A dog of a 534
Hi guys!
I recently bought my Dad's Fitzjohn bus project. Its 35' 25k lbs powered by a '63 534 Ford driving an Allison MT-40 6 speed automatic. This is the first time I have tinkered with a gas giant, so maybe I'm just expecting too much out of the old beast, but WHAT A POOCH!!! This thing is lucky to make 25mph on a modest grade. It idles well, but when you open the throttle it takes about 5 seconds to reach 3000 rpm standing still with the trans in neutral. Is this normal performance for this motor, or does it have issues?
Also I have noticed that when taking off from a stop you kind of need to feather the throttle to get it moving. If you just stand on the gas it will cough and sputter and somtimes die.
I should say that it has been vacuum and strobe timed, has new points, plugs, wires, coil and condenser, and allegedly has had a valve job I would guess less than 10,000 miles ago, and it has a newer Holley carb. have to check the exact model, but its a big double pumper.
I have read thru most of the old posts regarding 534's and can say that it has big dual exhaust thats not restricted. My first guess is carb/fuel problems, but hopefully one of you guys can give me a starting point.
I thought these things were supposed to be stump pullers! This thing just has NO TORQUE!!! My old MarkVII HO 302 would probably move the bus better!