The Ford Barn

Daves55Sedan · 06-09-2022, 09:58 PM

I got the '55 Ford 292 Y-block running today on all 8-cyls for the first time since I abandoned it in the garage last December.
Still, I am not satisfied with it. The engine idle speed seems to have slowed and sometimes, the engine surges between 500RPM and around 400RPM repeatedly. I increased the idle speed at the carb a little bit. I checked for a vacuum leak and sure enough, the rubber vacuum cap I had on my test port in the manifold vacuum tubing had cracked.
I got out my vacuum tester and connected it to the manifold tubing. The vacuum was still very low, so I fiddled with the carburator idle/fuel mixture screws on the carb and got it up to 19 inches, but there is still that surge in idle. I disconnected the vacuum advance from the carb and plugged the tubing from the carb and connected my timing light and adjusted the timing to about 8 degrees BTDC then reconnected the vacuum advance tubing.
BTW, here is everything that was replaced since January 2022.
New points, condenser, rotor, distributor cap, spark plugs and spark plug cables. I swapped the cast epoxy ignition coil for a used oil filled coil that is more than 30 years old, but tested out okay. The carburator was taken apart, cleaned out with spray gumout, the inlet needle operation checked and a new power valve and gasket were installed and some new gaskets. A new fuel filter was installed.
Anybody have any ideas about the idle surge???

06-09-2022, 09:58 PM	#1
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	misfire update I got the '55 Ford 292 Y-block running today on all 8-cyls for the first time since I abandoned it in the garage last December. Still, I am not satisfied with it. The engine idle speed seems to have slowed and sometimes, the engine surges between 500RPM and around 400RPM repeatedly. I increased the idle speed at the carb a little bit. I checked for a vacuum leak and sure enough, the rubber vacuum cap I had on my test port in the manifold vacuum tubing had cracked. I got out my vacuum tester and connected it to the manifold tubing. The vacuum was still very low, so I fiddled with the carburator idle/fuel mixture screws on the carb and got it up to 19 inches, but there is still that surge in idle. I disconnected the vacuum advance from the carb and plugged the tubing from the carb and connected my timing light and adjusted the timing to about 8 degrees BTDC then reconnected the vacuum advance tubing. BTW, here is everything that was replaced since January 2022. New points, condenser, rotor, distributor cap, spark plugs and spark plug cables. I swapped the cast epoxy ignition coil for a used oil filled coil that is more than 30 years old, but tested out okay. The carburator was taken apart, cleaned out with spray gumout, the inlet needle operation checked and a new power valve and gasket were installed and some new gaskets. A new fuel filter was installed. Anybody have any ideas about the idle surge???