Title pretty much sums it up. I'm overwhelmed trying to search through old posts about tuning and really need some help pointing me in the right direction. I have a '67 396, for the most part it's just mildly modified, .03 over, stock head castings w/2.19 int. + 1.88 ex. valves, 10.5:1, but with stock cast iron intake and exhaust manifolds (I know, big limiting factor but wanted it to look stock). Cam is a Crane energizer 3/4 race (let me know what cam specs are needed, I have the card but don't know what info is relevent). 2.5" exhaust system all the way out the back. Carb is a quadrajet w/.073 primary metering jets + .043 metering rods. Converted the distributer from points to one of those pertronix units and am using one of there coils (nothing fancy there either).

I had help setting the timing when it was first fired but am not sure where it is at without double checking it.

I finally have this car ready for the road after a 6 year resto, and am finally, finally, finally (did I say finally) ready to "tinker" :beers:

I've been waiting a long time to be at the point where I need to tune, where do I start? :confused:

Let me be the first to say ....."WELL DONE!"......

I'm a sucker for butternut yellow '67 Chevelles and you've got a beauty!

I see you're from Pine Grove.

One of the best, most knowledgeable, and most honest guys you'll ever meet is right in your area. Jim Carey who runs Ceganic Machine Shop in Minersville. He's a real good guy and can get you sorted out. Very reasonable, too.

Give him a call at 570-544-5857 and tell him Randy Stella sent ya over.

Are you going to come to Pottsville for the cruise on August 14? If you are, you and your family are welcome to join us all at our pre cruise party that we hold every year and has grown into a pretty neat event in itself.

PM me if you're going to the cruise and I'll fill you in on the party that we have from Noon till 4:00 on cruise Sunday.

Plus, you can get a ton of good tuneup help and Chevelle help in general because all of us will be there with our cars. Probably 25-30, mostly Chevelles and other GM stuff.

Randy

Thanks! Besides the engine machining and assembly, all the work was done by myself with allot of help and support from my wife and father. I did everything in a "learn as you go" basis, reading and asking allot of questions here and from others who have done the stuff before. So now I'm hoping to do the same as far as tuning goes.

Thanks for the invite! I don't know if I'll have all the "bugs" sorted out by then, but I'll certainly let you know if I do! A friend of mine tells me about that cruise and it sounds like a big one.

I know this isn't a post with an easy answer, just looking for somewhere to start.

Thanks,
Steve

My first question is, how well is the car running now? If it lacks power, stumbles, or does other things it shouldn't do, then tuning is a bigger issue than if it runs well. It also depends on what you want to do with the car.

In any case, you can do some simple things to see that your ignition and fuel systems are working efficiently.

Check your timing, both initial and total. And did the Pertronix unit come with the advance limiter parts that let you set maximum advance? You can experiment with that and different springs.

For the carb, especially if it isn't running perfectly, experiment with jetting, going up or down in size. And learn about the various adjustments on the carb and make sure it is set up well.

If it is running well now, you can spend a lot of time tuning and not gain a lot. But you will learn about your car.

Steve, I can't help you out with the tuning but have to congratulate you on your chevelle. It is Beautiful, nice job and well done:thumbsup:

Thanks for the kind words!

Well, I don't have a real good idea of it's overall performance. I only had it out on the road a couple times now, and since the motor is still fresh I haven't taken it above 3,500 rpms (how long should I give it for break-in?). Only problem I can detect at this point is when it is hot it want's to load up at idle. I don't have the rod hooked up from the carb to the thermal choke coil, do you think that could be the cause? As far as timing, what do you think would be some base numbers to start at?

Thanks!

It's probably a good idea to take it easy on a new engine and wait a few hundred miles before revving it to or past 5000 rpm. Ford sold their SVT Mustangs as "ready to race out of the box," but these old Chevy's somehow seem different.

Not having the choke rod hooked up would not affect how the car runs when it is warmed up, unless the choke plate is partially closing. If so, tie it open. I don't know a lot about Q-jets. You might want to check the idle circuit adjustments or try a size or two smaller jets. On a Holley, you set the idle circuits with a vacuum gauge.

I''ve taken my advice on timing from dozens of posts on this site. Common recommendations are for initial timing of 16 to 18 degrees advanced, with the vacuum advance plugged. Total timing would be about 20 degrees more than that, or about 36 to 38 degrees.

Ok, this gives me a place to start. I'm going to work on that a.s.a.p., I'm sure I'll have more questions afterwards, so look out! :D

Be sure that the choke linkage and flap is tied fully open.

Many Q-Jets have a small tang operated by the choke linkage on the baseplate on the passenger side of the carb that works in conjunction with the choke opening.

This tang prevents the secondaries from opening when the choke is closed. It's a type of engine protection device to keep people from beating on a cold engine but if you don't get the linkage right it will not allow your secondaries to open even when they should.

Randy

With your engine specs and no headers I would try 12* advanced at idle for starters. You probably don't need to go all the way to 15* unless you are looking for maximum performance. Just make sure to check you maximum advance at 3000 rpm or so too make sure that you are around 32-35*. More advance gives you better performance to a point.
As stated above it sounds like you need to lock your choke open first. Your car looks GREAT!

I'll get that choke wired open to be sure, and get this timing set and I'll post back with what I find.

I'd like to learn as much about this tuning stuff as I can, so if you have any other thoughts, let me know!

