Alright guys....

[Anonymous]

Ok guys, my Maverick is making me consider putting the money into my trans-am, however I still have a soft spot for old cars! This month on my maverick I have replaced the carb(Carter YF), head gasket, exaust manifold gasket, heater and radiator hoses, distributer, plugs, wires, cap/rotor, thermostat, and vacuum lines. Theres a bunch of other stuff but now it seems like im bragging. I put it all together together today and it wouldn't start! It has compressiion, the igniton system is ALL new now, and I have good guess its the carb.
When I crank it, its gets fuel, but it flies past the closed choke, quite a bit of it. At first I plugged all vacuum ports in order to set the timing, then I tried it with the vacuum lines with the same result. When I put the distributer in, the engine was at TDC and the rotor was nearest to the #1 plug, which I then rotated the distributer to set my point gap. Its kind scary, sounds like it is flooding bigtime, at one point the vacuum line to the transmission popped off with smoke coming out of it. Whats my problem??? I have a timing light and dwell meter.

SAVE MY MAVERICK BEFORE I DO SOMETHING RASH!

-Mike

 

[Anonymous]

stuck float? (assuming it is the carb) I've had a float stick open when I put the carb on dry. You might try tapping the carb with the handle of a hammer or screwdriver. Otherwise you might need to dissasemble carb and see if it is stuck. While you are there check the float level adjustment.

 

[Asa]

did you actually verify that you had spark?
you say that everything is new, but that doesn't really mean anything if you accidentally hooked something up wrong....

 

[addo]

Half a cycle off?

 

[Lazy JW]

Mike,
First, verify that you do indeed have a correctly timed spark. Pull all of the plugs (for saftey), and rotate the engine by by hand until you feel compression coming up on #1. Pull the distributor cap and verify that the points are closed. Replace distributor cap and rotor, put a spark plug in #1 wire and hold it on ground so that you can observe the spark. Turn on ignition and slowly rotate the engine by hand, when the points open you should see a spark. Immediately stop rotating the engine and observe the timing marks. If they are within a few degrees you should be fine. After verifying spark, if you still suspect flooding just remove the fuel line and plug it securely (I use a pair of Vise Grips on rubber hose), then crank it with the throttle wide open. DO NOT look down the carburetor while doing this. If it fires and then dies, you know where the trouble lies.
Joe

 

[Anonymous]

The more and more I look at it, it does seem like my timing is off. I pulled the carb today and noticed a little bit of gas in the intake log, so i cranked the car w/o the carb and was met by a huge intake backfire. For kicks, I pulled the carb anyway to do a double check. I thankyou for your replies, you guys make me smile. I love it!!!!

By the way, do you know where I could find the float adjustment for my carter YF? Ill tell ya how it goes, hopefully by this week!

-Mike

PS: You guys are very helpful.

 

[addo]

Too advanced. I think you are firing on the wrong upstroke.

 

[LEROY POLL]

HEY THEIR MIKE

.....STOP AND DON'T TURN MOTOR BY HAND...!!!!!!!

..... BEFORE YOU TURN ANYTHING PULL ALL PLUG WIRES OFF. THE MOTOR WILL START WITH JUST ONE SPARK. SO IF #6 FIRES YOUR MOTOR COULD START UP.

..... TAKE A SPARK PLUG AND PUT IT ON # 1 WIRE. TAKE ANOTHER SPARK PLUG AND PUT IT ON #6. LAY EACH PLUG ON THE FRAME. WHEN YOU TURN THE MOTOR NOW YOU WILL KNOW WHICH CYL. IS FIRING. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD GROUND ON EACH PLUG OR NIETHER WILL FIRE.

....ALL OF THE POST POSTED HERE ARE GOOD PLACES TO CHECK. THEY ALL COULD BE CORRECT.

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR HANDS.

LIVE IN GRACE

LEROY POLL

 

[Anonymous]

Once again guys, I appreciate your help very much. Today I pulled the valve cover and watched the rocker arms move while I rotated the crank by hand.(With ignition disconnected of course) and my problem was when the #1 piston was at TDC, it was firing on the #3 cylinder....my fault. So I put my carb and engine back together and it started within a few turns. Very happy sound to hear again!

However

I fixed the sticking throttle and stuff, but I cant get it to tune! The timing is set now and well as the idle, but anything after idle it wants to die or just struggles with no acceleration. Whats up? I keep trying to adjust the screw next to the idle adjustment, but I cant find the "sweet spot." Am I even adjusting it right?

Mike

 

[simon]

if its idling fine, and if just transition is giving you trouble, leave the idle circuit as is and check the accelerator pump.

IIRC the pump arm connecting rod is on the end of the throttle shaft, under the fuel bowl.