200 tuning help

Slobin3d

New member
I picked up a 65 mustang with the 200, rebuilt engine and carb, but it appears to have not been tuned. It won't start when cold, I have to feather the throttle to keep it running. It does idle when warm, but lower then it should. When I took it for a test spin, it ran ok when accelerating, but would surge when trying to maintain a constant speed.

Is there a sticky or faq with basic tuning setups for this engine and carb.

200 w/ 1bbl in a 65 mustang w/ c4 auto

Thanks in advance for the help
 
First welcome aboard. How did you find the forum??
Sound like your choke is not closing. Remove the air cleaner open the throttle. The choke should close. If it does not that needs to be addressed first.
However with this design if the choke does close & you close the throttle the choke will open slightly. This acts like a choke pulloff.
The proper cold starting procedure is actuate the throttle several times then open the throttle 1/8-1/4. This lets the choke blade closes all the way.
The surging could be a fuel pump or fuel filter problem. Also make sure the vacuum line is attached between the distributor vacuum advance & the carburetor. Remove the distributor cap & see if when applying vacuum to the chamber that the distributor advance plate rotates.
You can purchase reprinted owners manuals & service manuals from NPD-national parts depot, & other mustang parts suppliers.
Best of luck with your purchase.
 
Here are the Stock 1965 Ford Mustang 200 tune up specs

Plugs are gaped to .034, Points are set to 38 degrees Dwell or gaped them to .025,
Base timing is 12 degrees BTDC with a Auto trans, Fuel pressure is 4.5 PSI, Idle RPM (Auto trans) is 485 in drive (AC if you have it is off).

In addition some people need to learn a little bit about how the early Ford six'es LOD distributor and carb's (SCV) are matched to work together, they don't work like other vacuum advance systems. There is a good article that will help you in getting to know how this system should work ( see below link) it may help you to figure out if its causing any problems. When everything is right and in good condition a 200 will idle smooth down to 525 550 RPM in drive many even lower. Have you done a compression test yet or tested the plug wire resistance? Also sounds like the carb needs some work on the choke system pictures will help to see if you have all the correct parts installed. Good luck :nod:

http://www.classicinlines.com/Loadomatic.asp
 
I found the forum while googling tuning tips, and found it referenced in several of the other mustang forums I'm a member of. I also own a 95 5.0 and a 72 351w coupe

The choke is definitely wrong. That was the first thing I looked at. It wasn't closed when cold, so I loosened it and turned it till it was just open from closed. Noticed that there is no visible notch on the housing. It does open as it warms, but it seems like the fast idle isn't engaging. Everything does move freely.

As for the surging I'm wondering if there is a metering valve, and if it's too rich/lean. I seem to find a lot of mixed info and not much specifics

Thanks for the warm welcome and quick replies
 
Sounds like a vacuum leak to me.
Hook up a vacuum guage and see what it does.
Check the carb bolts and the gasket areas.
 
Back
Top