Heat Soak

AscolA

New member
Hey guys,

I did a search and didn't find what I was looking for. I have a 68 mustang with and autolite 1100. Apparently I'm having heat soak issues and was told that an insulated carb spacer would help out. Where can I buy one of these spacers?

Thanks
 
Why don't you start by describing your heat soak issues. It could very possibly be something else entirely.

We are naturally skeptical of any diagnosis not made by the general community of this board :)

I don't know of any phenolic or otherwise low thermal conductivity carb spacer avaliable for the stock carb.
 
Bort62":2ns3dhu0 said:
I don't know of any phenolic or otherwise low thermal conductivity carb spacer avaliable for the stock carb.
i could make one out of a 1x4...
an old cutting board?

it could be done
 
Ok-

My car starts right up when cold. I rebuilt the carb and upgraded the ignition last year. The car can sit for weeks and it will fire right up. However, when I drive it around and make a stop, I'll go to start the car when the engine is still warm it will stall when I put it into drive. I'll have to rev it a few times and it still wants to stall until I get going. If I give it give it steady gas for about a minute keeping the rpms around 3000 (just a guess), then it will be ok.
 
Had the same issue with mine. In fact that is how I found this site many years ago. In my opinion the one thing that stopped mine from heat soaking was upgrading to the Holley 350 cfm carb. I feel that the stock carbs on these motors are just prone to heat soak issues

Things that will help
Advancing your timing will help. The spacer didn't really do much for mine. Making sure none of your fuel lines are coming in contact with the engine block. Getting the over all engine temp down. Setting your carb mixture on the rich side. setting up your idle speed.
 
it is more likely something is either amiss with your timing or your carb setup than "heat soak"

"Heat soak" is a pretty vague term, and in of itself doesnt really mean much.
 
Many folks are dubious about this...

I had a similar problem. I used the stock carb spacer with the heater hoses running through it.

It worked perfectly!!! :nod:

Oh...and check your carb float height, too.
 
I've seen definite "heat soak" issues here, but we never really get below freezing, unlike Boston (where the OP hails from). So - our solution of something like a phenolic or wooden spacer, may not work so well in a Massachusetts winter!
 
One good insulating material is Corian, the countertop material. Usually you can get the scraps for free.

But definitely check the choke settings. Even a warm engine could use a little extra fuel to get started. If the choke is set to pull off too soon, you could get a hard start condition with a semi-warm engine.
 
had the same thing going on recently, on these posts the first thing I was told is to make sure the choke was opening when warm, sure enough...it was the choke.
 
While I"m not running the 1100 anymore, when I was I had some 'heat' issues (notice I didn't say soak). It was actually related to a clogged heater core, a poor conditioned radiator, and a shot T-stat. The car never overheated, but the poor coolant efficiency was an issue. Once I fixed all of that stuff, I never had a heat related carb issue again. I could let it idle for 30 minutes on a 95*+ day, turn it off and let it sit for 20 minutes and it would fire right back up.

I did however, remove the coolant lines from the carb spacer. It's been debated here before, but I don't think it helps carb heat issues as it is running hot coolant through it to the heater core. I always saw it as a cold weather solution instead of a hot weather solution.

The only reason I'm dubious of all these spacers and heat soak solutions is that members of my family owned 6 cylinder mustangs brand new in 1966-1969, and never had an issue that is what is described here. As a result, I always think the problem is elsewhere. Like I said, tuning up my cooling system cleared up my problems.

Also, since you say it is stalling when you put it into gear, I would also want to look at the carb and make sure your idle isn't set too low. Check the choke as well. it could be cooling off too fast or dropping shut.
 
That's kinda the same symptoms I have when I run my Holley 350, except mine likes to do it as I'm pulling out into traffic.
This reminds me of a similar problem i use to have w/ my old '71 Cutlass. It wouldn't want to start shortly after stopping hot. If I remember right, it ended up being the carb was flooding due to a casting plug that after years started to leak. I had to JB weld the plug in the bottom of the fuel bowl.

I would look at the carb, could flooding out due to fuel leakage, float height or choke.

I'm in the process of jetting my H/W 5200, maybe later I'll throw the 2300 back on and see what my stalling issue is.
 
addo,

The octane ratings were lower, due to lead content...but I can't seriously imagine it being that much of a problem. I still stick to the theory that a majority of the cooling systems out there are in poor shape. Radiators don't last 40 years, nor do heater cores. I got rid of all my heat related issues once I completely replaced the cooling system. I did however upgrade my radiator to a 3 row for good measure. Sometimes in the winter I hate that I made the choice as now the car barely warms up enough to turn on the heat if it's bloew 40* outside. if I turn the heater on the engine temp drops like a rock in those conditions. It's amusing at times. I watch my temp gauge...as soon as it's warm enough I turn the heat on, but have to watch it because if it drops I have to throttle the heater back.
 
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