Silverback
Well-known member
I brought a new puppy home: 71 Mach 1, it's supposed to be an M code 351C (but it has 2bbl heads and a weiand xcellerator intake), C6... It has an edelbrock 1405 600cfm carb (with electric choke) and a Mallory electronic distributor. The ignition wiring is all cut up and hacked, but I do appear to be getting spark. The car hasn't run for 9 years, but was supposedly driven on and off a trailer, so I'm assuming that it was in running condition 9 years ago. Here's the big problem- I'm pretty experienced with cars, but I've never owned anything with a carb.
It had a bunch of broken stuff that I fixed:
I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
Right now it cranks but doesn't start, it sounds like it's getting compression, I think I had one kick that sounded like it was trying to run, but that might have been carb cleaner and was very weak. My concerns:
Is this all normal? What should I check? Suggestions? When I messed with the carb I was careful to put everything back like it was before I started, I didn't touch the idle mixture screws... should I just set it to a baseline (I keep hearing 2 turns out on them is a good starting point)?
It had a bunch of broken stuff that I fixed:
- Starter wiring loose and against the headers
- no fuel filter, installed clear generic filter between the pump and the carb
- broken off throttle plate screws- pulled and replaced
- Cleaned up the inside of the carb- took the metering rods out, took the top half off, soaked everything in carb cleaner overnight. Wiped off/cleaned everything I could reach
- drained as much of the 9y/o gas as I could, disconnected the line at the tank fitting with the back of the car downhill, put a bit more gas in it and drained that out, blew out the lines all the way to the carb fitting before reassembling. Put 5 gallons of fresh gas in it.
- pulled the plugs, cleaned them off and gapped them (they looked almost new but covered in soot, I wonder if they were cold or if the last few times it was started it was just idled for a few minutes
- while I had the plugs out I sprayed a little Kroil into each bore hoping that any stuck/rusty rings would be loosened
- cleaned up the plug wires (don't worry, pulled one a a time and labled them, didn't get them mixed up)
- new battery
- squirted gas into the fuel inlet fitting till it ran out before hooking up the line (I couldn't figure out how exactly the bowls are vented on this thing)
I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
Right now it cranks but doesn't start, it sounds like it's getting compression, I think I had one kick that sounded like it was trying to run, but that might have been carb cleaner and was very weak. My concerns:
- Installed a clear fuel filter, it took _a lot_ of cranking before I saw any fuel in it at all and a lot more before it was mostly full. I'm used to FI where everything is full before it starts. How long should the mechanical fuel pump take to fill the lines to the carb?
- I see fuel in the wells that the secondary door weights hang in, is that normal?
- I don't think I'm getting an accelerator pump shot at all, I'm assuming that the 2 nozzles on the inside of the front bores are the pump nozzles, they're dry when I pump the throttle
Is this all normal? What should I check? Suggestions? When I messed with the carb I was careful to put everything back like it was before I started, I didn't touch the idle mixture screws... should I just set it to a baseline (I keep hearing 2 turns out on them is a good starting point)?