Engine temp on chevy small block

[OVERKILL]

NO! I showed you what type of aftermarket fan to buy.

I prefer an OE clutched plastic style:

but to each their own. I prefer an electric fan overall, but that's a bit beyond the realms of this discussion IMHO.

 

[wag123]

One more question. Which notch do I want the fuel pressure regulator set at on carburetor when I switch to manifold

Switching the ignition advance to manifold vacuum has nothing to do with the fuel pressure regulator or accelerator pump. You don't have to do anything else to the carburetor other than adjusting the idle mixture and speed.

 

[Carburetor1]

Fan shroud is flush how it should be now and cooled better..only downside is that when switched to manifold and timing was set the car wouldn't start at all it spit out of the carburetor.. so I put vacuumed advance back to port and set timing at 12deg with carb adjusted and went to drive it and the car revved up but didn't have any power behind it and barely got into 2nd gear.. I'm at a loss

 

[OVERKILL]

Fan shroud is flush how it should be now and cooled better..only downside is that when switched to manifold and timing was set the car wouldn't start at all it spit out of the carburetor.. so I put vacuumed advance back to port and set timing at 12deg with carb adjusted and went to drive it and the car revved up but didn't have any power behind it and barely got into 2nd gear.. I'm at a loss

You have to disconnect (and block off the vacuum port temporarily) the vacuum advance to set the base timing.

 

[Carburetor1]

You have to disconnect (and block off the vacuum port temporarily) the vacuum advance to set the base timing.

I disconnected the hose from distributor and plugged it set base at 12 hooked up to port side and now the car won't drive. And the vacuumed pressure was only 15 when set at 12degrees...do I need to set it higher cause that's the only way the vacuum goes up

 

[OVERKILL]

I disconnected the hose from distributor and plugged it set base at 12 and now the car won't drive

What was it at before you adjusted it? Re-trace your steps.

 

[Chris142]

I disconnected the hose from distributor and plugged it set base at 12 and now the car won't drive

Try this. With it idling and the vacuum disconnected advance the timing slowly untill the idle speed suddenly speeds up. Then back it off to the spot just before it speeds up. Then he look the vacuum advance hose up to PORTED vacuum and not manifold vacuum as some mentioned.

This method should get you close. Most Chevies like 36-38 deg total timing with the hose off @ full advance.

 

[Carburetor1]

Try this. With it idling and the vacuum disconnected advance the timing slowly untill the idle speed suddenly speeds up. Then back it off to the spot just before it speeds up. Then he look the vacuum advance hose up to PORTED vacuum and not manifold vacuum as some mentioned.

This method should get you close. Most Chevies like 36-38 deg total timing with the hose off @ full advance.

So to get 36degrees...hear me out on this..I would advance timing mark to 26 with vac advance hose disconnected and that would add the other 10 when hooked up to get up to 36??? Or am I way out in left field..
And also the slightest nudge makes it idle faster it's very touchy

 

[BornSlippy]

 

[OVERKILL]

So to get 36degrees...hear me out on this..I would advance timing mark to 26 with vac advance hose disconnected and that would add the other 10 when hooked up to get up to 36??? Or am I way out in left field..
And also the slightest nudge makes it idle faster it's very touchy

The aforementioned 36 degrees includes the mechanical advance, hence, "full advance". The vacuum advance adds 10 degrees to base, then you have mechanical advance separately, which is what provides full advance.

 

[Carburetor1]

The aforementioned 36 degrees includes the mechanical advance, hence, "full advance". The vacuum advance adds 10 degrees to base, then you have mechanical advance separately, which is what provides full advance.

Ahhh... so if I set base idle to 2degrees then my vacuum advance overall would be 12. Then rev it up to see if full advance is around 36 then adjust distributor accordingly

 

[OVERKILL]

Ahhh... so if I set base idle to 2degrees then my vacuum advance overall would be 12. Then rev it up to see if full advance is around 36 then adjust distributor accordingly

Normal base timing (no additional advance) is around 10-12 degrees BTDC. We used to go for 14 with our SBF's, but that required a minimum of 91 octane. It yielded a couple ponies and better throttle response. Hooking the SPOUT back up (allowing the ECM to command advance) would bring that up to around 24-26 BTDC. Total timing with that setup was around 36 IIRC.

So, in your instance, with no vacuum hooked up, you are setting base timing (unless you have insanely loose springs and are experiencing mechanical advance), which I think stock, is 10 degrees BTDC. I believe the suggestion for 12 is to make it a bit more responsive. Then, when you hook the vacuum back up, if this is on a manifold source, it bumps that by around 10 degrees, so then you are at 22. Add in the mechanical advance and you'll be well into the 30's.

I'm not wading into the discussion about the difference between ported and manifold, that was sufficiency covered by @RDY4WAR. Ported will give you no real advance until you mash the pedal, and then mechanical rolls in on-top, while manifold will give you the all the advance at idle and low speed/low throttle opening and roll-off when you hit the pedal, at which point mechanical will roll-in.

In either instance, if base timing is set correctly, you should have no problem starting the vehicle, but it will feel different depending on how it is hooked up. If you find that with base at 12, it feels better on ported, then leave it on ported. If you find it feels better on manifold, leave it on manifold.

