I took the valve cover off, straightened it using a block of wood on the outside of the lip and a 4" piece of flat stock on the inside and was able to pound it out a bit around the bolt holes. It was warped around them. I then took a hammer and refined it a bit more, reinstalled the gasket with a liberal bead of RTV between the cover and gasket, let it sit for 30 minutes, threw another liberal bead of RTV on the gasket after cleaning up the head sealing lip, put it on with the spreaders on the passenger's side, let it all dry overnight and drove it to a local mall to take the kids to see Santa.
It looks like that stopped the leaks. I'll know for sure after I have a chance to hit the engine with degreaser again and drive it.
Now to just get the darn accelerator pump adjusted right on the carb. I keep fighting with it. Not sure if it's too far out or too far in. I think that's the last piece of the puzzle to make it run right. It has a slight bog when you first hit the gas. If you floor it it's pretty smooth up until it shifts. Driving at a constant speed, however, isn't smooth yet. If you start going up a hill it bogs a bit before going.
I'm thinking I need to move the screw closer to the pump arm (loosen the top nut on the Holley 8007).
Thoughts?
Another thing I'm noticing is that 90% throttle it pulls hard. At 91% it doesn't pull as hard. I'm wondering if it's not getting enough air or fuel. Can't tell. Maybe even a timing issue?
I'm still pretty new to old carbs. Give me a modern EFI system and I'm a whiz. I don't want to put EFI on this car, however, since it's so original as-is. I have no problem putting period correct modifications on it, just trying to keep away from modern stuff (besides wheels and tires: that's more a safety thing in my book).
I'm trying to get it right before driving it to a car show in the next couple of weeks. It's a 3 hour drive. A buddy of mine is hosting it and I'd like to get it there all working and not leaking because if I don't have it 100% right I know it'll be about 40 old car guys offering advice and a few turning wrenches.
...not that that's bad. Heck I'll probably learn a lot from it! I'd just rather be able to show up smiling.
