Help Please!!

[kwil]

Recently got my 79 spider running. Installed 1800cc intake manifold and a 32/36 carb.
New timing belt and all new rubber hoses
New plugs, leads and distributor cap
New fuel and new water pump.

Been listening to the car idling for a few weeks now and it was running pretty smooth.
Took it for a very short drive today....around the block. Halfway around it started spluttering and wouldn't
move, even in 1st gear. Seems like a timing problem but why would this not have happened in all the time
that I've been idling the car? Took me about 10 mins to get round the rest of the block.

Carburetor has a lot of black carbon around the inside of the barrels.

What should I do now?

Thanks

[narfire]

I'm not a carb guy,but perhaps the belt slipped and threw things amuck. Check with the crank at tdc and look at the back of the cam wheels and line up the holes with the raised rib on the cam towers. If they don't line up...well I'd guess the belt slipped a few teeth. Just one tooth out I found the car still ran but ran a whole lot better & + power when it was all dialed in. If the marks all are lined up then perhaps the carb.

[So Cal Mark]

most problems with new carbs involve dirt getting into them and plugging circuits

[kmead]

I would suspect the carb. Dirt could have gotten into the carburetor bowl, the float could be misadjusted, all that idling could have created lots of carbon that is clogging the various jets (the air correction jets in seen when looking down at the top of the carb).

Perhaps the distributor hold down bolt wasn't tight and the ignition timing self adjusted itself in the midst of driving. Is the distributor cap and rotor in good condition? Ground strap from the engine to the body in good shape and tight?

Generally the timing belt is not going to jump a tooth and if it does its not likely to continue running.

[mdrburchette]

So it ran okay for half a block? Are you running a vacuum hose to the distributor? Maybe a vacuum leak?

[digitech]

I'm going to put my money on the carb needing adjusting for your application; the car can idle perfectly all day and run like crap as soon as you begin to drive it because you are using a different circuit or part of the carb when you drive. Most likely you will need to change a couple of jets to get the proper mixture, the carbon buildup points to overly rich running.
Also, a vacuum leak can cause these symptoms - be sure to check around the mounting base of the carb to manifold. The aluminum base of the carb is easily warped by overly aggressive tightening.

[majicwrench]

I would NOT go changing the jets. Carb are built by smart guys at the factory, and designed to work reasonable well the way they are jetted. All engines run about the same air fuel mix. DO NOT mess with jets.
Timing, not likely cam jumped, not likely distributor moved, unless it is REALLY loose, in which case you deserve 10 lashes for not getting the dist secured.
Something else has gone wrong, will it still idle OK?? How long has this car been sitting?? Could you have an issue with water in the gas??
Keith

[kwil]

Thanks for all the responses.

Distributor cap is tightly secured
Don't think water got into the fuel as its been fairly dry here recently

I will not mess with the jets.
Could be timing and carb setup. I just realized today that the car was idling very light on the elec choke
and so when the choke comes off the revs drop way down. The car starts and I can keep it idling but I have
to keep my foot on the accelerator pedal to keep the revs up.

I'll tweak with it tomorrow to see if I can get it fixed.

[baltobernie]

Step 1 is to make sure that everything else on the engine is completely in spec; good clean fresh fuel, timing, spark, vacuum leaks, and all of the other things that have been mentioned here. For example, check timing not only at idle, but watch the light move as the revs go up. If the cam timing marks line up, the crank pointer is on spec and advances with RPM, and all plugs look the same, then (and only then) move on to carburetor adjustment.

Where did you get the carb? Is it new? Did you purchase it specifically for the Fiat motor from a vendor or another user? This carb is used on everything from BMWs to Jeeps.

Step 2, start here:
http://www.redlineweber.com/html/Tech/c ... _best_.htm
I'm with digitech on this one; Weber carbs are wonderful because they have many points of wide adjustment. Weber carbs are a pain in the ass because they have many points of wide adjustment.

[kwil]

So I played this one over and over in my head again and I think I understand what may have happened.
I drove the car 3 times along a stretch of level street. ON the 4th time I decided to go a little bit further.
So I drove off down the same street, took a left turn and drove up a fairly step hill to the main street.
I sat at the top of the hill waiting for traffic to pass. When I finally pulled out on to the main street I got
about 10 yards and the car felt like it was running out of gas.

I think....and I'm not pretending to know everything here.....but I think that since the gas tank only
had about a gallon of gas in there, the gas shifted back when coming up the hill and I sucked in air/dirt.
I do need to install and new fuel sender unit as the filter on the old one was not in good shape.

I'm going to run all the other checks as baltobernie suggest. But I bet that if I'd stayed on the flat street
this would not have happened at all.

Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions.

[BEEK]

question about the fuel pump, was the fuel pump for an 1800 or a 2000, the actuating arm on the 2.0 pump is different. it will run, but does not supply the volume for open throttle driving.

[kwil]

Fuel pump is for a 2000. So it doesn't work with the 1800 intake and 32/36 carb? Worked on the flat street no problem
and I had the throttle open. Was it just using fuel in the carb reservoir?

[mdrburchette]

I've not heard of anyone having to change the fuel pump when swapping to the open intake and bigger carb. Is this something others should be aware of, Beek?

[BEEK]

fuel pump for a 1800 engine on a 1800 bottom end, fuel pump for a 2000 on a 2000 bottom end. the fuel pump actuation lever is different. the 1800 pump put on a 2000 block will work , but only gets a 50 percent throw, causing the float bowl to run dry during hard driving, as the pump cannot keep up with the demand. not manifold or carb combination. i have also seen a too small needle and seat in a carb cause the same problem.

[BEEK]

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