63 cdv Funny thing happened on the way to the circus!

[Kim K Kaiser]

I went for a ride today, thinking of Kim Novak from the cadillac forum discussion the other day, and a strange sort of event came up,  It has happened one other time,  wasnt thinking about Novack the first time

I was going along about 55-60 mph. and then the engine felt like it was about to sputter or lost some power, the first time couple weeks ago, same situation, engine was warm, not a hot day,   but without moving the gas pedal, it just sort of slowed and could feel the power leak off.. i gave  it a good press on the gas, got up to about 65, and it seemed to clear.  did it one more time about 5 minutes later, but i was in the car for the rest of the day, 5 to 8 hours,, city and highway, and no problems.

today was the same ,, about 55 or so, it just sort of leaks off of power,  and then with either gas or laying off the gas, it goes away, 

now i just changed out the points to electronic, and the situation happened before and after.  motor rebuilt about 40k ago,  was run occasionally monthly from the prior owner, but not a lot of milage, just run.

any thoughts on this,

secondly,, why would the needle on the speedometer bounce, sometimes it runs just fine, no bounce, climbs and drops accordingly, sometimes, though, if i gas, it boucnings over a 8 - 10 mph range,,

[Kim K Kaiser]

I know it has three tubes, and can check,,,however, if i DONT get the original,  what do i need to look for.  i put in my car type, year, etc and all i get the air filter looking inside part.  i dont get a modern or newer model to order.  SO what would i be asking for or searching for on the parts sites.

then again, what would you charge for the set up for the original,, i guess as usual, money is a consideration, I just want it to work consistently , that is my ultimate goal.

Thanks for your help

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

You need to look for the "IN" nipple is the fuel pump. The "OUT" nipple is the carburetor, and the "RETURN" nipple is going back to the smaller fuel line that runs to the gas tank.

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

You wont find a fuel filter housing on any new parts stores web sites. These are all from peoples parts stashes. Ask in here or look on ebay for 63-64 fuel filters.

 I have a good fuel filter housing with the correct filter and bowl gasket (the filter does not come with a bowl gasket) for 50.00  The metal line from the filter to the fuel pump is 15.00

The metal fuel line to the carb is different from the Carter carb to the Rochester carb. I am out of the Carter lines, but have the Rochester fuel line for 15.00 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Has gone from not a problem to problem. Lat 3 or 4 times, first start in mornings, things go pretty quick. Warms up, off we go. The second start up, ok. But runs very rough. I gas on it, it clears up. Car sat a while, started up, no grumbling, took on off, no probkem , got it up to 60+ fairly quick. Went to airport to walk dog. Came bk, tried to crank. It started, then died. Now wont start, just turninning over and over and over, at tge end it almost fires, then no. Stuck at airport, give it some time to settke and try to get going,

All i have done was loosen, then tiggtn clamps on fikter when i realized it was not tge casing for my filter.

[Kim K Kaiser]

Oh, i did get nonethanol hi test in it couole days ago.but tank is full

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

Check to be sure your choke is set correctly. It does sound like too much choke on a warm engine.  

[Kim K Kaiser]

well,, i took a guy with me that work on a lot of cars, we went back out with a cup a gas,,  tried to crank it off,, it turned and turned and turned,, no go,, almost though,  drop a little fuel in carb, gave it another go, he said push the accelerator down and hold it,  turned and turned and turned, finally it fired off. sputtered a bit, kept on the gas, and it smoothed out,, no problem ran fine,,,it didn't sputter or choke on the way back in,, like nothing has happened, BUT< i have noticed , since the change out of the point ignition, that i seem to be getting these carbon patches behind the exhaust pipe,,  they were nt there before this little episode.  the ambient temp here is aobut35 to 40 if that makes any difference,, its much cooler in the last week or so,

i dont know if this additional info gives you any more feeling as to what may be the culprit,, 

will the manual tell me how to adjust the choke?? if you still feel this is a potential problem,, the kid that went with said the choke may be a partial cause of the carbon out the exhaust.

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

Hmm, it does sound as your distributor is incorrectly set. The car can start and run but will sputter.

However over the last months when you have told us about your car problems a picture is starting to form in my head. Your problem seems to be that too many people with little or no technical skills has been working on it. You really need to start from scratch and doing everything by the book.

First re-check the ignition. Really check that TDC is in correct position and that the rotor is pointing to spark plug No:1 when TDC. 

Second. Buy a new fuel filter. You don't need an original glass bowl type filter. Just go to a well sorted auto parts store and buy a fuel filter with inlet, outlet and return.

Now if you are lucky the car should start.

If not you need to check if any fuel is coming to the carburetor. Fuel pump could be bad, fuel lines plugged, mesh filter in tank plugged...

So if you have fuel at the carburetor. You have ignition correctly set. And the PCV valve is operational. The car should run good. There is nil computers or other devices that could f*ck up your car. Its a good solid american made car, built to last.

If it still don't run? Then its deeper. Way deeper. Do you have compression? In every cylinder?

[Kim K Kaiser]

Sounds goid. Will try to duplicate conditions again today. Makingvsure car is at the house when i shut it off after it gets to running temp and then try to re start, and recheck ignitiin again. Thanks

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

It sounds like a fuel problem to me. But, since you put new points on, check the dwell angle first.

The choke needs to be checked also. Be sure that all the linkages move freely first. A shot of brake parts cleaner works great on this.

 It should be in the shop manual, but in a quick tutorial; First thing in the morning check the choke. Rem air cleaner and loosen the 3 screws on the choke cap. Rotate the cap clock wise until the choke plate starts to open. Stop, and rotate the cap back counter clock wise until the choke plate seats closed. Now go I/2 of a notch mark on the choke cap and tighten the 3 screws.

Now start the engine, and watch that the choke plate does open slightly. The choke plate will slowly open as the engine warms up.

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

He installed Pertronix so dwell should not be an issue.

I am also thinking fuel. But I have seen similar problems from fitting the distributor one tooth wrong. Its easy to do and not so easy to find out.

[Kim K Kaiser]

ok,,went out the morning,, 31 F   choke was closed to about 1/8 of flat to the plate,  undid the screws,  turned the middle thing till it began to open,,then turned it back to flush to the plate, ..i then turned back  to the right  clockwise,  just a touch,, i didnt see any notches to measure a one half click,, but i ended up getting into the book trying see a picture of the face of the choke assembly.  i didnt see any markings that would suggest a notch reading,, but the book says one click RICH,, i i did see on the unit, rich and lean,, so,, now do i move it to back to wards rich,  as i went lean,, sorry to be such a dufus here,, i will get it eventually,,