pitting on the point surfaces (little mountains opposite little craters).  They can be filed by an experienced professional but points are pretty cheap so that's not worth it anymore.

Speaking of that, try really hard to find original Bosch points for these distributors (I'm assuming you're running a 009).  The rest are simply junk.

To that end, I agree with the others that, in this day and age you should be running an electronic ignition and be done with it.

Gordon Nichols posted:

Points should be set between .016" - .020", but I hardly ever get anal about measuring the point gap (I used to use a matchbook cover to get in the ballpark)...

I've used a business card to get a car running again when nothing else was available...

And while @Robert M has a great point in that the Magnaspark is a superior unit, knowing what to do in the middle of the bush when points are what's on a car is invaluable!

Believe it or not, I still have a set of VW/Porsche/356 points/condenser in my spares bin in the frunk (in a ziplock bag with the cover of a matchbook) even though I have a solid-state ignition.  Never used them in about 20 years, but'chah nevah know.  I tossed them in when I joined the local 356 club (2001) and just kept them in there ever since.

I probably carry around an extra 3 - 4 pounds of spare stuff that I can't even use on my car.  Porsche 356 hubcap puller?  On a set of Fuchs?  How about a set of incandescent light bulbs from gauge-size to tail light when mine are all LED?    

RE: gas smell

Make sure all your connections are tight and leakproof. Make sure your tank is vented, and either has the loop in the vent hose or a 1-way valve to let air in the tank.

Very important: check actual fuel pressure with a gauge. Solex/Kadrons like no more than 1.5 psi. Fuel pressure can easily overwhelm the float valves in the carbs and put gas in your oil.

All good points...,  I really appreciate all the comments.

I've purchased this car from Troy and was impressed by his knowledge of these cars and he made sure I knew what I was in for. I don't think I would of bought a car like this sight unseen from anyone else. When I seen this video, I knew I had to have it. Everything about it was exactly what I was looking for. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqkUXjcTI3Y

Thanks Troy

Glad you like your Speedster...Troy is a great guy and very honest.  We talked over the phone when you were checking references...enjoy and best of luck to you!!