Having some troubles with my olds 60. The car idles fine and you can rev it without any misfires. It runs really smooth idling.

When I drive, and it shifts from first to second gear, it starts to stall and fires from the exhaust/carburator.

Ive rebuilt the carb, set the point breakers to 0,019, the timing is 5 degrees BTDC with the vacuum plugged. The carb is adjusted to maximum vacuum.

Any help?

EDIT: It also wont shift from second to third gear, could this be related to the other problem?

 

There's a rod that runs from the carb throttle linkage to the trans.
Make sure this rod is properly connected and adjusted.
Don't even try to set the points to an .019 gap.
Get a dwell meter and adjust them to 30 degrees dwell.

 

How many miles on the engine?
What carb is on it?
What trans?
What other services have been performed?

Start simple: read the spark plugs, verify fuel pressure, and re-verify dwell & timing.
Could be as simple as a bad dwell adjustment. Use a meter as mentioned.

This sounds like fuel starvation, "idles fine but bogs under load".

Fuel system checks:

• Is the filter clean?
• With the engine off, look down the carb while actuating the throttle. Do you see strong pump shot squirts?
• Verify fuel pump pressure is to spec.
• Did you set the float level & drop to spec?
• Check all fuel lines from the tank forward. If the rubber sections are wet old and hard replace them.

Ignition system checks::

• If the fuel system checks out OK move to the ignition. Verify dwell & timing as mentioned.
• I have witnessed bad plugs, wires, caps, and rotors act like fuel starvation.
• Verify the negative (black) wire from the neg side of the coil running up through the distributor does not have an "open".Over time the movement of the breaker plate from the vac advance will stress and break the copper strands inside the insulation, you cant see the break. Ohm the wire while wiggling it.
• Test the coil Primary & Secondary coils for proper resistance.

Agreed with the throttle kick-down linkage adjustment.
I assume it does not have a vacuum modulator?? If yes verify the line isn't plugged or cracked.

 

Is there any guides etc on this forum on how to properly adjust it? Ive googled but its hard to find any info.
Its a Rochester R4-4GC. The trans is a hydramatic.
I’ve replaced sparkplugs, sparkwires, distruberator cap, condenser, vacuum advance bell, ignition coil, rebuilt the whole carburetor.

Fuel pressure is like 5 PSI, pump works fine. However, there is fuel pouring in to the carburetor when accelerating, but its not a strong shot, it kinda just pours down. The accelerator pump is new out of the box, but maybe its faulty?

I have Another question speaking of timing. I have 3 marks on my harmonic Balancer but no numbers. I assumed the middle mark is TDC and the other two 5 degrees BTDC and 5 degrees ATDC. I set the timing on the top mark, assuming it was 5 degrees BTDC. Is this wrong?


EDIT: Some additional information in order to pin point the problem more specific; it seems to be some sort of heat related problem. When I drove it today, it worked fine when started up. The hotter the engine got, the more and more it began to die, backfire etc. I have theory the carburetor expands with the heat, causing air leaks. When spraying brakecleaner around the carb, the engine goes down in rpm.

 

Those are classic symptoms of an ignition condenser or coil failing. Since it does it after warming up sounds more like coil. New doesn't always mean it's good.

If you don't have a 1960 Oldsmobile factory Chassis Service Manual, get one.

Set dwell first, then timing. Rather than mess with feeler gages which may or may not give you a good setting on points, decent used dwell meter/engine analyzers often come up for sale. Preferred dwell angle 30° but the spec is 28° to 32°.

My '60 CSM is packed up but I think those balancer marks are 0°BTDC, 2.5°BTDC, and 5°BTDC. 5 was the original spec for the 100 octane fuel that was available back then, and CSM recommended 2.5 if you got into detonation problems on best available fuels.

Check your balancer close to make sure the rubber ring hasn't debonded, which would cause its outer ring with the timing marks to slip and throw timing out the window.

 

could be the coil then since its mounted on top of the intake. It gets really hot. I’ll try to relocate the coil and set the timing to 2,5. Our fuel is 95% octane and contains 10% ethanol due to climate regulations (zzzzz…)

 

Have you checked the heat riser valve on the drivers side, if it's seized then it's forcing the exhaust to cross over the intake manifold. You should also check the TV rod for correct setting. Following the above steps and buying the correct paper manual is a must.
Steve

 

I dont think theres a heat riser valve on my car???

 

There should be, between the driver side exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe.

 

Let me look that up. What happens if its jammed? Its forcing the exhaust back causing heating problems? And whats the purpose of the heat riser valve?

 

The heat riser allows quicker warm-up of the engine in cold weather ( below 50 degrees F ).
It closes off the exhaust, forcing it to travel through a passage in the intake manifold that runs right under the carb.
This heat in the manifold creates better fuel vaporization, for faster warm up.

When a heat riser is stuck closed, it causes the intake to become overheated.
This causes poor performance and can even warp heads and damage valves.

In a collector car, that never sees cold weather, a heat riser isn't really necessary..

 

I see. The intake manifold gets really hot, in fact, when I tested the accelerator pump, squirting fuel in to the carb when the engine had been driven but was turned off, the gasoline got vaporized and turned in to steam

 

Opened the heat riser valve wich was stuck closed and replaced the fuel pump, turned out it was malfunctioning from time to time, and the car runs like new (almost)

 

Good to see that you have a better running engine now. I would tie off the heat riser valve arm with wire and leave it open and check it every once in a while.
Steve

 

I did. If it werent for you, Ive never guessed what was wrong with it. Ive never encountered that part in my life, glad to get some experience. Thanks!

 

Okey guys, got a similar problem with this car.

Today when I drove, it runned fine to where I was going. 5 mins later when I was about to drive home, it started to misfire on idle and low rpms.
On higher rpms, it runs really smooth.

Any ideas?