Got it running good but..........

[Licensed to kill]

So, I finally got all my parts and got my rear brakes back together and adjusted and my new exhaust and intake manifolds on and took the car for a teat drive. It seems to run quite nice but I could only get it to 47 MPR and that is IT. 3.78 gears. Should go better than that I would think. Not planning on driving it much faster but it should still GO faster. Checked the fuel cap vent and the fuel line protrusion into the carb. No problems there. Has the cast filter? on the firewall. Don't know what's in there. also, I would like the hand throttle to stay where I put it but it doesn't. It will always creep back to idle. Is it supposed to do that or is there something I can do to make it stay where it's put. Thanks

[msmaron]

to make it stay you probably need to file down the column area....and do you have the nub on the bottom of the spark rod also to allow it to stay in place? use a 3 sided file and it will work great. Also are you sure your timing is correct, does not sound like it..check it again to be sure,..

[Curtis in MA]

Is the pedal to the floor? Might be the linkage.

[Pilotdave]

If timing and point gap are good, the throttle "linkage" travel may need adjusting. Check throttle linkage "travel"thusly: Disconnect the throttle linkage at the throttle plate and note the position of the throttle plate arm when the plate is fully open. Reconnect linkage and fully open hand throttle. Compare position of the arm to previous test. If they are the same, linkage "travel" is ok. If not, you need to adjust the linkage to get the throttle to fully open.

[john in illinois]

Timing-double check.

[Licensed to kill]

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Originally Posted by msmaron

to make it stay you probably need to file down the column area....and do you have the nub on the bottom of the spark rod also to allow it to stay in place? use a 3 sided file and it will work great. Also are you sure your timing is correct, does not sound like it..check it again to be sure,..

Ah yes, I know the notches on the column plate are gone. Will file in new ones and check for the notch. Thanks

[Licensed to kill]

I did check the timing a couple times but I will check it again as well as the points gap. Will also check the linkage. Didn't think of that. Thanks

[JDupuis]

Is this a "fresh" rebuild?
If so, the engine might be too tight to go faster.
Jeff

[Jacksonlll]

Getting the throttle arm to stay put is tough. Stay with it.
Make sure the brakes are not dragging.
Not too wide on that point gap. 0.017 is plenty.
Your points will float if the spring is weak or broken.
Make sure the upper bushing in the dist. Is not worn. Cam should not move back and forth toward the points.

[Marshall V. Daut]

The problem with simply filing worn-down notches deeper is that although the "valleys" may end up deeper, the high, flat part of the quadrant is still too low from wear. Team that with an undoubtedly worn flat side on the bottom of the throttle lever and you can see that making the notches deeper will only result in a minor improvement in "click, click, click" as the throttle lever is moved through its arc. And filing deeper notches will not help keep the lever in place until the bottom of lever is built back up with weld and filed.
A more positive stop-gap procedure will keep the lever in place until a proper restoration can be performed. Move the lever all the way to the top of its travel and then take a hammer to the backside of the quadrant "ear". You are forcing that portion where the lever traverses toward the steering wheel. That puts pressure against the lever. Once you have knocked the "ear" upwards, pull the lever down and do the same up top where the lever had been sitting. This will give you consistent pressure against the lever. This works well for the spark lever, too, should it have a tendency to creep while driving. Not as common as a self-moving throttle lever, but it does happen. A slightly improved clicking will be a side benefit. You can then tap the "ear" back to its normal position when you do a proper restoration of the quadrant and lever undersides.
As to your lack of top end, by all means check the timing. If it's too retarded, the engine will not be able to reach peak top speed. Once the timing has been checked, follow other suggestions concerning the accelerator linkage. I have posted this procedure many times before, so I'll only give you a Reader's Digest version here. Have a friend sit in the compartment and with the ignition key OFF, have him/her/it hold the accelerator all the way to the floor. While the throttle is "floored", look at where the carb's butterfly arm stops. It should stop at the built-in peg on the top carb half. Oftentimes because Tillotsons, Zeniths, Marvels and whatever else was handy have been installed, the carb throttle arms are located differently from carb to carb. That means, what might constitute a full throttle position on one carb might only be 3/4 throttle on a different carb. Should your carb have less than full throttle (stopped at the peg), remove the linkage rod and bend the accelerator arm near the exhaust manifold forward a little bit. Re-attach the throttle rod and test again. Keep bending the accelerator arm until you reach full throttle. You may have to re-adjust the idle speed screw once you're done.
Another thing to consider is your speedometer. They are usually off by a few miles in the 45-50+mph range. Still, you should be able to go faster than the 47mph your speedo now reads. That might only be a contributing factor to disappointing top end. Pay more attention to the ignition timing, points gap and throttle linkage adjustment. If your engine is even so-so healthy, it should be able to go past 50mph without self-destructing. Heck, I've driven Model T's that easily went 50mph - and they only have HALF the horsepower as a Model A!
Marshall

[Licensed to kill]

Originally Posted by JDupuis

Is this a "fresh" rebuild?
If so, the engine might be too tight to go faster.
Jeff

Not a fresh rebuild. No idea how many miles on it but the pistons are .010 over and it shows 57lbs compression cold across the board.

