Finally, some dry weather... need some advice

[No_6]

Took the little beastie out last night... and after about a month of sitting, BOY did it really need it! I start the car once a week and let it run for about 5-8 minutes, just until the water temperature starts to budge, and occassionally rev the motor to about 2500-3000 RPMs....



Well, when I finally got the car out of the garage, it was running really rough for the first couple of blocks. There was a lot of unburned fuel in the system (some harsh backfires), and it was really choking on the first hill I took it up (it actually died a couple of times trying to get it out the incline--about a 20% grade--of the garage). After the first 2-3 blocks, she ran really smooth.



Now is this what I think it is, which is everything from the carbs to the exhaust loading up from the warm-ups in the garage, or do you guys think that this is a sign of something more serious?



At this point, I am thinking that if I can't actually drive the car, I am not going to start it. I'll just keep the tank topped off with a bit of Stabil dropped in.



BTW, the motor is tuned pretty rich... 149.5 HP from a 1.7l crossflow. As I think I've mentioned before, I can drive her in the city, but she really HATES stop and go traffic. About 10 minutes of that, and the carbs load up. Now I love the pick-up I get with this car, and the hair-trigger throttle response, but I am actually thinking it might be a good idea to de-tune the car a little to make her a little more, um, tame. Suggestions?

[slngsht]

you really should not be running too rich at idle.



Ideally you want to run slightly rich under full power, and stoich everywhere else - and no fuel on decel.



running rich at idle will just help foul plugs and it gets worse when the engine is cold and you're trying to put load on it.



All of these are generic comments. I don't know what specific setup you have.

[xflow7]

Just to add. There is a school of thought that says if you are un-able to fully warm the car (defined as getting the oil fully up to temp and holding it there for a while) then you are best not to run it at all.



The reasoning being that unless the oil is hot, water vapor from combustion remains in the engine rather than evaporating out and causes corrosion as it subsequently sits.

[slngsht]

Just to add. There is a school of thought that says if you are un-able to fully warm the car (defined as getting the oil fully up to temp and holding it there for a while) then you are best not to run it at all.



The reasoning being that unless the oil is hot, water vapor from combustion remains in the engine rather than evaporating out and causes corrosion as it subsequently sits.



http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/iagree.gif

[JohnCh]

As I think I've mentioned before, I can drive her in the city, but she really HATES stop and go traffic. About 10 minutes of that, and the carbs load up. Now I love the pick-up I get with this car, and the hair-trigger throttle response, but I am actually thinking it might be a good idea to de-tune the car a little to make her a little more, um, tame. Suggestions?

Jay Ivey built your engine, right? I would chat with him about the spec and see if he thinks you should be having the drivability issues. It could simply be that a tune up is required (timing can change, carbs can go out of synch, and previous owners can touch things they shouldn't http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif ) or you are running the wrong heat range plugs. All easy things to fix and worth exploring before you think about...<gulp> turning down the power.



Edited to add: If you want to bring the car to Sammamish, I am happy to give you a hand.



-John<edited><editID>JohnCh</editID><editDate>2006-12-04 15:16:59</editDate></edited>

[No_6]

As I think I've mentioned before, I can drive her in the city, but she really HATES stop and go traffic. About 10 minutes of that, and the carbs load up. Now I love the pick-up I get with this car, and the hair-trigger throttle response, but I am actually thinking it might be a good idea to de-tune the car a little to make her a little more, um, tame. Suggestions?

Jay Ivey built your engine, right? I would chat with him about the spec and see if he thinks you should be having the drivability issues. It could simply be that a tune up is required (timing can change, carbs can go out of synch, and previous owners can touch things they shouldn't http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif ) or you are running the wrong heat range plugs. All easy things to fix and worth exploring before you think about...&lt;gulp&gt; turning down the power.



Edited to add: If you want to bring the car to Sammamish, I am happy to give you a hand.



-John



Thanks John, I might take you up on that. I have spoken to Jay, and he built the engine more than 2 years ago, so he doesn't remember the car.