Help Before my Wife Kills Me

[734406pk]

I have several old vehicles dating back to 1942 and I started driving in the mid 60s so I remember how cars of the period smell; this one is worse.  This is the second, and new, 1406 on this car and both of them were the same no matter where you put the idle screws; they are 1.5 turns out; if you turn them all the way in the engine quits..  Putting the fuel regulator on it with the second carb did not help anything and I set it, and measured it, at 5.5 psi.

I would get a rebuild kit and disassemble the carb paying attention to the float level measurement and a good cleaning. Then you can change metering rods and or jets as necessary. Make sure the vacuum pistons are moving freely in their bores. I have rebuilt and tuned many of these carbs in the past with good results. Occasionally there is a bad casting but 2 in a row would really be rare. Is your coolant temp at around 180 degrees?

[jimynick]

There's a few issues at play here, it seems. You mentioned the two tuning schools of thought- one says you can change how a carb works and one says you can't- which begs the question; if you couldn't tune a carb, why the hell would they even make parts to do so? That's silly and defeatist. Then there's the folks who like their exhaust to smell like a grape snow cone- I don't know what to say about that-except that if you don't like the smell of gas, you may be in the wrong hobby- just sayin'. THEN there's the screaming woman thing...... maybe a new carb isn't what you need? Anyways, I hope you get it all sorted out and that peace can descend again. Good luck. 

[dpcd67]

Like I said, it ain't a problem for me; I like the smell of Army canvas and gas and diesel fumes.  This carb is new; I am not going to put a rebuild kit in it; two in a row do the same thing so it is a matter of how they interact with my engine setup. From what I read on the net, a whole lot of guys have rich problems with the 1406 Ed carb, for some reason, and they are supposed to be tuned lean from the factory. Maybe not.
I have the jets and rods on order to make it one, and two stages lean, per the Edel chart; I will report on how that goes when the order from JEGS comes in. As for the screaming woman thing; can't live with them, and well, can't live with them.

[73440]

I take the gas cap off the bike at lights to smell the 110 leaded gas, ahh!

[Strawdawg]

Like I said, it ain't a problem for me; I like the smell of Army canvas and gas and diesel fumes.  This carb is new; I am not going to put a rebuild kit in it; two in a row do the same thing so it is a matter of how they interact with my engine setup. From what I read on the net, a whole lot of guys have rich problems with the 1406 Ed carb, for some reason, and they are supposed to be tuned lean from the factory. Maybe not.
I have the jets and rods on order to make it one, and two stages lean, per the Edel chart; I will report on how that goes when the order from JEGS comes in. As for the screaming woman thing; can't live with them, and well, can't live with them.

Tuned for what?  tuned for a low compression 318 with a worn out factory cam?  For a hi po 340 with an aftermarket intake?  For something else with a big aftermarket cam, different pistons,heads, and intake?  running stock distributor, modified advance, vacuum advance or not?

They sold you the squeal and you received the pig.  It is impossible to sell a tuned carb that fits every combination.  That is just advertising!  In your case it did not work for your combination that includes a wife with a sensitive nose and no appreciation for old cars.

Buying a different carb might change it, or it might still require some tweaking.  Carbs have to be made generically to fit a wide range of applications.  It is up to you to tune it to YOUR car if you are unhappy with it out of the box.  I guess buying another carb and hoping it is better or pouring a gallon of xylene in the tank to make it smell like race gas are also options.

I gave you a nice link on how to tune it for your car up above, but, if it did not suit you, Google will give you a jillion links on how to tune an Edelbrock carb.

Nose plugs are probably the cheapest fix

[dpcd67]

Yes, I have that link you gave me saved in my tool bar and I am using that as guidance. thanks.
Nose plugs? no.

[Strawdawg]

I am assuming that you have some evidence that it is running rich such as black plugs, or black smoke  out the tail pipes-or better...a wide band reading

This modern gas just flat stinks and it is hard to get a carbed engine to run as lean as an FI'd modern engine.  Sorry, I am too old to go back and read the thread again to see if you mentioned other evidence   I don't remember yesterday all that well!

[dpcd67]

No, I have no evidence at all that it is running rich; I just assumed it was because I read about it on the internet that often they run rich with the Edelbrock 1406.  not
BTW, got my rods and jets today and will bust it open tomorrow.

[Katfish]

Take some notes and pics, I'm right behind you if it works.
Good luck!

[dpcd67]

WILCO

[dpcd67]

Ok, here is the report; I changed the metering rod and jet to "two stages lean" in the Edelbrock tuning chart. It took about 20 minutes. I can explain how to do it if anyone is unsure and wants details.  If you only change the rods, that does not require any disassembly and can be done in less than a minute. Jets require removing the top cover and disconnecting the choke and piston arms; not hard but don't lose the little c clips. Of course, all the old timers here know all this.
Result; it did lessen the black smoke quite a bit; it used to blow clouds of black smoke. I am satisfied with it although my wife will never be. I have some pics and a video; that little run is at about half throttle; if it was full, it will burn the tires for 50 feet.

[Katfish]

But the real question is, does it still stink after shut down?
Can you close the garage door after pullng in from a long drive?

[Sleepychallenger]

Yes the carb is the problem these carbs do not work well overall
The cam is alsopart of the problem , long duration cams always smell rich @ idle as the misfiring cylinders push raw fuel out the exhaust  but you should not be getting black smoke though , float level is often a problem as it cannot be set running , I have seen problems with miscast  or missing walls inside the carb , the heavy springs under the metering rods will all help .
 Personally I would use any other carb over a 1406 eddy , in my experience thay are the worse carbs out there , anything will work better & will be more tunable , my perference would be a Proform  carb 650 minimum 700 would be ideal

is it just the 1406 or eddy's as a whole?

[roadman5312]

Man, your car sounds awesome.   

[dpcd67]

Thanks;
 Does it smell after shut down? Sure, but not as bad. Never will be like her minivan.