It looks great, good luck with the little things. You have done well!!

 

The word "ready" is a little tricky to define. Mechanically, I think the truck is good to go. Having working gauges would be nice, but maybe not a deal breaker. Wipers would be nice too, but I did get a chance to drive through some showers today, and the Rainex performed better than expected. The real "show stopper" is the charging system. That has to work. I do have 2 batteries and a charger already packed, however. One of the spare batteries is a little 12V trolling motor bat. that maybe shouldn't count for much.

I really had my heart set on driving my old truck. Taking my Jeep would really cut into the adventure aspect of making the trip. I did commit to going, however, and so maybe I would still go even if my truck just wasn't up for the trip.

I think I may need another voltage regulator, but they are hard to come by on short notice.

Jim

 

A spare voltage regulator is always a good idea, sooner or later you'll need it. Why not get one on order? Plenty of time.

In the meantime, is there an auto electric shop near you? It might be worth it to have them take a look, maybe it just needs an adjustment, or maybe it's more serious -- better to know up front.

You're right, driving your truck to TS is an adventure you won't forget!

 

Thanks Ross. I'll have to think more about the logistics involved in somehow getting a spare voltage regulator. I was planning to leave with my truck already this Thursday, and was going to start out for Truckstock from my Son's house Wednesday Sept. 13. He lives about 2 hours closer to Kentucky than I do, so leaving from his house saves about 4 hours of driving time. It might work, however, to have a replacement regulator shipped to his house and waiting for me when we get back from our little trip with his family. Leaving a day latter is another possibility.

My truck is at an auto electric shop. A wire on my voltage regulator burned out for some unknown reason, and my friend was able to make a repair. Since the repair, he has had to adjust the regulator points on several occasions to keep the current from the generator going to the bat. For some reason, however, the adjustments don't seem to hold for too long, and the bat. goes back to not getting enough charge from the generator. It is working now, however, and has been for about 50 miles. Is it fixed??? Let's hope so!

Jim

 

So, my gauges may or may not be fixed. There was a wire in the instrument cluster that appeared to be shorting out. That was repaired. The temp gauge moves now, but only slightly. After a 20 minute run on the highway, the needle moved off the C to just barely beyond the first mark. The fuel tank is full, and the gauge reads full. The charging system appears to be still doing what it's supposed to do. I had another carburetor flooding incident today, but this time I tracked down the cause. The needle valve and seat were loose at the connection with the fuel line.

I was able to arrange for a replacement voltage regulator to be shipped to my Son's house before my planned Truckstock departure date. I guess I've done everything now that I can to be ready. Unexpected transmission troubles really shortened the extended "trial" phase that I was counting to get all the bugs worked out of my truck. I'm not scheduled to leave for my Son's house until mid-afternoon tomorrow. This provides an opportunity to schedule an 80 mile trip to a neighboring town for the morning. I have some business to attend to there, and I will take my truck for a final test run. If it makes it 80 miles, it should be good for 1500 right?

Jim

 

So, I did make the 1500 mile trip, and the engine ran great! I've probably put on about 3000 miles since rebuilding my carburetor, but the last few times I've started my truck, there have been carburetor issues. It needs pretty much full choke to start, which is probably normal because it's cold outside. What's concerning is that some choke it needed to keep the engine running even after warm-up.

With the engine warm, and the choke pushed in, the engine quickly dies. I can keep it running by pumping the accelerator. Just keeping the throttle partially open for a fast idle, however, is not enough. The engine seems to need a shot of gas from the carburator's accelerator pump to keep going. I've been careful to avoid ethanol gas.

Is it time already for another carburetor re-build? Thanks.

Jim

 

Make sure that your idle screw is set properly or at all. That was my exact problem with my newly rebuilt carb--would not idle without choke but ran great otherwise.

The carb was fine but the idle screw wasn't set whatsoever. Maybe it backed out.

 

If the carburetor was correctly rebuilt with quality parts, it should be good. Be aware of carburetor icing. Not saying that is your problem but it is a possibility. I don't remember if you have a working heat riser or not or what temperature T stat you're running. It takes a richer mixture to run an engine in cold temps than it does in a warm environment.