 

[Carburetor1]

Normal base timing (no additional advance) is around 10-12 degrees BTDC. We used to go for 14 with our SBF's, but that required a minimum of 91 octane. It yielded a couple ponies and better throttle response. Hooking the SPOUT back up (allowing the ECM to command advance) would bring that up to around 24-26 BTDC. Total timing with that setup was around 36 IIRC.

So, in your instance, with no vacuum hooked up, you are setting base timing (unless you have insanely loose springs and are experiencing mechanical advance), which I think stock, as 10 degrees BTDC, I believe the suggestion for 12 is to make it a bit more responsive. Then, when you hook the vacuum back up, if this is on a ported source, it bumps that by around 10 degrees, so then you are at 22. Add in the mechanical advance and you'll be well into the 30's.

I'm not wading into the discussion about the difference between ported and manifold, that was sufficiency covered by @RDY4WAR. Ported will give you no real advance until you mash the pedal, and then mechanical rolls in on-top, while manifold will give you the all the advance at idle and low speed/low throttle opening and roll-off when you hit the pedal, at which point mechanical will roll-in.

In either instance, if base timing is set correct, you should have no problem starting the vehicle, but it will feel different depending on how it is hooked up. If you find that with base at 12, it feels better on ported, then leave it on ported. If you find it feels better on manifold, leave it on manifold.

I'm following ya now I got it..thank you very much

 

[Chris142]

So to get 36degrees...hear me out on this..I would advance timing mark to 26 with vac advance hose disconnected and that would add the other 10 when hooked up to get up to 36??? Or am I way out in left field..
And also the slightest nudge makes it idle faster it's very touchy

You rev it up and use a dial back timing light to get to 36 degrees with the vacuum hose disconnected. Without that you don't know how much total timing you have. A regular timing light won't work for total timing unless you have a timing tape on the balancer.

 

[Carburetor1]

You rev it up and use a dial back timing light to get to 36 degrees with the vacuum hose disconnected. Without that you don't know how much total timing you have. A regular timing light won't work for total timing unless you have a timing tape on the balancer.

Yeah with the advance dial on it..

 

[PontiacHO]

Most aftermarket camshafts are ground differently than factory cams. Even if the aftermarket cam idles smoothly you are likely to need at least 14 degrees initial timing at idle with vacuum advance canister unhooked and vacuum line temporarily plugged. Set the timing, plug the vacuum line back on the cannister ensuring you are getting live vacuum at idle, then adjust carb. Failed to read this but if you have a points distributor you need 30 degrees dwell set FIRST before doing anything. Incorrectly set points create incorrect timing. If after this your car doesn’t run well then begin backing out 2 degrees of timing until you get what you like. Edit: To add - it is necessary that Edlebrock carbs have 6 psi fuel pressure max and no more. Flex-a-lite fans are for high RPM cooling only. Not designed for idle.

 

[PontiacHO]

Yes the people in Pennsylvania who had it chopped out the section and the brackets for the radiator..then welded them on the front side. Had to make brackets to mount everything where it should be at. the old man who owned it had a shop restoring it for him and everything was garbage work.. from the wiring to shifter linkage to paint job. Very shotty work..I think they were milking him and he got tired of it. He only put 200 miles on it in 10years because of it all. But yes I'm gonna get the shroud flush and we'll see what it does. If it doesn't work then maybe a fan. But it idled after being driven for 10-15min and was at 215.. and the temp sensor is between #1 #2 spark plugs on the side

Everything will probably be ok once you dail in the timing, get a decent fan, and snug up the shroud. A temp sensor in the cylinder head (especially with headers) will always read warmer. My personal preference was a temp sensor in the intake manifold.

 

[DuckRyder]

What kind of distributor is in this thing? I can’t see it in the picture.

What I would do is disconnect the vacuum line, plug the ports on the carb and set total advance at whatever RPM it stops advancing (likely 4000 or so) to 34-36.

Tune it with the vacuum advance disconnected, one it’s running right you can hook it back up. I’m not going into the ported vs manifold there is great debate about it and each side will state emphatically that their position is right.

As for the fan, take some measurements and look at a Hayden/derale clutch type that fits the needed dimensions.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Try this. With it idling and the vacuum disconnected advance the timing slowly untill the idle speed suddenly speeds up. Then back it off to the spot just before it speeds up. Then he look the vacuum advance hose up to PORTED vacuum and not manifold vacuum as some mentioned.

This method should get you close. Most Chevies like 36-38 deg total timing with the hose off @ full advance.

Total advance # is critical, idle quality is secondary to everything else.
If the thing doesn't have near the correct (factory) idle timing with dist at 36 deg all in at ~3500, then the distributor needs to be reworked.
I'm not even sure we verified that the manifold port on the carb has vacuum or if the vac advance is working. I'm too worn out to re-read this thread.
I wish I could beam myself over to the OP's house and set this thing up

 

[Carburetor1]

The mark set at 12 doesn't move when revved up and light set at 36. It drives but has no power and popped a few times. The only way to get vacuum up is to turn advance to like 20 something