[Licensed to kill]

Originally Posted by Jacksonlll

Getting the throttle arm to stay put is tough. Stay with it.
Make sure the brakes are not dragging.

Yes, I thought of that as I just did the rear brakes and reset them. I'm pretty sure they are right but will certainly check it out.

Not too wide on that point gap. 0.017 is plenty.
Your points will float if the spring is weak or broken.
Make sure the upper bushing in the dist. Is not worn. Cam should not move back and forth toward the points.

The entire ignition system including distributor is new, points set at .022 but I see that the rotor to cap gap is excessive, about .040

[Licensed to kill]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

The problem with simply filing worn-down notches deeper is that although the "valleys" may end up deeper, the high, flat part of the quadrant is still too low from wear. Team that with an undoubtedly worn flat side on the bottom of the throttle lever and you can see that making the notches deeper will only result in a minor improvement in "click, click, click" as the throttle lever is moved through its arc. And filing deeper notches will not help keep the lever in place until the bottom of lever is built back up with weld and filed.

Thanks, yes I considered that and planned to weld and file on the lever form proper mating with the column scale.

A more positive stop-gap procedure will keep the lever in place until a proper restoration can be performed. Move the lever all the way to the top of its travel and then take a hammer to the backside of the quadrant "ear". You are forcing that portion where the lever traverses toward the steering wheel. That puts pressure against the lever. Once you have knocked the "ear" upwards, pull the lever down and do the same up top where the lever had been sitting. This will give you consistent pressure against the lever. This works well for the spark lever, too, should it have a tendency to creep while driving. Not as common as a self-moving throttle lever, but it does happen. A slightly improved clicking will be a side benefit. You can then tap the "ear" back to its normal position when you do a proper restoration of the quadrant and lever undersides.

Good idea, I will do that as a temp fix.

As to your lack of top end, by all means check the timing. If it's too retarded, the engine will not be able to reach peak top speed. Once the timing has been checked, follow other suggestions concerning the accelerator linkage.

I rechecked the timing and it appears to be right on but I advanced it maybe 1 degree just so I feel like I did something and 1 degree wont hurt anything.

I have posted this procedure many times before, so I'll only give you a Reader's Digest version here. Have a friend sit in the compartment and with the ignition key OFF, have him/her/it hold the accelerator all the way to the floor. While the throttle is "floored", look at where the carb's butterfly arm stops. It should stop at the built-in peg on the top carb half. Oftentimes because Tillotsons, Zeniths, Marvels and whatever else was handy have been installed, the carb throttle arms are located differently from carb to carb. That means, what might constitute a full throttle position on one carb might only be 3/4 throttle on a different carb. Should your carb have less than full throttle (stopped at the peg), remove the linkage rod and bend the accelerator arm near the exhaust manifold forward a little bit. Re-attach the throttle rod and test again. Keep bending the accelerator arm until you reach full throttle. You may have to re-adjust the idle speed screw once you're done.

Checked the throttle and foot to the floor, throttle lever opens right to the peg and the butterfly is fully open (horizontal)

Another thing to consider is your speedometer. They are usually off by a few miles in the 45-50+mph range. Still, you should be able to go faster than the 47mph your speedo now reads. That might only be a contributing factor to disappointing top end. Pay more attention to the ignition timing, points gap and throttle linkage adjustment. If your engine is even so-so healthy, it should be able to go past 50mph without self-destructing. Heck, I've driven Model T's that easily went 50mph - and they only have HALF the horsepower as a Model A!
Marshall

The speedo is a freshly rebuilt one, I just put the first 3 miles on it.

[Curtis in MA]

I put a rebuilt speedo in and it is way off over 30mph. Use a GPS

[Licensed to kill]

Originally Posted by Curtis in MA

I put a rebuilt speedo in and it is way off over 30mph. Use a GPS

It "felt" about right for speed but I will use GPS to confirm. With the original speedo, I took it for a test drive and could get about 50-55 ish which "felt" a little faster than this time but, good suggestion, I will confirm it's accuracy.

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Possible your main jet is too small. Do you have access to another good carb?

[Licensed to kill]

I have 3 or 4 other carbs but no good ones. I have at least 1 Zenith, same as the one on the car, one tilly and one bigger zenith (32??) but all need rebuilding.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Licensed to kill

So, I finally got all my parts and got my rear brakes back together and adjusted and my new exhaust and intake manifolds on and took the car for a teat drive. It seems to run quite nice but I could only get it to 47 MPR and that is IT. 3.78 gears. Should go better than that I would think. Not planning on driving it much faster but it should still GO faster. Checked the fuel cap vent and the fuel line protrusion into the carb. No problems there. Has the cast filter? on the firewall. Don't know what's in there. also, I would like the hand throttle to stay where I put it but it doesn't. It will always creep back to idle. Is it supposed to do that or is there something I can do to make it stay where it's put. Thanks

That sounds like fun.. Must be a nude beach in the area.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Did you try opening the GAV, for a higher speed?
Chiefs' method was: Run at a constant 20 to 25 MPH in second & adjust the GAV for the SMOOTHEST running.
Bill Diddle

[Ray64]

Someone drilled both levers on my car real shallow and glued a B B in the hole and it works perfect Don't drill to deep