 

Thanks mOROTBREATH and Ray. The idle screw was turned out about 2.5 turns. I turned it in all the way and backed it out one full turn. It starts and runs about the same at the one turn out setting as it did at 2.5 turns. The carb re-build kit came from Mike's Carburetor--I'm thinking it should have decent quality parts. As I mentioned, I've been careful to avoid ethanol gas. My engine starts and runs but needs about half choke to keep running. At half choke, the idle speed is very fast!

I've been busy with other stuff and haven't been thinking too much lately about getting my truck running better. I did just receive a cowl, engine, and headlight wiring harness, however, from Narragansett Reproductions. I ordered it to hopefully solve the issues I've been having with my gauges, dim lights, and charging system. The harness wasn't cheap at $345, but if my problems get resolved, I'll be a satisfied customer. The harness is custom made (delivery took about 6 weeks) and is supposed to look and function as the original.

Here are some pics:










I'm probably going to wimp out and have my friend, the auto electric guy, help me install the new harness. My "new" gas tank has been leaking at the connection between the tank and the filler spout. My friend has already offered to fix this problem as he was the one who welded the parts together. Maybe my truck will spend another winter in my friends shop. LOL.

Jim

 

Once it's warmed up, do you still need the choke? (or the faster idle that comes with it)

Have you tried raising the normal idle speed?

With it warmed up, choke Off, turn in the idle mix screw until it noticeably starts to sag RPM; then turn out 1/4 turn. Adjust your idle speed. Try it that way.

Adjusting the idle screw at higher RPM and/or with the choke On is a waste of time. It's possible that someone in the past overtightened the idle mix screw and enlarged the seat hole. Can you remove the idle mix screw and post a picture of it?

 

Hi Ross. Thanks for weighing in. I warmed the engine up to the point of the thermostat opening up. With the engine warm, it would start and run without the choke (if) a fast idle was maintained with the foot feed. Easing up on the idle speed, results in the engine first beginning to stumble and then eventually it quits before normal idle speed is achieved.

I could get a pic of the idle mixing screw if you think it would be helpful. No one was messing with the idle screw, however, until I did just now. The engine probably ran 3000 miles without the mixture screw being adjusted.

Jim

 

I would assume the idle mix screw was removed when the carb was cleaned? There's no other way to clean the idle passages effectively.

 

Right Ross. The carb was re-built well before the engine work was done last winter. The re-built carb was used for awhile on my old tired engine. As you may remember, before the engine work, I did a fairly complete tune-up that included points, condenser, coil, cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. About the only thing not replaced was the vacuum advance--I bought one, but never installed it.

Once the engine was rebuilt, we just carried over all these new parts. My mechanic friend then set the timing, adjusted the valves, and adjusted the carburetor. That's the last time the idle mixture screw was messed with. Since that time, I've logged nearly 3000 miles, and the engine ran beautifully. I had some other issues, but they were not engine related.

Jim

 

I used the carb kit from Mikes carbs also for the Holley 847 226 stock carb. The accelerator pump was rubber. I have heard folks on Ford Barn say that rubber accelerator pumps are garbage, recently actually. I ordered a kit today from Daytona parts for both the 847 and the 94 on my 8BA which supposedly has the right stuff. We will see if it makes a difference.

JB

 

Thanks for the tip, JB. If I end up re-building my carb again, I will try Daytona Parts.

As I'm thinking about my carburetor issues, and the advice I've been receiving, I realized that I've had these same problems before. I went back to the beginning of this thread to refresh my memory. Back in the Spring of 2016, I had the same symptoms and got some of the same advice.

The problem at that time (surprisingly) turned out to be with the choke and throttle linkage. As it turns out, my troubles this time can be traced to a change I recently made to the choke linkage.

After my engine was rebuilt, I didn't need (or use) my choke for a long time. When the cold weather came, however, and I needed the choke, I discovered that it wasn't working. The little clamp that holds the choke wire at the carburetor was slipping. When I re-positioned the wire in the clamp, the choke worked again, but I started having trouble.

I'll have to double check my throttle and choke linkages, and hopefully my problems will go away like they did before.

Jim