Old time carb guy here . Chevy , idle . At 1000 rpm , initial jet settings 1 to 1 1/2 turns out . , timing just a tad advanced . Get the fuel air mix dialed in adjust timing , reduce idle 750 rpm . Make sure the floats are at the correct settings/ level. Stay safe , have fun . Oh old Marine here so in the field we “ made do” with what we have , your fan job is just fine , up the haters.

75-year-old here Ray. I used to work on carbed engines in my younger years. The Chevy big block could be a pain in the ass to tune and time. Most of the time we used to tune by ear. When it sounded right, we'd put a timing light and vacuum gauge on and 95% of the time it was spot on. Maybe drop your idle to around 750. It sounds like it's got a 3/4 or maybe even a full race cam in it. It will lope even with a perfect tune. That's how they are. Great job for a youngster working on old school. Keep up the great work sir.

I still have my timing light, and dwell meter. I still remember setting up ignition points, and adjusting the carburetor by ear.

I can remember helping my dad in 73 or 74 ( Night Stalker series had a new show on TV that night I did not want to miss . ) anyway he had rebuilt the Carter Thermoquad on moms dining room table she was not happy . It was major tune up time before summer vacation . If I recall correctly it was a 383 in a 68 Station Wagon . So I was just there to turn the key over while he adjusted and set the timing , it backfired onetime and his hair caught on fire I froze for a few seconds and then yelled your hair is on fire . When we got together and talked cars later in life we would laugh about that day .

i am 73, and in my day timing lights were the in thing. we used them all the time, but used our ears to set the carb. om,y used vacume gauges on multi carb engines to balance the carbs. well done Ray on the videos', and exalent work.

OMG I'm so old. Ray has to explain the operation of a timing light.

Ah, the good old day’s. Timing light,dwell meter, vacuum gauge. Love it.

Since you don't have a CO meter, the way you adjust the idle mixture screws on a warm engine is first set the idle speed screw, then adjust one screw to get the highest speed and stop - don't turn rich beyond the highest speed. Re adjust the idle speed on the throttle. Then do the same on the other side and adjust the idle on the throttle again. this is all done with the air cleaner in place. Having said all that, it seems the engine actually has a moderate lumpy cam in it causing low manifold vacuum which causes the main metering rods to open up the main jets at idle resulting in fuel dribbling out of the main nozzles vs the idle ports. To correct this, the step up springs on the metering rods need to be replaced with softer ones. What you did with the vacuum gage was adjust to the highest vacuum to keep the metering rods from dribbling. Which worked, but to get it tuned right will take someone who grew up in the dark arts of carburetion.

You need to disconnect the vacuum advance when setting timing. Not all engines had vacuum advance at idle. Most used ported vacuum which is taken from above the throttle plates. You might have another vacuum port. My preference is to use ported vacuum for the vacuum advance, especially on cammed engines. Be aware that if you need to raise the idle due to a hot cam, you may have trouble with properly adjusting idle mixture. I tried to avoid it, but sometimes you need to enlarge the holes in the throttle plate. That Edelbrock carb (relabeled Carter AFB) is easily tuneable for midrange and higher rpm by swapping metering rods. To see if fuel mixture needs tinkering, hold engine speed at 3000 rpm then artificially enrich the engine using an unlite propane torch. If too rich, the additional fuel will not add rpm. If too lean, rpm will increase. Carb spray works too instead of propane but isn't easy to control.

Way to make a fellow mechanic feel old. 😂😂😂. “Carburetors were before my time.” Lol

I remember fondly the time in 1977 when I was learning to be a mechanic. We also adjusted the ignition and carburetors in the same way. It's nice to see that today's cars no longer need all this work thanks to the use of computers. But it's a shame that this knowledge gets lost over time. 😪 But you are knowing as a still real mechanics what's their job!

Working with timing lights and carbs is quite the fun job to do. That's back when everyone was called a mechanic instead of a technician. Well done Ray for dealing with the old time technology.