Thanks!
Steve

Like I said earlier, Steve. Stop by our pre-cruise get together August 14 in Pottsville. You'll get to meet alot of guys from your area that have a wealth of knowledge both in Chevelles and in general tuning. Major gearheads for sure.

I know you'll be able to pick up alot of good info and make some real good contacts.

The above also goes for any TC members or ANY other Eastern PA rodders planning to attend the Greater Pottsville cruise Aug.14. Just PM me for directions and phone numbers. The get together is free, just bring a covered dish or dessert. Noon till the start of the cruise. We're only 1 block off the cruise route and in easy walking distance of the cruise assembly point at Martz Hall (3 blocks).

I'll be leaving Texas on Aug. 3 to make the trip. 1450 miles and worth every mile!

Randy

Why would you want to tie open the choke on a Qjet? If the choke is working OK , won't that tang be a non factor when the car warms up? I assume you are talking about the tang that "flips" against the pin driven throught the secondary throttle shaft? Maybe you are talking about that secondary lock out on earlier carbs..Either way, I'd be cautious about disabling the choke. WHen you hook up the CHOKE rod, the spring will physically PUSH the choke flap open.

I have run Holley mostly, and when I put a Qjet on my car, I locked the choke open. I could get two pumps with NO choke w/Holley but NOT with a Qjet. It was a real b*tch to get started, and many here suggested in a thread I posted about the problem that it NEEDS the choke to start- we're talking AZ here, not IL. Before disabling things, Id get it working right and THEN go from there. I'd get the linkage right, or the guy you were referred to can do it.

Well, all I really need to do is find or make a rod to connect to the choke coil. I had got one of those new Edelbrock Q-jets because at the time I was having trouble finding a outfit to rebuild/restore the original carb, and I was ready for the carb. Problem is this new carb wouldn't work with the original choke coil rod. Car seemed to run alright without it, but it wasn't ready for the road at the time.

I'll fix it right.

Well, all I really need to do is find or make a rod to connect to the choke coil. I had got one of those new Edelbrock Q-jets because at the time I was having trouble finding a outfit to rebuild/restore the original carb, and I was ready for the carb. Problem is this new carb wouldn't work with the original choke coil rod. Car seemed to run alright without it, but it wasn't ready for the road at the time.

I'll fix it right.

I SEEM to recall Edelbrock selling a choke rod/coil assembly. When you say it didn't work with the choke rod, do you mean that it wasn't long enough or ? Remember that you CAN bend the rod, AND when you put it on, the tension of the spring IS supposed to make the rod seem shorter so the choke will stay open until you trip it with the gas pedal.

I would assume that the Ebrock carb will work just as the Old Qjet did. Maybe take a look at http://www.oldmusclecars.com/ or heck, even EBay. I have seen choke rods up there for more than a few Chevy applications. If it was a Holley, I'd second scrapping the choke- for some reason those things will start just fine with no choke. A Qjet, Id rather keep the choke on there.

It's one of them new quadrajets that Edelbrock sells, not one of those that look like a Carter AFB, but it's a copy of a later model carb. The choke rod doesn't really come close to where it should, and I don't want to ruin the original tweaking it around (I want to go back to the original carb eventually). I'm going to dig through some old intakes that we have laying around and see if I can find any other rods. I'll figure something out.

When I first put a choke on my intake, SBC, the rod was nowhere near "bottom of choke hole" or whatever the manual listed necessary. Have you tried putting it on? Remember that you have to CLOSE the plate first with your fingers to first get the choke rod on- that lowers the lever for the choke rod quite a bit.

Here is one that might work ,or at least is a reference- 427/390 Corvette Rod-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=10076&item=4523197245&sspagename=WD1V

I think I may have something made up here that will work, now my question is about the coil itself... do you install the rod into the coil in it's free standing state, or do you "wind it" around once? In it's free standing state, the loop for the rod to attach is up too high, and winding it once around makes it seem like it would be to tight to ever relax enough to open the choke. Ground up has a decent picture of their repo coil in their catalog, and it looks like everthing is oriented just the same as mine, which would make me believe it should wind around once. Am I making sense?

IMHO, try it where it is. It needs to be in its resting spot to get the adjustment right..It might actually move a little when you do the "top of rod bottom of hole" adjustment below; in other words, it part of the adjustement is putting tension on it to get the index setting right.

I am not real sure what the exact adjustment is for your car, but a good place to start would be to put the top end of the rod ( the o <---- part) even with the bottom end of the choke lever hole.

The nice thing about buying a rod is it comes with bends in the right places, AND it comes with that little tension spring that holds it on (at least for '68 Qjets). Those Ebrock carbs should fit with all stock stuff.

Keep in mind that the coil WILL expand more when the car warms up than it is just sitting there at room temp. I was also worried about the position with mine, so what I did is....froze the coil in the freezer to contract the coil (it actually contracts quite a bit), then QUICKLY put it on the intake to see where it would be when at its coldest. THEN, after hooking it up, I took a hairdryer and heated the coil up until it expanded basically to where it would be after the engine warmed up. It was easier to do this than on a warmed up engine.

Well, I finally got around to checking the timing, looks to be right on 12° with it all coming in before 3,000 rpms, so it looks like it should be A ok for now. Boy I can't wait till I can get some miles on this and be able to open it up a little!