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Ive been busy ,I replaced the 2 bbl intake and put in a 4 bbl carb as was a popular mod ,and initially was revelling in the new found power as guaged by the big hill on the way home test
Ive replaced the points with a pertronix unit ,got some new spark plug lines

BUT recantly have has a power loss ,,just not the same umph Id achieved ,The settings on the new old stock carb when it went in were diled on by a genuine mechanic
I tightened up the carb screws thinking they might have shook loose on the initiall install ,Ive peen putting super
Il change the a/c spark plugs ,r 45's( today
any reccomendation for the propper gap?)

the CLUE; the exhaust pipe loks like it has soot in it

a MYSTERY (possibly related)
radiator fluid loss ; I cant see any obvious spot where the coolant is going but Ill loose a gallon at a time after a 50 mile round trip commute
the rubber raiator pipes look ok I ,tihghtened up the hose clamps ,the tranny cooler ,looks ok I didnt see any corrosion spots or pin holes ,The radiator has been recored and I dont see a leak or obvious spot on the side of it where coolant is squirting out ,the thermostat housing has an occsional teesy leak but that hsnt changed too much and has been ok for a while ...
how about an internal leak ,like the head gasket ? ?is this my performance robbing effect? , ,I dont see steam in the exhaust but do see soot ,hmmm what sayith the inline 8 masters?
I have a lucious day off to plum this mystery and return the old girl to her prior self
I also habe found some 53 fins ,! I want to install them they are assymetric ,the one side of the fin is longer than the other ,I have to figure out which is r and which is left by if the shorter side faces iward or outward ,anyone know ? How about mr texas fin guy??

...just a though on the soot... When I was dialing in my Carter carb on my 327 chevy, it would run rich. After about 5 miles, the plugs were sooty black and I lost performance. As it happened in a rather short trip, my mixture was waaaaay too rich. So see what the plugs tell you.

If you think that you are burning antifreeze, due to a head gasket, I would think that you will find a clean plug or two as they are being "washed" by the antifreeze. But I would think that you would see white smoke out of the pipe.

Check your oil too, but I can't believe that you've lost a gallon of antifreeze to the oil. It would look like chocolate milk, or thinner.

I may be wrong with the above, as I am only a backyard mechanic. Someone may correct me.


Good luck!

Mark

On the coolant loss, have you verified the cap is long reach and not the too short standard length cap.

yes, check that radiator cap, as most modern ones feel like they fit but after a few miles and warming up, they start letting coolant out the overflow tube and onto the road.

If you suspect a head gasket leak and it's not in the oil nor burning white exhaust/coolant leaking out exhaust pipes, then it can only be combustion gasses into the coolant and pressurizing the system and pushing the coolant out the overflow.

Napa has a kit for like $40 that has blue fluid and tests for this. If it's happening, the fluid in the kit will turn from blue to green if anything like that is happening.

Hey Steve,

I don't know if there is anyway to tell left from right on those fins. What I did when installing the fins on my '52 was first, take out the studs on each of the fins using two nuts. From there, mock them up on your car. You should be able to tell which way they go by appearance. They will also fit better one way than the other.

-Garrett a.k.a "Mr.Texas Fin Guy"

yo thanks! I thought about adding an extra rubber gasket to my radiator cap ,I got on e from the loccal oriely and it was indeed too short ,returned it abd got the longer on e and it looked by inspection when removed that the edges of the rubber gasket were wet ,if it'd sealed it should have had a dry ring around it ! so maby the fluids out the top at the cap! ill order one from one of the real packard supliers and try anextra rubber gasket in the meanst .what about soot? rich huh ? how do I lean this out on a 4 bbl ,go to a leaner main jet ? any scoop on the proper gap for the plugs? I got some new ones a/c's dont know if that the best for the old rig or not

Thank You fin guy!!

Plug Gap .028" and from the pertronix website, you can add .005 with the pertronix if you also have their High Output coil. You May want to start at stock spec and Take care of the soot, then go back and see if the extra .005 helps anything.
Check float level in the carb also before you mess with the jets. Too high a float level will also richen your mixture. Also choke oppening all the way? believe it or not, the bi-metallic choke coil can get old.

Check float level in the carb also before you mess with the jets. Too high a float level will also richen your mixture. Also choke oppening all the way? believe it or not, the bi-metallic choke coil can get old.

I agree to Tobs, those are the primary suspects.

It just occured to me, on the side of the carb that faces the motorblock there are two screws/plugs that you can open to see into the primary and secondary bowls. I don't know if when you open them fuel should come out or not, since this is not covered in the manual for the WCFB.
Perhaps somebody with more experience can advise on that. It would be easier than removing the top of the carb to measure the float height.
-safer to be running rich than to lean anyway

The level plugs Tobs mentions are a quick way to check the carburetor bowls' fuel level. Generally, with the plugs (front for primary and rear for secondary) removed and engine running, the fuel should be just at the bottom of the holes, not running out, but visible. Anything more or less will require more work to fix - float adjustment, needle and seat replacement.

(o[]o)