[DeTomaso] No Idle Blues

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/03/07 9:47:10 PM, charlesbuthala at yahoo.com writes:

<< I set the distributor at TDC and dropped into place with the #1 cap 
location.  The engine ran good but could not adjust idle without adjusting 4 corner 
idle screws out almost all the way. >>

1- All but totally stock 351-Cs need about10 degrees static advance and no 
more than about 36 degrees total (static +centrifugal) with the vac line plugged 
while checking, to run decently & make power. Be very careful setting your 
static timing advance- Ford is the only mfgr that engraves V-8 harmonic 
balencers from -15 to +30 degrees with TDC somewhere in the middle. That 1st mark you 
see is NOT TDC! 

2- That fuel pressure is fine. 10 psi will sink the floats while 2-3 will not 
flow enough gas to allow higher rpms. And in case you have one, those chromed 
pot-metal pressure regulators control pressure fine but cannot flow enough 
gas for a V-8. They were originally designed for single carb 40-hp VWs. On a 
dual-carb VW, you need two of them. S-can it if you have one. 

3- dash-6 lines should flow enough gas for all but race cars. The pinch-point 
is not the lines from pump to carb, its the metric-5/16-ID line coming out of 
the tank to the pump. But even a stock line will support about 450 hp before 
you get fuel starvation. 

4- On pre-'73 Panteras, I've found the banjo fitting up on top of the tank 
half-plugged with varnish, and I've also found the 'sock' inside the tank to be 
plugged with varnish. To fix this last, attach a blow-gun from your compressor 
to the tank fitting and with the fuel cap OFF, carefully blow into the tank 
listening for bubbling. This will tear the sock off (if its still there) and at 
least get you going again. Then you can remove the sender and fish the sock 
out before it fragments & plugs your carb again. Doing this with the cap ON may 
rupture the tank, and doing it with a full tank will wash you down with gas 
out of the open filler spout, so be careful!

5- Does the carb have a fuel filter? The sintered Holley filters in the c
arb-inlets plug almost instantly on the crappy gas being sold today. If they're in 
there, throw them away & get a good big filter, mounted between the tank & 
pump, not on the pressure side. Any filter on the pressure side is a bomb, and 
even if it lasts, it gets so hot mounted up on top of the engine that you can 
get vapor-lock from the fuel boiling inside! SCCA will not allow cars to 
compete with a filter on the pressure side (except for factory EFI and they 
recirculate the fuel so heat doesn't build up). 
FWIW, those cute little glass-jacket filters often break from vibration and 
if they're on the pressure side near the carb when they let go, they will then 
flood the top with flaming fuel!
Try some of these suggestions, hang in there & good luck- J deryke
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