Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Timing my 1939 216.

I sure could use some help. I have a 1939 1/2 JC truck. It has a 216 motor. I have dual W1 carbs on the intake. Both were rebuilt by me ( I am fairly sure I did them right). The truck runs rough. It has a miss or hesitation. I am not sure how to set the timing. I have a repair book and it talks about the octane gage, but I am not sure where that is at. When I got the truck it only had 43,000 miles (I'm the second owner, yes I found it in an Iowa barn). I have put less then 1000 on it and it has always had an hesitation when I accelerate. I am hoping setting the time will help. Maybe it's a carb(s)issue. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Sounds possibly like a stuck float in the carb. First of all, when you installed the intake, check for a good seal around the bottom. To check, start motor, let idle, spray carb cleaner under and around intake where it bolts to the head. If it smooths out, you've found you air leak! Also do it around the carb bases too.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

The octane selector is on the distributor and is marked in degrees. It should have an A at one end of the scale and an R at the other. A hesitation on accelleration can be caused by inadequate advance, so you could try adding advance with the octane selector until it doesn't hesitate. You could have a vacuum leak causing the rough running.

If you have dual carbs then you may not have any heat to the manifold? The manifold must be aluminum? The fuel and air mixture can not mix well with out heat to the base of the dual manifold. Been there done that! Am I close?
Dominic

Set the points first, then the timing (always).

The "octane guage) is/are those marks on the vaccumn advance plate. They match the single one on the block flange where the distributor is secured.

To set the timing you'll need to loosen the (horizontal) screw, not the (vertical) bolt.

Good luck.

When a vehicle which formerly ran fine begins to sputter, one of the first things to check is to ensure that no condensation in in the fuel. This is especially true with low-useage vehicles.