Well guys, I'm at a loss here.

New points, condenser, rotor and cap. Points set to correct gap per the service manual. Reset the timing by putting #1 at 9 degrees TDC (8.5-10 according to manual), then setting the distributor with a multimeter.

The guys at NAPA looked at the dizzy (I brought it in) and the bare wire seen in the picture is a ground wire, according to them. No idea if this is accurate. Regardless they didn't have a replacement that they were aware of. The power wire coming from the coil and going to the points is red and is fully intact.

Confirmed the vacuum advance holds suction and moves the plates, removed line and capped to set and confirm timing with car running. Bent the arm that controls the idle steps so the set screw is on the first notch at full open choke.

I took it out for a test drive and had the same result. In nearly the exact same place, as I'm nearing 35 MPH the engine stumbles, sputters, and dies. Made it about a half mile. I can floor it in first and second gear and it doesn't seem to struggle. But get it into 3rd and it's like it has no power. Within a minute of going into third and trying to accelerate it dies.

I have no idea where to look next.

-Kevin

I had a couple of minutes during lunch to run home and pull the distributor out. I'll take it with me to NAPA to get the correct replacement wire.

I checked the coil and noticed it was labeled "No External Resistor Required". So does the coil handle all the resistance needed before it goes to the dizzy?

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OD - Thanks, I'll check with NAPA to see what they have. Hopefully they have something that will work.

Ross - That's the missing information I was looking for. I wasn't sure how things were supposed to be set up. By "first step", do you mean the smallest step? Just need to be sure I've got it right.

I doubt that there is an ignition resistor in the circuit. When my dad got it, it had the original ignition switch and armored cable going to the coil. I replaced the armored cable with a wire due to the original shorting out on the armor. There was not resistor that I could see and I did not put one in. What type of resistor do I need to use and where do I put it?



With any luck I hope to have the ignition issues sorted out tonight. That will give me enough time to do one or two test drives before the show on Saturday.

-Kevin

Thanks Bob and David. I was surprised to see the condition on the inside of the distributor. I had given it only a passing glance before, with my mind focused on getting bigger issues taken care of (fan, fuel pump, etc). I just checked with my local NAPA and they have points, condenser, and rotor coming today, so I should be able to install them tonight....assuming they are the right ones.

If I remember correctly, the high tension lead is a special wire, correct? I can't just replace with a modern wire?

-Kevin

Kev - the timing light is doing the same thing you were experiencing. It flashes incredibly fast, even when not connected to the spark wire. I don't have it connected directly to the battery (cables not long enough), but I'm not sure how that would make a difference.

TxGoat - It seems like when the engine is cold, the idle set screw rests on the fast idle cam. Once it warms up and the choke fully opens the fast idle cam spins and the set screw does not touch it at all. I have no idea if this is how it is supposed to be set up. Apparently the Stromberg EE-2 is a one year only carb (yay) and I'm having a really hard time finding any reference on how it's supposed to be set up.


I didn't get a chance to get the car on another test drive tonight, as it's still running rough. I swapped out the cap with a new one from the parts box, no difference. While I was in the distributor I checked the points and they are pretty burned. That may be part of my problem. I will go ahead and replace the points and condenser to be safe, if I can find replacements.

I messed with the throttle linkage and choke, and was able to get the idle down to about 500, but it's still very rough and wants to die at that RPM. I'm hopeful that replacing ignition parts will help.

Since I didn't think the car would drive well with it running poorly, I went ahead and finished getting the lights hooked back up. They work fine and they even have secondary bulbs placed in the housings to act as turn signals. I also finished getting all the trim pieces put back on.

I also gave the car it's first wash in over 8 years. There was a lot of dust and junk all over it. It looks much better now. A good cleaner wax will really help to finish it up.

-Kevin

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Love the board Kev. I've been working on making one up for my Panama. I'm struggling with resolution on the factory photos/advertisements. I'm not sure how it will look on the prints.

-Kevin

My issue is the manual doesn't specify what the correct idle speed is. And I haven't really figured out how the speed is adjusted on the carb. All the pictures I've seen of Super 8 carbs look very similar to how mine is set up, so I don't think it's missing any pieces.

I realized before I drove last night that I had forgotten to hook up the vacuum lines to the fuel pump. Once I did that the idle dropped from 1000 to about 600, but I can't seem to adjust it from there. Still runs rough.

The timing gun was flashing so fast it was nearly solid. I couldn't get a reading from it.

Kev - I'll check the vac advance again. I checked it before and it was fine, but that may have changed.

-Kevin

I did a quick test drive tonight of about a mile and the car didn't die, so that's good. But it's still not running totally smoothly. It seems to struggle a bit at speed (35mph and up) and the idle is definitely not smooth.

I had gone through all the timing before, but I may need to do it again. Something isn't correct....too much stumbling at idle. The engine shakes a bit and I can hear it in the exhaust.

Meanwhile, I am continuing to work on getting the body parts put back together. Sidemounts on, front bumper on, and the remaining chrome trim. Still working on fishing wires up into the headlight housings.

-Kevin

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Alright I had a few minutes tonight, so I removed the fuel pump and redid the diaphragm. We had missed the step where we were supposed to preload the diaphragm before tightening it down.

The fuel bowl had some debris in it, so it appears to be working at catching particles. The screen was clean as far as I could tell.

I double checked to make sure that the preload was correct, and reinstalled.

I ran the starter for about 5 seconds and the bowl filled about 3/4 of the way up. I take that as a good sign. It seems the suction is working as it should. The car started fine and didn't seem to have a fuel delivery problem in the shop.

The real test will be when I do another road test. That's a production because I need to be sure my wife can follow me in the truck....in case I need to tow it back home. The fuel always seems to do fine when the car is stationary...idling, revving, etc. But as soon as the car is under power it really seems to struggle.

I'm also noticing the idle speed seems really high. I was able to borrow a tachometer from a friend, and sure enough the idle RPM's were hovering around 1K. The Service Manual says that the idle speed adjustment is made at this screw, but the screw isn't even touching anything. The part the screw is supposed to touch is connected to the choke. I'm not sure where I need to make adjustments to get the idle speed where it should be. I'm assuming it's messing with my timing settings as well.

-Kevin

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Those headlight reflectors cleaned up amazingly. I never would have guessed that they would polish up so nicely.

-Kevin