Hey Ray. Retired automotive instructor here. That sure reminds me of my days of being a mechanic. You did a good job at tuning that carb.That was done the way I used to do it. Very good for a fuel injector man. Have fun and stay safe. 12 noon and already 87 degrees her in Pennsylvania. Good day to you.

That timing light brings back memories, as well as dwell meters, vacuum gauge and if you want to go back a little further trying to get a Mallory dual point distributor perfect. trying to get a carter thermoquad dialed in was a daunting task, every little upgrade seemed to need the carb being adjusted or a rejet on it. Who didn't have a friend that could adjust a carb by sound and do a better, quicker job than using gauges.

This brings back many memories. Still have my Distributor hold down wrench. We would set base timeing then take it for a drive and adjust for total timing. Who else remembers drilling out the GM plastic limiter caps? 😅

Many of the old dudes who watch this channel, like myself, will recognize a good old school tuneup. When I was coming up in the mid-60's these were the techniques we used. I still have my timing light and dwell meter but it's been years since I've taken them out of their box. I really liked learning how to use a vacuum gauge to tune a carb.

I hope “voice over Ray” brings up the other video (F150?) I watch EVERY video that you put out, as I imagine do many more of us, thanks for sharing your work life with us

Morning Ray, I bought kiln dried pine board at the home depot in Greer South Carolina a month ago that had a sticker on it stating that in California that board may cause cancer... I think most of the people that make the laws of that state are failing the folks that live there. I was born in LA and am now retired in Oklahoma. I drove into California from Oregon in my motorhome and saw gas at 5.50 per gal at the first town. I turned around and went right back to Oregon. I refuse to give my hard earned dollars to the tax heavy government of that looney bin ! I am super enjoying the cobra series, lot's of us old school guys like this content. I would like you to have a couple of old school "projects" like this around to tinker with, we love them !!! And thanks Ray for continuing to share shop life with us.

Always check timing with vacuum advance plugged.

Good morning Ray and Dave, rule # 322 don't put greasy finger prints all over the office door😂😂😂

Just a tip from an old timer with lots of carb experience, make sure both carb and intake bolts are tight before making adjustments. Good job with the vacuum gauge to find the sweet spot!

This carb or intake seems to have a massive vacuum Leak. When you Close the choke you have a substantial increase in RPM. Spray carb cleaner around the intake, brake booster, carb base and vac hoses and if there is an increase in RPM find and fix it.

Watching this reminded me how I would tune up my '55 Olds. Get a book of matches to sand down the points, loosen the distributor so you could turn it while watching timing light try to find the sweet spot on the flywheel, and . . . Thanks Ray for bringing back some almost 70-year-old memories.

Next time you fire it up and get it close to operating temp. While idling either cup your hand over the carbs primary venturi's or close the choke. If the idle picks up you've still got a vacuum leak (as you'r enrichening the fuel/air mixture). If it attempts to die the odds are you don't have a vacuum leak. Tuning your carbs fuel/air mixtures by vacuum gauge is spot on. If the engine does have a hot cam it'll never make good vacuum at idle (valve overlap, LSA Etc). Depending up how radical it is, it'll not make enough vacuum to power a power brake booster... As for timing, the best method is to set to the distributors max mechanical advance. SBC's generally work best at 36 degrees BTDC at around 3000 rpm (or when the flyweights reach their max throw). BBC's generally like 34 degrees BTDC. When setting to max mech adv disconnect and plug the distributors vacuum feed as you are setting to max mech adv. Once set check your idle advance and don't be surprised if it's around 12-20 degrees BTDC mech advance only at idle. Now I like to hook the dist up to manifold vacuum at this point. You'll really get shocked when you check your idle timing and see that it's now between 24-29 degrees BTDC. You'll now need to readjust your idle speed back down to 750-800 rpm at idle (auto trans) or 650-700 manual trans. IF it does have a hot cam you'll probably have to up the idle rpm to smooth it out some. If going to manifold vacuum advance at idle scares you, you can just hook back up to ported vacuum for the dist and you'll still be much improved over the dated factory idle timing setting. Now with all this said, IF that cam is truely hotter than stock you may have to readjust the max mechanical advance down to 32 or even down to 28 BTDC at idle. A road test ping test will help you determine this. If it pings at 34 back down to 32 and if it pings at 32 back down to 30 etc. Last thing, you can only adjust a carbs automatic choke when it's sat overnight and before it's 1st start. Once power is applied to the choke coil it'll heat up and not be at it's cold state for adjustment. Set the spring tension to where it just closes the choke plate consistently every time. Err on the side of setting too lean as it'll get the choke to full open faster which makes the car driveable sooner. Setting too rich makes the plate slower to open whicj means it'll fast idle longer and runn too rich while warming up. The key is to get full choke at startup but have it immediately start to open so it can get to it's most efficient fuel/air ratio as fast as possible. Keep in mid that while it's warming up and the choke is slowly opening the carb will be set on the fast idle cam and it'll be idling as fast as 1400-1500 rpm. Most times these step cams have 2 or more steps and by "kicking" the throttle down after it starts up will aloow it to fast idle at a slower rpm. The step cams are directly controlled by the automatic choke coil spring. Remember, YOU are the ECM for these kinds of classics, LOL.... Good luck and carry on Dave

