318 2bbl carb

[06Daytona]

I have a tiny little Carter 2bbl carb on my 318 and I think it needs some serious help. I had problems getting the car to start which resulted in new plug wires and coil. Once the engine was running it idles really slow and my idle mixture screw is in all the way so I can't bump up the idle that way. My idle mixture screws don't seem to be doing a thing. I screwed them in all the way and backed them out 2 turns and it didn't seem to do much to help, since then I've turned them out at least 2 more turns and backed them in probably about the same. I know the engine is running really rich because I can smell the gas in the garage after I run the car. At idle the engine sounds like it's running about a 272 comp cam type deal, but I'm pretty sure it's either stock or a mild cam. I think the guy I bought it off of might have adjusted the timing to get the cam sound just as a selling point but I don't have a light to check.
I don't want to spend alot on the 2 bbl because I'll be throwing a 600-625 4bbl on in the near future. I am thinking of pulling the carb off, tearing it down and washing it with a little lacquer thinner to clean it up, but I'm trying to hold off on that until a last resort. I know it should be my first resort, but I'm a little strapped for cash this month and the month is only 2 days old.

[06Daytona]

Here's a few pics in case there is something really obvious that I've missed, like another open vacuum line.

[burdar]

Is it a manual trans car?  I don't see any kickdown linkage.  If it's an auto, you need to get some linkage before you drive it or you'll kill the trans.

Be careful when taking the carb apart.  You don't want to destroy the gaskets.  If you are planning a carb swap anyway, maybe you can live with it for a few months.

[ntstlgl1970]

Take the top plate off the carb (the small flat sheetmetal part with the yellow plastic fitting on top). There is an adjustment under there for the enrichment rod(s). It might be set wrong which would make it run really rich. The 2bbl carter is really easy to adjust and rebuild, very few parts to it.

[06Daytona]

It's a 4 speed car. I took off the little top access plate, everything was moving, so I put it back on and then took of the top half of the carb to check the floats etc. THey looked good and the car looked a little silly with only half a carb so I took the bottom half off as well. It's being cleaned right now. I made sure not to lose the little ball in the float bowl , as well as the spring. I'm going to swing by Auto Zone and see if they have a rebuild kit in stock.

[06Daytona]

How do I adjust the rods? I soaked the carb in cleaner for a little while and blew it all out with compressed air. I know I should let it sit longer, but I can do it later if I need to. The 2 bbl bits look different from the 4bbl I'm used to.


I found an online manual for the carb and have it adjusted now. As well as I can without feeler gauges at least.
Thanks for the help and I'll  post again once it's running

[Moparal]

First off, get yourself a new throttle cable.  That is a very bad hazzard you have there.   The vacuum port on the passenger side, is it hooked to the distributor advance?  Is the advance working ok?  Where the power brake booster hose is hooked up, is that a single hook up or is there another hose hook up there? Can't see in the picture. I also can't see in the picture if the idle screw is set on the fast idle or regular idle set. Make sure the choke pulloff is not blown and still holds a vacuum to.   You need the correct tools to actually try and set timing and mixtures correctly, but some seasoned people can get real close by ear n eyes.

[06Daytona]

That throttle cable was high on my list too. Since the car isn't on the road yet it's being put off for the time being. The vacuum port on the right side is hooked to the distributor advance and when I suck on the hose I can feel a difference, although it could probably use updating since I'm guessing it's the 72 original. There is only one hose where the brake booster is hooked up. The idle screw was set on the big screw thing, but I moved it over to the plastic tab behind it so that I have idle adjustment now. I checked the choke pull off and it's holding vacuum well. I blew into the hose and nothing happened.
I got the car running and with the idle screw I could set the idle to something remotely reasonable. It still sounds like it's packing a big cam, but I'm still convinced that it's a timing issue.
Next time I have it running I'm going to pull off the vacuum advance and see if it makes a difference just to be on the safe side. I can hear a little dieseling when the car is running but it doesn't diesel when I shut it off.
I'm going to adjust the timing a little by ear this afternoon too. When I timed my Pontiac by ear I was only 1/2 a degree off when I checked it with my timing light. The idle mixture screws still don't seem to be doing much, but as I get closer to a properly running engine they might become a little more effective

[06Daytona]

Here's a pic of where I moved the idle screw too, and one of the guts of the distributor. Is that points in there?

[06Daytona]

I did a minor timing by ear and it's running alot better now. It stays running now and it's sounding a little more like grandpa's car, but at least it's running. The exhaust stops right after the mufflers right now, so it sounds like a noisy grandpa's car but once again, IT'S RUNNING ALL BY ITSELF. I've had it idling for the last five or ten minutes without so much as a hiccup. Next step is to tighten down the distributor bolt and see how it does on the 1/8th mile in front of my house.

[Moparal]

That is electronic ignition, the rotor looks like it needs changing or has been hot. There should be 2 screws on the carb adjuster not one. One is for fast idle and the other is for base idle.  You may have the wrong ballast resistor or the wrong coil causing the running problem. I can never ever see how to tell 1/2 a degree with a timing light and a chain.  Also , 1/8 mile with that throttle cable is not good.

[06Daytona]

I'll be going for a new rotor next. I only have the one screw on the carb, but I found another one that will work and give me enough travel that I can adjust my idle. I'm really leaning toward just picking up a crate engine and bypassing all the hassle with the 318. It looks like alot of the work under the hood should be sending royalties to Disney because it's so Mickey Mouse. I've stopped working on it for the day, but I'll be back at it tomorrow so I'll probably have a few more questions