An occasional miss or sputter

[63Futura]

I have a question about my mostly stock '63 Falcon with the 170 CI, Ford-o-matic transmission, and I believe Holly 1949(?) carb. At idle, it seems to have a little miss, or sputter occasionally. To my untrained ears it does not seem to be doing this on every revolution as if it was a particular cylinder doing it. As mentioned above, I only seem to notice it when it is at idle.
Does anyone have any suggestions about what I may want to look at in regards to this, or is this basically an inherent issue with these engines. I should note that my father, who worked on the car for years before I got my hands on it, said that it always did it, even with the original carb. Most of the external bolt on pieces have been changed at one time or another (carb, fuel pump, dizzy, coil).
Thank you.

 

[Anonymous]

mine does that too.

I think mine is cause I need a new carb...and these logs don't seem to get proper fuel to outter cylinders, particularly at idle.***

***the above statement is what I think I have learned from reading in FordSix forums.

 

[MustangSix]

Mixture distribution is part of it, but an electronic ignition goes a long way toward curing that occasional miss.

Most of these engines are 30+ years old with distributors that are worn and wobbly. Combine that with the inherent problems associated with points and you get inconsistent ignition.

Even a simple Pertronix conversion will smooth out a lot of engines. Platinum plugs help too.

The first rule of tuning is 1. Ignition first!

Never start tinkering with the carbs until the ignition is right and all its components check out.

 

[Anonymous]

great! I did the pertronix and platnium. That was instinct...when I first put the planiumin...wow...you could barely hear it running. so smooth.

I am next doing a carb swap or replace..I havent decided yet. Then more new plugs and see where I am at.

 

[Anonymous]

hmm is all i can think of is your spark plugs and wires replacing those should fix it or if it does not replace the points and condencors. if this dont fix it then get a carburator

 

[jamerson84]

Would a loose timing chain cause the car to miss?

 

[Junk-Falcon]

thats wh

 

[jamerson84]

So would a new distributor help much with a loose timing chain? thanks for info.

 

[addo]

Not as much as a new timing set would. You can get the budget ones that will last 20 000 on a performance engine, or 60-80 000 on a grocery getter. AzCoupe sells the high-tech ones that will last longer, are stronger by far, and you can renew the chain on. Plus, they're more adjustable than the stock set.

Just because it's not as conspicuous as an OHC motor, doesn't mean the timing set should be ignored. :roll:

Regards, Adam.