Brings back memories. My first car was a 1973 Chevy Vega and I did my own tuneups. Over the 5 years I had the car, I replaced plugs, distributor and wires. Last (and only time) I used a timing light, looked very similar to Ray's since I bought it at Sears.

OMG YOU PUT DEEEEZEEEL IN IT RRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

In the early and mid 70's my dad and I used the same timing light on our cars. We also had an "engine analyzer" that would help set the points, but we learned to set them faster by eye and ear. We had one Ford that would break the points every 15k miles. They were changed every year. This is a great video, brings back many memories.

Good old liquid White Out/Liquid Paper was my go-to for marking the notch on the pulley. When my mate brought his Snap-On variable timing light home from work, it made it REALLY easy! Could set the plugs/points/and timing on my 202 and 186 Red engines in about 2min..... they were fun!

I'm happy to see you are using a timing light. It's critical for older engines, especially high performance engines

I do love the sound of a Chevy idling that is carburated. And not miles per gallon but smiles per gallon.

I have the same Craftsman timing light, Used to use it on my '70 Beetle.

That car is the example of more money than brains! You will have that car more than the owner!

NON-mechanic here...FASTINATING look into an engine. Love it.

It's been a while, but the large triangle was TDC, or Zero degrees. Generally, 8 degrees advanced was what small blocks ran, and I believe big blocks as well. Now, if the distributor is points you need to set the gap to proper specs. Electronic distributor is whatever. Now loosen distributor hold down. With #1 wire and a spare plug grounded and key on move distributor slightly side to side. Spark should jump across plug. This will give you approximately the right spot on timing. With points you can watch it jump at the points. Your starter sounds like it needs a shim, it sounds like it's hanging up on start.

I am a Old Fart-77- but still have the Old Timing Light and Dwell Meter, Timing was a Art, some old Timers back in the Day, used just their Feel and Ears to get Engine Running Smoothly, a High Lift Cam Complicates getting things just right...

If my memory serves correct, that intake (tarantula intake manifold) had a rough idle as it was for running hard and fast. The right manifold woud smooth it right out.

Howdy Ray! I'm 72 and back in the day I used to run a 67 Chevelle with a 396 and an L-88 cam in it. Never dynoed it but guesstimate was around 500hp. Timing and carb setting was always a pain... but when set right it ran fantastic. I would like to point out that using a piece of chalk makes for an excellent marker on the crank pulley at the timing line. Very easy to see with the strobe light. I also used an old golf tee to block the vacuum line that went to the distributor advance, which I pulled off at the distributor not the carb. Haven't finished the vid yet so I'll get back to it. Have fun and learn a lot! Enjoy the vid's you do... keep at it! Just watched some more as you turned the idle A/F screws. Those screws operate an air passage in the carb. Closed screw means very rich as no air is going in. As you moved the screw out the idle comes up as it is getting more air and running correctly. Back at it...

