I guess I need a stall converter...

[michael_cini]

I have a 250/C4 with a 264/274 110 lobe center cam installed in the engine. I was certainly warned by Mike and others that the 110 may not idle well with the C4, but did I listen? No, of course not, I wanted some lope and a lower powerband, (EDIT: NO PROFANITY PLEASE) The car idles fine in neutral, but when idling at a light in drive it's rough. The car shaking is startin' to bother me. Do I have any options besides a new stall converter?
Thanks.
Michael

 

[Ronbo]

Mr. "Chee-knee", do you have vacuum issues as well? Just curious. I had a similar cam in a Olds 350 Rocket with no stall converter and it gave me fits. I either slapped it in nuetral at lights (a real PIA with a column shifter) or cranked the idle up a bit and rode the brakes. The latter wasn't so good in the NC heat during summer. And hey, don't worry about the not listening part, we ALL do it to some degree! :roll:

Ron

PS I bought a canister from Summit, semi-flat black, and threw it in there. Looked factory and solved all my vacuum issues.

 

[rbohm]

I have a 250/C4 with a 264/274 110 lobe center cam installed in the engine. I was certainly warned by Mike and others that the 110 may not idle well with the C4, but did I listen? No, of course not, I wanted some lope and a lower powerband, (EDIT: NO PROFANITY PLEASE) The car idles fine in neutral, but when idling at a light in drive it's rough. The car shaking is startin' to bother me. Do I have any options besides a new stall converter?
Thanks.
Michael

8) when you first set the idle speed and adjusted the fuel mixture, did you do it in drive with the vacuum advance disconnected? what rpm do you have the engine running at in drive? also what vacuum readings are you getting? start with the basics and make sure those are right first, then deal with a higher stall speed converter.

 

[WerbyFord]

Easiest options -
First post back the info above, idle speed in neutral & drive, vac disconnected.
Try idle mix screws.
Set initial timing at least 10btc, maybe even 16btc, cams like that.
Then retry mix screws. Post where it likes them best.
(BTW is your Holley a normal or reverse idle?????)

Next I'd find a good running Autolite 2100-2v - a small one, .98 or 1.02 or 1.08 venturi and see how it runs on there. The primaries of that Holley 350 are a bit big and the idle circuits set up big too. If that improves things, I would then hunt for a Holley 390 which has primaries a lot smaller than the Holley 350-2v so should behave better down low (and up high too when it opens). They are pricey though hence my suggestion to look for an easy to find Auto 2100 first. Another choice with good manners would be the weber 5200 carb, very small primaries, a bit small altogether but it might give better idle.

 

[michael_cini]

Hi Ron,
The vacuum ain't great, but it's barely sufficent. Yeah, doing the same thing, puttin' in neutral at lights (gettin' tired of it though), and even with the idle cranked up it is still rough at lights. frustrating.
Michael

Mr. "Chee-knee", do you have vacuum issues as well? Just curious. I had a similar cam in a Olds 350 Rocket with no stall converter and it gave me fits. I either slapped it in nuetral at lights (a real PIA with a column shifter) or cranked the idle up a bit and rode the brakes. The latter wasn't so good in the NC heat during summer. And hey, don't worry about the not listening part, we ALL do it to some degree! :roll:

Ron

PS I bought a canister from Summit, semi-flat black, and threw it in there. Looked factory and solved all my vacuum issues.

 

[michael_cini]

i set the idle and adjusted fuel in park with vacuum advance disconnected. should i do otherwise? my vacuum i recall was about 12-15.
i have no way of telling you the rpm's, sorry.

when you first set the idle speed and adjusted the fuel mixture, did you do it in drive with the vacuum advance disconnected? what rpm do you have the engine running at in drive? also what vacuum readings are you getting? start with the basics and make sure those are right first, then deal with a higher stall speed converter.

 

[michael_cini]

I don't know if it is a normal or reverse idle. how do i tell? if you guys haven't figured it out yet, i'm a bit new to the tuning/tweaking. i got the holley off of another user here who was using it on his 200 with OZ 250-2v, so figured it was configued fairly closely. if i use any of the other carbs you mention do i have to get another adapter, or are they the same bolt pattern as the holley?
thanks.
michael

Easiest options -
First post back the info above, idle speed in neutral & drive, vac disconnected.
Try idle mix screws.
Set initial timing at least 10btc, maybe even 16btc, cams like that.
Then retry mix screws. Post where it likes them best.
(BTW is your Holley a normal or reverse idle?????)

Next I'd find a good running Autolite 2100-2v - a small one, .98 or 1.02 or 1.08 venturi and see how it runs on there. The primaries of that Holley 350 are a bit big and the idle circuits set up big too. If that improves things, I would then hunt for a Holley 390 which has primaries a lot smaller than the Holley 350-2v so should behave better down low (and up high too when it opens). They are pricey though hence my suggestion to look for an easy to find Auto 2100 first. Another choice with good manners would be the weber 5200 carb, very small primaries, a bit small altogether but it might give better idle.

 

[rbohm]

i set the idle and adjusted fuel in park with vacuum advance disconnected. should i do otherwise? my vacuum i recall was about 12-15.
i have no way of telling you the rpm's, sorry.

8) idle speed and mixture need to be set in drive with the vacuum advance disconnected and plugged with an automatic. that way when you are in drive you dont have the rough idle problem that you have now. i would also push the timing a few degrees and see if that helps as well.

 

[WerbyFord]

The 60s-style normal idle Holley gets richer as you turn the mix screws OUT. There is only a small (1/16" or so) annulus around the screw.

The reverse-idle Holley gets richer as you turn the mix screws IN. There is a bigger (3/16" or so) annulus around the mix screw and should be silver tape over that area unless it has come off. What is the List number on your Holley? (On the choke horn, eg list 3208 is an early carb, list 6000-up is a later carb more likely to be reverse idle).

Of the other carbs I mentioned:
The Autolite 2100 is the same bolt pattern as your Holley 350, an easy swap.
The Weber 5200 would need an adapter.
The Holley 390 4v, Autolite 4100 4v, Edel Performer, Autolite 4300 4v are all the same standard Holley 4v pattern.

 

[michael_cini]

I pulled the e-brake, chalked the tires and adjusted the carb idle mixture with a vacuum guage. The idle is alot smoother! I still have to tweak it a bit, but its way better! Thanks for all the advice guys, it's much appreciated.
Michael

8) idle speed and mixture need to be set in drive with the vacuum advance disconnected and plugged with an automatic. that way when you are in drive you dont have the rough idle problem that you have now. i would also push the timing a few degrees and see if that helps as well.