| Re: Pegasus is back on her feet! |  |  | |
| Re: Pegasus is back on her feet! -- Tracy Norris | Post Reply | Top of thread | Maverick Message Board |
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Posted by: Old Guy 12/29/2001, 17:50:34 |
Success!
This is a follow-up to the horrible carb backfires I've been having with my new 302 installation...Read on! After fiddling with the shooter sizes (started with a .31, went up in stages to a .45 then back down and settled on the .35) it was STILL spitting back through the carb with hard throttle off the line, but sounded a little better. Going to the RED cam on the carb helped out a lot with just a few pops, sputters, etc. I was at the end of my rope with this mess so I figured I'd call up the people at MSD and see if THEY had any ideas. Remember that I'm running the MSD 6A ignition box, Autolite plugs, MSD 8.5mm wires, MSD 8479 billit distributor and MSD Blaster II coil so... When I explained what was happening the "twenty-something" youngster on the other end of the line said "Your running the "truck" springs arent ya?" "Truck Springs"?!?! What is this kid talking about? WELL... It turns out that the MSD 8479 Distributor (new) comes stock with the HEAVY springs on the distributor. GOD only knows why! The kid said that unless my '76 Maverick weighed 5400lbs, hauled bricks, and took forever to get up to speed then "MAYBE" I should try lighter springs in the distributor (changes the advance curve). Doh! Figuring "What the heck", I grabbed my timing light and checked. Sure enough, 8 degrees BTDC base timing (good) so I revved the engine to 3500rpm guess what? Only TWO degrees of ignition advance! The darned springs on the centrifugal advance were too heavy. I swapped them out to the lighter silver springs and checked the timing again, now I get +24 degrees advance sooooooo..... Backing out of the driveway with mild throttle left skidmarks on the driveway (big grin) and I proceeded to tear around the block (shredding rubber the whole way!) till I got back home. All of this for two simple springs! I had replaced the intake manifold gaskets (in fear of a vacuum leak on my new Weiand 8011 intake), tried untold combinations of shooters and cams on the Holley carb, checked and re-checked ignition hookups, etc, etc etc. Moral of the story? NEVER assume that the *&$#($# equipment is set up halfway close out of the box... CHECK EVERYTHING. Just thought I'd let everyone know that "Pegasus" is back on her feet and running like a, dare I say, a MAVERICK! Thanks for everyone's help! Tracy '76 Mav Congratulations Tracy, just goes to show you that when the going gets tough, the tough(Ford guys) get going and end up on the winning side. Speaking of which, just a little fatherly bragging. My son Todd, after fighting a tough year at the dragstrip with our 75 Mav, topped all comers and won first place in Pro NO electronics class for second half points championships. He also won one of the overall top ten awards which combines all classes and points. This amounts to almost 200 cars total. Although he has always placed in the top ten for the last 8yrs, this is his first NO. 1 finish in points. And as a footnote, out of the ten in pro no/e, six were FORDS(2 351's-one 514 and a 5.0, with our 302 and one other in a Falcon, driven by a very capable young lady. I drove my 78 Fairmont in the same class but just couldn't cut the mustard against the youngsters. Oh well, maybe next year is mine, huh. Happy and safe New Year to all, Mavericks and Fords forever |
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