Some mechanically minded people seem not to understand the correlation between manifold vacuum and engine performance. Always adjust and tune for the highest possible vacuum as this equates to efficiency and power.

Ray, We Love your very attuned and keen sense of humor on your opening salvo of this video. Thank you for your efforts!

Great trip down memory lane - 62 Rambler, 65 Mustang, 77 Fiat! Lot's of tune ups because points and carbs.

Funny I was just looking at my dusty timing light over the weekend thinking, man times sure have changed, almost don't even need it. Then I see this. Nice flash back to simpler times.

Timing light ......there is no such word in my lingo to say it so easy, we always called a stroboscopic lamp , however it's great to see it still at work in this era. Old mechanics and years of experience can't be beaten by all the modern crap they put in cars nowadays. Great job Ray, doing things old way enhances the knowledge.😊

Sounds good Ray

Oh man! A timing light! ! ! That brings back wonderful, painful memories... Wow, a Craftsman even...

If it's still too rich at idle, it's because the step up springs that control the step up pistons on the primary metering rods are too strong. With a hot cam and low vacuum, there isn't enough engine vacuum at idle to hold the pistons down against the spring pressure so the primary metering rods are open or slightly open at idle when they shouldn't be. This allows fuel to meter in at idle when it's not supposed to. The step up pistons are located under the metal covers right next to your primary venturi's. A simple spring change can fix the issue. These carbs are usually set up for stock cam engines where idle vacuum is pretty high, so this won't be an issue unless you run a performance cam with lots of overlap.

When I went to do the old school timing-light method, I used white-out to paint the marks on the damper to make them easier to read.

Oh no fuel Canister says the fuel is diesel! Always entertaining and informative videos thanks Ray

I was stationed overseas during the early 1960's. In 64 I had my dad order me a turbo Monza Spyder Convertible. It never ran right on anything except Sunoco 260. Dad was a Sohio dealer so I started checking timing. The Corvair turbo engine times at 25 degrees BTDC and used a pressure retard distributor to reduce timing with increased boost. Chevrolet had put a vacuum advance distributor on the engine so I was always at 25 degrees BTDC. Ran great after I convinced the dealer what was wrong. They didn't understand it as this was the first turbo Corvair, I really liked the car.

In CA, we change those nozzles out with old school nozzles and install an old school vent.

I think this was a great video. Right or wrong, i know some will say you're wrong but i learned more today than i did in 3 yrs automanics class in school. I see nothing wrong with your add on fan. It works!

As I have stated before, I love watching your videos and learning things, but I don't work on cars. I think I found the reason why I don't. When you brought out the timing light and were adjusting the caeb, it triggered memories of my childhood as an assistant mechanic to my father. He always worked on his own vehicles, but someone had to hold the flashlight (incorrectly) and do this or that but don't move. I cherish those memories and the expanded vocabulary that I gained. I went out to his toolbox just now and lo and behold, there was his timing light tucked deep in the bottom. Thanks for all the videos and helping me learn, or in this case finding out why he was doing things that I never understood.

A great project to learn lots of old school basics.

Not that I would ever do this myself, but it is said that the first step after purchasing a new gas can is to remove the idiotic spring in the nozzle. That way you don't have to hold it open. Second, you remove the filter in the opening that constantly shuts off the pump at the gas station when you are trying to fill the gas can. Optionally, you can add a little yellow popup vent so that the gas can actually easily flow out of the new gas can.

Clever that you put gasoline in a yellow diesel fuel container.

As the owner of a SBC powered Camaro with a carb, I thoroughly enjoyed this as I have (or am having) a lot of the same issues. Looking forward to the next instalment! Take care, much love from Merrye Olde Englande.

