Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Well, after a thorough tune-up and getting the engine to run after the wires to the points were hooked up correctly, seems like I cannot get the carburetor adjusted correctly. I screwed in both idle mixture screws at the bottom front of the carb to the stop, then backed off 1.5 turns per the service manual. Then tried fiddling with the idle set screw while tweaking those idle mixture screws. Cannot seem to find a happy medium where the car runs and idles smoothly when cold and hot. Thanks for helping me learn about this 1954 Packard L8 327ci 165hp engine! PS, I tried setting the points only with a gap setting tool...could the need of setting them with a dwell meter be the root of my problem vs. carburetor adjustment? Where do I get a dwell meter for my 6V system? Thanks to all again for all your help.

After you resolve your ignition issues and retime the engine and set the idle speed, I strongly recommend you use a vacuum gauge to set the idle mixtures. If you don't have one, they're cheap and you'll find it a very useful tool and it will get plenty of use.

Essentially, you want to have the idle mixtures screws set to give maximum vacuum without opening (enriching) beyond that point. To put it another way, as lean (in) as you can go and still keep max vacuum. An idling engine in good internal condition should give a vacuum of 18-21 inches, more or less.

Well, I knew it must be something relatively simple. I looked at the automatic choke setting when the car was cold in the morning. It was full open with the butterfly vertical. I adjusted the Carter Climatic setting to almost closed. Fired right up and warmed up like a champ. Then I removed both idle mixture needles from the front bottom of the Carter 2bbl. and shot some carburetor cleaner into them as well as cleaning off the needles themselves. Also cleaned out the throat of the carb with carb cleaner. Car runs smooth and quiet now with a little cleanup..huge difference. Thanks for all your help, again! It sure makes a difference when this beasty runs smooth, quiet and stable.