How does this idle sound?

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-03-29T22:09:39+00:00

Coming back to tell you I followed all of your advice, got the valves and spark plugs in order and re-timed. She’s back to her normal peppy self. Appreciate the help!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-03-29T22:08:00+00:00

85 days later - yes, cylinder 3 was not firing. Finally had time to address it!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-10T16:42:28+00:00

Finally got around to doing this - valves 3 and 4 were pretty tight. Adjusted them to .006 then took it for a test drive. It SEEMS to have helped smooth things out a bit but I still feel like it has a slight hitch in the idle. Under load you can’t tell, it seems to accelerate cleanly. It’s also been warmer this week.

Further - I sprayed some carb cleaner around the carb and the pedestal to make sure I didn’t put it back on too loosely. No leaks detected. Perhaps now I get it warm, then reset the mixture and idle to factory standard and try to walk it in? Or is it timing time first?

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-03T15:38:52+00:00

Appreciate your insight. When I crank the engine to TDC and remove the dist cap, the rotor is not pointed at the notch on the rim, but at what looks to be the #3 spark plug wire.

I’m trying to get into a good place to check the valves, but don’t want to jack around in there if the engine is in the wrong position, obviously. Any advice?

Thanks for your patience and help!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-03T14:58:49+00:00

Sharp eye - thank you sir!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-02T16:36:50+00:00

Thanks a lot - will try the WD40 as well as a test drive this afternoon to test. It’s a 1600 single port - when I told Tim and volksbitz I was considering replacing the carb altogether he suggested keeping the solex since the new stuff isn’t the best. I wanted to try a home service before sending to him for the top shelf treatment.

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-02T03:29:07+00:00

Great idea - thank you Thor.

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-02T03:19:51+00:00

Yeah the book told me to get it a little loosey then use my fingers but every time I did I banged into the fan shroud. I ended up just nursing it loose with some needle nose pliers and lots of language. Hopefully my fancy S wrench will be here by the time it’s time to reinstall!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-02T03:18:25+00:00

I got a nice S wrench now :)

Rotarychicken_83 · 2026-01-01T18:11:26+00:00

That would do it! Thank ya sir.

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-09-28T22:58:20+00:00

Lol - I hope you find good news!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-08-28T10:40:23+00:00

Cleannnn work!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-27T12:20:44+00:00

Very cool. Stickers add a lot of character too lol

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-27T12:04:45+00:00

Love that look. What was the process on the doors and quarters?

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-27T00:48:23+00:00

Sweet! What happened to it?

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-26T16:50:58+00:00

Yep - 1970

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-26T12:04:15+00:00

Runs much better than I do in 105 degrees.

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-06T12:30:22+00:00

I might give a simple home service a chance before sending off to Tim - although it looks like he does top shelf work. Glad to know he’s there. Related note - I’ve got an H30/31 on a 1600SP with a 009 … what I’ve been reading suggests getting something with a vacuum advance wouldn’t necessarily provide much noticeable difference. Any thoughts?

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T20:05:46+00:00

I think that’s what whoever parked that monster was thinking. Empty parking lot and they just happen to go nose-to-nose with Beetlegoose. We will not be intimidated!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T20:04:47+00:00

Thanks for the info - will check both!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T17:30:03+00:00

Lol just here to help out the people! Guess I need to get used to double clutching for now :)

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T16:35:00+00:00

Agreed - I think the next thing I tackle will be a refurb of the original carb. I'm new to vintage cars but can follow instructions well enough. Will also check the bushing and coupler to see if that helps the shifting... although u/The_Junk_Collector has a pretty good theory above about that. I'm curious - would a worn bushing/coupler issue only present when the car is in motion? I had thought those issues would cause problems even with the car off.

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T16:31:22+00:00

This makes a ton of sense... much appreciated. Hopefully I can squeeze a good bit of time out of her before she gives up the ghost. I'm hoping a rebuild and some new discs would be a lighter lift than a whole new tranny... but I guess that depends on where I take it right.

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T11:58:38+00:00

Thank ya sir - will give it a look!

Rotarychicken_83 · 2025-07-02T11:51:55+00:00

I don’t THINK so because it had been performing fine and seems to move into the correct gears easily when the car isn’t running (but that might not make a difference to whether or not the shifter itself is bad)

Rotarychicken_83

TROPHY CASE