AAAAAHHHHHH The good old days, still have my timing light and haven't used it in decades, ooohhh yeah, got a box full of jets and secondary springs---- somewhere

Don't forget to tighten down the Distributor hold down .... With that cam, it is OK to let it idle 100 rmp's higher than you have it set. FOR SAFETY, THE SPRINGS THAT CLOSE THE TROTTLE SHOULD BE CORRECTLY FASTENED TO A BRAcKET THAT YOU ARE GONNA MAKE, AND SHOW US HOW TO DO IT. MISSION CRITICAL.....FINALLY, FOR A GUY WHO IS ONLY 32 YEARS OLD, YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND 'OLD SCHOOL' !!! We all know that you wanna see if it hits 100 mph drivin' up that bridge we see in all the road tests!!!! OMGGG!

Good to see a carb! Passing this along for reference/critique: I was taught to not mess with the curb idle screw to dial in idle RPM. Instead, the carb should be removed and the idle screw set so the exposed part of the transfer slot is square. If your initial timing is correct it should idle at a reasonable RPM from the start. From there, adjust the idle mixture screws for max vacuum. Once that’s achieved adjust the initial timing to get the correct curb idle.

Im an old school guy been tuning chevys with points and carbs since the 60s. That said, nothing would do that car better than an Edelbrock ProFlo 4. seq. port fuel injection. Kit Includes Intake ,injectors, the distributor and sensors to bring modern reliability and efficiency to the golden oldies. Once you get it set up, it stays set up-FOREVER! Waaayyy better than the throttle body conversions.Check them out...installation and explaination by you would make for a great video too Love your and the wife units stuff Ray...keep on keepin on!!!

Timing lights were still relevant into the 90s. I have a '92 Accord I've used one on to set timing.

I still have that same timing light. I haven't needed to use it in years. You will need to follow the OE procedure. I remember having to disconnect the distributor advance on older GM engines, then hold RPMs below the centrifugal advance range.

693rd! Had eye surgery, so have been away for 3 days Ray,Lauren,Dave and Justin, the newest employee. Those sidepipes are vicious! They would be the first thing I would get rid of. And Ray, IF IT DOESN’T FIT,FIND A BIGGER HAMMER! Roger in Pierre South Dakota

I remember when we were teenagers, and didn't have a time light, we uses to do the power break timing. Get one guy under the hood to adjust the timing, while one guy stayed in the truck and power breaked it. Qhen the tires started spinning in the dirt without thw truck bogging, we let off, made sure it idled, and went for a ride.

At 73 I’m an old school guy and you’ve done ok 👌 ❤️❤️

Awesome job dialing that carb in 👍

Wow. I don’t even remember the last time I saw a timing light. Must have been back in the Flintstone days. 😊

Hey Ray, way to tune that carburetor for a person who doesn't know how to do it you did a professional job on that carb. And i love the way these Mustangs sound it has an aggressive cam there's no better sound than a work foxbody LX like my. You're the man Ray.

Enjoyed the old school demonstration. Especially the vacuum setting part.

That there is some downright old fashioned Engine Tuning. Brings back memories.

Couple tings just to suggest - > Pull HEI cap off , check springs and weights are in good order, move freely. Don't want any idle creep timing coming in. one wants the mechanical starting up around 1200 with that engine. Nothing you didn't know already. Also the throttle lever attachments and spring return. I'd find a solution more professional solution for customer. I know in old days it was acceptable but now a days that has gotta be micky mouse. Lokar has nice solution. enjoy your channel a lot... learning a lot . have a great day!!! I saw maximum of 12" at idle up at 1000 RPM. I'd leave it up there for maximum amount for power brake use, if it has it. Having it low around 4-6" with anything under 1000 rpm I don't think is efficient but I'm still learning as well. Job well done. really enjoy your channel

I adjusted and rebuilt dozens of carburetors in the 70s.

that nozzle would have gotten free flying lesson to trash in less than 60 seconds from me :D

In my 1977 Vette the rear locked up. I used an additive by GM that lubed the internals. Had to take it to a parking lot and do a few figure eights to break it free. Worked fine after that.

