Load o matic help

Ragman069

New member
My '62 Fairlane has a 170 ci and two speed automatic. It has a Holley 1909(list 2345-1) carb and the load o matic distributor. The engine falls flat on its face and won't rev above 2500 rpm. I've cleaned and rebuilt the carb, replaced the steel vacuum line and vacuum advance canister on the distributor. The initial timing is set at 12 degrees BTDC. I timed it with the vacuum line disconnected and plugged. As soon as the engine is revved up, the timing mark advances properly to maybe 25 degrees, I'm guessing. But as the revs increase past 1200-1300, it seems that the vacuum signal is lost and the timing drops back to 12 degrees, and the engine bogs right down. It does this with the old SCV and the new one that came with the carb kit. The car won't go over 20-25 mph depending on terrain. Could this be a clogged vacuum passage in the carb affecting the timing? It sometimes emits a whistling sound while trying to accelerate. I can't find any vacuum leaks. The engine idles properly and stalls immediately if I cover the carb throat. Any suggestions would be appreciated.IMG_0030.JPG
 
Check the vacuum canister to see if it will hold a vacuum using a hand held vacuum pump.
Blow all the carb vacuum passages out with compressed air. Go from there.
 
Hi, I would put a vacuum gauge on the tube at the distributor and see if you hold a vacuum at 2000 RPM. Good luck
 
Where is the whistling noise coming from, engine or possible clogged exhaust???
 
Hi, X2. Could be a clogged exhaust. Can you check for spark while the motor is bogging? I would be curious to see how much fuel the carb is getting. The old school test is to crank it and see how fast it will fill a coffee can. It should fill pretty fast. I like to use a starter button at the solenoid with the key off so there is no spark. Good luck
 
There seems to be a good flow of exhaust coming out of the tail pipe, but I will try undoing the pipe at the manifold and see what happens. The vacuum advance diaphragm is a new Standard Motor Products piece and it seemed to hold vacuum when I tested it prior to installing it. After doing some reading, I have a feeling the Venturi vacuum passage in the carb may be blocked. I'll hit that with some compressed air and see what happens. Thx for the input.
 
Best of luck, hope you find the problem.
 
Ragman069":3ewpigsx said:
There seems to be a good flow of exhaust coming out of the tail pipe, but I will try undoing the pipe at the manifold and see what happens. The vacuum advance diaphragm is a new Standard Motor Products piece and it seemed to hold vacuum when I tested it prior to installing it. After doing some reading, I have a feeling the Venturi vacuum passage in the carb may be blocked. I'll hit that with some compressed air and see what happens. Thx for the input.

I had this - blocked passages in my 1100 carb - the vac advance diaphragm had been holed for some time when I bought the car - figured it had sucked dirt into the carb drillings via the hole in diaphragm. as was getting no advance . took a while to think thru to the solution after changing a new diaphram

cleaned out with can of carb cleaner + small dia tube - gave a tell tale the passages were clean as the carb cleaner shoots out

this link has good info of the passages involved - should be similar principle for the 1909 with scv

this also is a post somewhere on here(I think) - should be a sticky ... mods...

http://www.63fordfalcon.com/articles/au ... matic.html
 
another thing - you could disconnect the vac line , set the loadmatic to say 25 deg /30 advance and go for a drive - will see if it pulls past 25 mph.

loadomatic wont advance with no vac line and can then eliminate-or confirm its the advance .
 
Thx, it is something worth trying. Hopefully, the motor won't knock and ping with that much initial advance at idle while trying to accelerate. Can't do anything until the weekend, unfortunately, but I'll post updates.
 
If you haven't read any of our old tech pages yet there is a great write up on the Load O Matic system. These system work well on stock motors when all the parts function as they were designed. The link for the Load O Matic article is below, it might be of some help in getting your Load O figured out. The Holley 1904 is also a very good little carb if it's clean and the settings are right recheck that all the carb passages are nice and clean and that your wet fuel level is correct. One other thing to check is if your fuel pump is good. Ie do a fuel volume test. Good luck : :nod:

ci/Loadomatic.html
 

Thanks, I've read through them soon after purchasing the car. The tech articles are very informative and gave me a good understanding about how the LOM distributor and the SCV carb function. Hopefully, I'll be kicking up some gravel this weekend with my 105 horse 170......lol
 
SATURDAY UPDATE.......
I was able to play with the '62 Fairlane today. I undid the vacuum line from the carb and removed the SCV. Then I used a rubber tipped blow gun and shot compressed air through the ports. After that , I reassembled the line and valve and fired up the engine. The timing was no better. Then I swapped out the aftermarket SCV that came in the Walker Products carb kit with the original Holley piece which I replaced after rebuilding the carb. Result----timing worked as it should. (Like the Car Doctor says....new means Never Ever Worked). But still, the engine was a dog. So I proceeded to to undo the exhaust pipe at the manifold. THE CAR WENT LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL....LOL. There is some type of restriction in the exhaust pipe(possible a mouse nest) The funny thing was that the pipe had a good flow of exhaust gas coming out before I put on the new muffler. I concluded I had three issues causing the no power problem(clogged vacuum port, defective SCV, and partially blocked exhaust). Tomorrow I will try and run a plumbers' snake through the pipe to remove the restriction.
Thanks to everyone that offered advice and suggestions.
 
:beer: congrats on making progress hopefully the new muffler didn't get cogged up too after it was installed. Check out the full tail pipe real good I have seen them collapsed / pinched down over the rear axel from being hit from the rear (collision) or even from backing into something pushing the pipe forward. Good luck :nod:
 
Good show, as soon as you said whistling on acceration I knew you had blockage in the exhaust. At least the old SCV solved that part of the equation.
Remove the muffler & snake the headpipe.
Cars make in the late 60's-70's had a history of a two layer headpipe & the inner section would collapse.
After you get the exhaust flowing you think you are in a rocket.
 
I cut my head pipe in half today where I thought the blockage was. WSA111 was spot on. The inner layer of pipe was collapsed right in the middle of the bend. I managed to bend it back into shape and my buddy welded it back together as a temporary fix until I find a new pipe. An actual road test on the highway will be next as soon as I put insurance and antique plates on it. I got it up to a whopping 35 mph on the dirt lot where I keep it, having to back out of it to negotiate a corner. :beer:
 
hot rodder!
bet the exh is killin! da neighbors now…
WEEeee !!!
 
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