PmL69

I have been trying to get my stock 69 cutlass(350) running better, main problem is "no *****" she has no low end at all. wont even powerbreak......Ive been reading alot of other posts & from what everybody is saying i should have a pretty good running stock 350 right now. Heres what ive done....
New timeing chain
New Holley performance carb
New accel dist
Performance plug wires
new plugs
new coil
The timeing is set right at 8btc where a 69 calls for but its converted to hei now so would that change anything??
Im sure the hiway rear gears doesnt help, but i dont think this is all she has.
Shes slow at a take off & when i kick the 4 barrel in it seems to bog a little
No rough idle or anything
I would be thankful for any help
PML

Olds64

If your car is bogging during acceleration you probably have to adjust your carburetor. My thought is low float level, misadjusted accelerator pump, or secondary throttle valves that are too tight.

olds68

I agree with the carb being the problem. Granted it's a "new Holley performance carb" but Holleys can be funny. What size Holley? Too big is too bad. I ran a Holley 650 for years and had to tweak and play with it on a regular basis. I put a rebuilt Rochester 4bbl in my '69 with 2.56 highway gears and could almost burn the rear skin (one-legger) right off

captjim

Man lots of variables. What type of distributor and what is the timing curve? What model carb and what jets and squirter is in it? What brand timing chain did you use? I assume you did not degree it, correct?

Techmaven

I agree..Replacing the distributor without thinking about the best timing curve for the engine could really kill performance. The timing chain, installed straight up, shouldn't hurt anything. Carb size, jetting, etc. is also a big factor in making power.

captjim

The reason I asked is that the el-cheapo chains have been known to be off.

Olds64

I disagree about the distributor. While the timing curve on a distributor can definitely change the performance on an engine, an Accel HEI distributor right out of the box is going to give more reliable all around performance than any points distributor as long as the timing is set correctly. I would examine the carburetor settings before fiddling with the timing or timing curve.

PmL69

Thanks for the input. its a holley 4160c carb (600 cfm). Its still pretty much un molested except the air fuel mix

unfortunately the chain is a cheap"o" & installed at factory specs.

the accel dist came with this diagram for which springs to use
color curve start engine rpm total
gold 400 1600
silver 600 2800
black 600 4000
i used one black & one silver

After reading the comments im thinking it might be the carb. Would that cause a pop every once in a while,.... while quick throttling. Also if i leave it set for more then a half hour i have to give it a pump. Im TOTALLY new to the carb game

I wish i could find some olds guys in the area to check it out, scarce around my parts!!

Thanks for all the help

yammiman

I think you need to optimize both your fuel mixture and your timing and timing curb - IMO, you could use a little more initial timing and lighten up the springs on the advance to bring the total in quicker - if it still bogs, start leaning up the carb - even a 600cfm can be a bit much for a stock motor with tall gears

Olds64

It's hard to diagnose a problem over the internet. If you have popping in the idle after the car is warmed up it could be a lean miss. I would say you might want to enrich the fuel mixture.

The ideal way to set idle mixture screws is to back them all the way in, take them out 2 1/2 turns each and then set them for maximum idle or vacuum while using a tachometer or vacuum gauge.

Whatever you do (carburetor settings, timing, timing curve) make sure you do it one thing at a time. If you change too many things at once you won't know where you are.

88 coupe

Go up one jet size.

Move it to 12°.

No.

Norm

ThyPlumber

Whole lot of what ifs here. What i know to be a fact, sorry to say but i would bet your cam is way out cause of that new chain, should have been degreed. I have been there and screwed up. Most of the replacement chains are out about 6 degrees. If it were me i would get the degree wheel out and start there. HEI sucks from my experience.sorry. I would reuse your original strib, just change the points to petronix. And when using a coil, make damn sure your resistor has the amount of ohms specified,<--very important. Get a bunch of springs for you dist. then go to a shop with a rear wheel dyno, and dial it in. You would be suprised how much power you will find when that car is in "real world conditions". Also I would dump the holley and go back to the quadra jet, your original carb has features that are more advanced than you can imagine, unless your car is making 9 second passes or less that is the only time to upgrade that carb trust me, the people who made the quad knew how to use a slide rule. Don't get me wrong holly's are not bad, just not needed under 700 horse.