Great video Ray Man getting there mate

there are not many so called mechanics around today would know what to do with the old school style, you have made a good job ,thanks for the video

Good news about the fans. You put them on and everybody can shut up!

No pun intended,lol...stay TUNED..good one Ray...love it!!!

Good job on carb, takes a good ear to properly tune. As per the timing light, that is how I learned. We put a white mark on point as well, made it easier to see. Plus depending on cam, you may want to advance timing just a tad. We ran RPM about 850 or so. 😊😊😊😊

Love jobs I can relate to. Love Chevy big blocks and analog engines in general. Particularly clean from from smog equipment!

Hi Ray. First of all I really like your attitude being a mechanic for my entire working life I'd say you do it right. I have drag raced big block Chevrolets and was interested in this Cobra because it's powered by a 454 BBC. I got my first good look at the engine in this video. The intake manifold is an old Single Plane that Edebrock produced for a few years. It's called a Tarantula. They off set the carb to try and get the throttle bores closer to the runners. This is a single plane manifold too btw. Some folks would say that single planes do not make good street intake manifolds. This all depends upon how much torque the engine makes in the lower rpm ranges. 454's aint' hurtin in this area. However, that carb that's on this thing is something that I would never run on anything even a lawn mower. There's just too much crap in the air stream and they're nothing but a throw back to the old Carter AFB's. A Holley on the other hand is much more tuneable and a lot less finicky. This engine sounds like it's got a fair amount of cam timing in it, due to idle and the overlap. It's not gonna like much timing on the crank below 12 degrees. More camshaft overlap means more timing on the crank usually. I've never found this to not be true. So getting it dialed down like a new car's timing won't work for shit. I'd think this motor would like around 15-20 degrees on the crank. I also wouldn't idle it down much below 1000 rpm. I have a 455 Olds engine in my 68 Cutlass. I'm running a big hydraulic cam in it and I run the ignition at 32 degrees on the crank and 6 degrees centrifugal in the distributor. It won't hardly run with anything less than this. The duration on my Olds camshaft it 268 degrees at .050 lifter rise. That's a lot of duration. It makes about 5.5 inches of vacuum when it's warmed up and idling. You didn't say how much manifold vacuum this engine makes, which will give you an idea of how much duration is ground into the camshaft. I don't know what sort of power enrichment this carb uses on your Cobra, on a Holley they say to divide your manifold vacuum in half to size the power valve. I think I'm running a 3.5 in my carb right now. I have a Holley 8082-2 Dominator (1050 CFM) on top of an Edelbrock Victor 455 single plane. You'd think this car would have terrible street manners but it's not bad at all. It restarts when hot just fine because I lost that boat anchor GM starter on it and replaced it with a mini starter I got from Sumit Racing for about $220.00. BBC cylinder heads have pretty big valves in them. Depending upon whether they are oval port, or rectangular port heads. BB Chevs like lots of compression ratio. The open chamber heads have a lot of combustion chamber volume, so they need a piston that fills this area up somewhat. That's why BBC pistons have such a high compression domes on them, if you didn't know this? Most open chamber rectangular port Chev bb heads come with 2.19 intakes and 1.88 exhausts. Usually the ratio between the intake and exhaust valve sizes are around 75-80% exhaust to intake valve sizing. If this engine doesn't have at least 10:1 compression it won't impress the driver. LIke I said before bb Chev engines like lots of compression. If the owner is worried about pinging and preignition with more CR remind him of E-85. That much ethanol will kill the pinging and actually make the engine run a tad cooler with more mid range torque than the best pump gas can muster. Anyway just some suggestions from me to you. You said that you were born in the electronic fuel injection era so you now have an engine that runs with a carb on it with NO computer controls on any engine functions. It ain't gonna behave like most of the new stuff you are working on. I admire your patience and dedication to doing a good job. Oh yeah the car would probably be easier to deal with and more tunable if that HEI distributor was replaced with an MSD pro billet distributor and one of their boxes like a 6 AL-2 and one of their "E"coils . This is just the way I approach hot street machinery, I've got lots of tuning experience from the track and my system works for me.

