1979 2f down on power (1 Viewer)

[yomumsbum]

Hey guys so my 2f has been very down on power lately. When I first got the car I could do 100km/h in 3rd gear and now it’s flat out doing 60/km an hour in 3rd gear and acceleration it just slow in general and the gears feel very short.
I have adjusted my timing and installed and electronic ignition system but it has not changed anything. Any ideas? Thank you

 

[mrboatman]

Hey guys so my 2f has been very down on power lately. When I first got the car I could do 100km/h in 3rd gear and now it’s flat out doing 60/km an hour in 3rd gear and acceleration it just slow in general and the gears feel very short.
I have adjusted my timing and installed and electronic ignition system but it has not changed anything. Any ideas? Thank you

Fuel problems maybe fuel filter

 

[pb4ugo]

I agree could be a fuel problem. How old is the filter. I'd double check the timing. It's the last thing you altered. Maybe it moved.

 

[yomumsbum]

I

Fuel problems maybe fuel filter

I have replaced the filter I will check for fuel pressure though thanks for the suggestion

 

[65swb45]

Fuel problems maybe fuel filter

If it was fuel, it would buck.

 

[yomumsbum]

There no sputtering or backfiring or any strange noises it sounds it’s great just really slow

 

[65swb45]

If you put electronic ignition in a 50 year old distributor, it could be lipstick on a pig.

It sounds very much like a lagging advancer inside the distributor. And if the mounting screw for the electronic ignition plate is even two mm too long, it will run into the mounting plate below the advancer plate, canceling the vacuum advance.

You can pull the dizzy and separate the advancer plate from the mounting plate, clean out the old grease and relubricate. Chances are that will solve your problem.

 

[yomumsbum]

If you put electronic ignition in a 50 year old distributor, it could be lipstick on a pig.

It sounds very much like a lagging advancer inside the distributor. And if the mounting screw for the electronic ignition plate is even two mm too long, it will run into the mounting plate below the advancer plate, canceling the vacuum advance

Okay I will have a look at that when I get home. Yeah I did use the old dizzy. I have applied vacuum to the advancer with my mouth though and it does work

 

[CruiserInProgress]

Was there something done to your 79 before it started performing poorly?

Did your 79 not have the oem electronic ignition before the upgrade? Oops, I just read you're in Queensland. My 79 is US and came with electronic ignition.

Any other symptoms you can identify, like smell of fuel, popping, backfiring, hesitation, missing, etc.?

 

[yomumsbum]

Was there something done to your 79 before it started performing poorly? Did your 79 not have the oem electronic ignition before the upgrade?

Any other symptoms you can identify, like smell of fuel, popping, backfiring, hesitation, missing, etc.?

It was misfiring so I adjusted my point gap and installed a brand new carby the exact same model as the old one. I later installed the electronic ignition to try and fix the performance issue, along with adjusting my timing again.

 

[yomumsbum]

It was misfiring so I adjusted my point gap and installed a brand new carby the exact same model as the old one. I later installed the electronic ignition to try and fix the performance issue, along with adjusting my timing again.

So the performance issue started after set up the new carby and adjusted the point gap

 

[CruiserInProgress]

So the performance issue started after set up the new carby and adjusted the point gap

That's where I would start, but it sounds like you had a misfiring issue before the new carb and points, so there could more than one problem, maybe.

To try and fault isolate here are some ideas:

- double check the carb setup against the FSM or retry the old carb. Either can get gunk from factory or the fuel system,
- since the carb was replaced, check for vacuum leaks, hoses misplaced, manifold or insulator leaks,
- since the distributor was touched, check your plug wires to make sure all are firing properly. Those tractor engines will run pretty well on 5 cylinders. I'm embarrassed to say I've done it with my 79 project without realizing it. Mine was due to slop in the distributor shaft.

Bottom line, check for easy, obvious things first, starting with stuff you've touched before the issues started.

 

[Pighead]

Do you have the vacuum actuated secondary on your carb? Is it working?

 

[CruiserInProgress]

Oops, wrong thread.

 

[Grayscale]

Inspect the spark plugs. Does it look like oil and suit is deposited on their faces?

 

[charliemeyer007]

Stuff fails. New parts can be bad in the box. You tested the vac advance how long ago? It worked then, maybe not now. Dizzy could slip and its running retarded now.

The paper element in fuel filters will hardly let fuel by if its wet with water - a bottle gas dryer and a new filter is less that $10. If you leave the old filter out in the sun for a few days it will dry out and you can use it again. Cold night and warm days the fuel tank breathes and a surprising amount of water can condense in the tank in just a few day.

Check the contacts inside the distributor cap - the aluminum ones get a heavy oxide coating which is an insulator. I like the brass ones from NAPA Echlin back in the day. Pull the wires from the cap and check for corrosion in the cap and the connector on the wire.
On a dark night open the hood and start it up - look for dancing fire off the plug wires - micro cracks in the insulation will bleed off power.

Not a black box guy or a Weber one either.