[DeTomaso] any ideas?

[SOBill at aol.com]

Dennis,
 
If it slows down and quits running, it either doesn't have fuel,  air, or 
spark or you have a vacuum leak.
 
 
Isolate a fuel problem by dribbling some gas/rubbing  alcohol/denatured 
alcohol (from the paint store) down the carb as the engine  slows. If the engine 
picks up likely the idle holes are plugged in the  carb.

 
Isolate an air problem by disconnecting the throttle linkage. Turn  the idle 
stop screw in several turns to where the engine idles fast  but steady. Slowly 
unscrew the idle stop screw and find the point where the  engine will no 
longer idle steady. Look down thru the carb throats to see if the  throttle plates 
are fully closed. Depending on the cam/carb you have, the engine  may idle 
too fast with throttle plates open even a small amount but  will not idle with 
the throttle plates closed. The usual cure for this is to  drill a small hole 
in each throttle plate to bleed some air into the engine when  the throttle is 
closed. The correct hole size is found by experiment. If you  have an OEM 
carb/cam, this problem is very unlikely to be the  problem.
 
If the spark is advanced too much at idle it can slow the engine  slightly 
with each revolution. This makes it even more difficult for the inertia  of the 
engine to overcome the too advanced spark on the next revolution and the  
engine slows even more. Isolate this problem by retarding the spark as the  engine 
is slowing. A too advanced spark can also be caused by full manifold  vacuum 
being applied to the dizzy. The vacuum advance should be fed from a  vacuum 
source on the carb which shows zero vacuum at idle and increasing vacuum  as the 
engine speed increases. Such a port is located below the throttle  plates.
 
A vacuum leak will show up as a low vacuum/erratic reading on  a vacuum 
gauge. Idle vacuum, depending on the cam, should be 15 to 20  inches and rock 
steady. The location of an idle leak can be found by spraying  small bursts of 
brake clean fluid around the various gasket  edges.
 
That's what I think I know, anyway.
 
Have fun,
 
SOBill  Taylor
sobill at aol.com  






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