Good morning I’m glad to see you finally broke down and got a timing light. I’m sure you will use it again in the future probably sitting in the bottom of your toolbox until it is needed. try to stay cool today. It’s gonna be a hot one.

Wow a timing light...that takes me back. I think I have that same one in my tool box somewhere.

Gas can mod- cut cap lock so that it is gone; remove bottom of fill spout and take out the stupid spring so it stays open when you want to pour, and either order a vent on line or make a hole and put a screw in it when you don’t need to vent. Makes life a 2hole lot easier. BTW- love that MiTyvac

Hey Ray, edelbrock carbs are a great trouble free carb set them once and their done. By what i see you do have a vacuum (suck) leak because of raised engine rpm when closing choke on a warm engine.

The best gas can today is made by Surecan. There is a vent bar on the handle and the spout swivels from the bottom of the can. They are not cheap, but they virtually eliminate spills and chug-a-lug filling. Amazon has them and some big box stores have them.

“Carburettors were before my time” ……….thanks Ray. I now feel very very old!! On the upside, I still get the occasional referral of classic vehicles from other repair shops as they don’t want to go near anything built before 2000!

That was awesome showing the timing light. I always wondered how it worked. Thanks.

Boy, that starter sounds like it needs a shim.

Ray, That sounds like it may be a solid lifter cam, If it is it also sounds like the valves may need some adjustment. When you were blipping the throttle I could hear a one cylinder skip in the carb sort of like a tight valve. The Number one valve is kind of noisy but the video will not let me hear real good definition. Just something else you might want to check since this things seems to have been built by someone that was way over their head in the engine department. Those vacuum reading prove that cam is pretty radical. A LOT of overlap. Just as an afterthought, It might be good to adjust the valves no matter if they are solid or hydraulic. I had one come to me last year with a slight noise and it turned out that the guy had no clue how to adjust hydraulic lifers, he just ran the nuts down tight!!! He was lucky not to bend pushrods and wipe a cam.

Very interesting to watch you work on an old system, where you actually have some control over how the car runs. Good job.

Been a while since i used a timing light

Steady progress Ray. My first impression of this car was “bad idea..” But you’re doing your thing. Respect that for sure. The F/R weight bias will be an issue when you drive it. Might be a challenge to keep the ass end behind you. Have a good week. Always enjoy your content.

Great video! I have the same timing light in the garage, also a dwell meter, a vac/fuel pressure gauge, and a multi-carb sync flow meter. Guess that makes me old school. Enjoyed watching your mixture setting procedure. I remember doing the same, but not fondly. I like fuel-injected with computer control much better. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

Ray, make sure vacuum advance is plugged when doing timing.

Ray! Eggcellent vid! That carb needs to go in the circular file...you got it as good as it'll get without changing its internals,,but customer should consider upgrading to a quick fuel or street avenger, in the 750cfm range. There's also timing advance kits for that HEI,different weights and springs to tailor the timing curve & vacuum advance. Curious if it vapor locks.. The other item that usually makes those fussy is the air cleaner, generally they're entirely too small with the room available, not enough surface area and the lids are too close to top of carb. Fiddled with a few and there was alot of compromising in that tight space... IMO you're one of,if not the best automotive content dudes out there...South Main is my 2nd favorite. Peace!

In the 60's and early 70's this was just part of the annual tune-up. Plugs, points, cap and rotor. Timing and dwell angle, carb mixture. BTW I just purchased a new shield for my face protector and it had the California warning on it. Canadians don't tend to eat or inhale face shields as far as I know. We also still have the standard red Scepter gas cans.

I'm 67 and I would find a Rochester carb from an 80 Caprice. Those carbs had enough air for some cam variance.

Some nostalgia here today from wrenching in the 60 and 70s

I remember using the Sun Tune machine to set up an engine. You could see every cylinder firing which one were strong and weak. and also everything else was going on with the engine

the fuel spout system is mostly for fire safety, it shuts off if you drop the container, doesn't spill gas all over the place