Firecore RTR ignition and Holley 750 installed

[66FBCharger]

I started installing the Firecore RTR ignition last Saturday and the job quickly snowballed. I ended up pulling the fan, alternator and pulleys so I could repaint the front of the engine. I used Bill Hirsch engine paint that sprayed and covered beautifully.
I then replaced the hokey fuel line/filter setup that was on the car when I bought it. I put a reproduction vapor separator on after I had the return line welded up and I redrilled the orefice to the correct size (per the FSM). I then installed the fuel line kit from Fabulous fabrications. I pulled the intake off and installed a FelPro valley pan with the exhaust crossover block off. I cleaned the intake and painted it. I installed a Holley dual feed vacuum secondary 750 in place of the Edelbrock carb with a 1" phenolic four hole spacer.
I got the NGK plugs and Firecore RTR dist. And wire set installed and got the engine fired. I set the dist to 18* initial and checked the mechanical advance curve. I ended up with 34* total at 2500 RPM.
I have a few issues that I believe are related to the timing. The engine fires right up but it sounds like it detonates as soon as it starts and goes away. It also seems to detonate when I let off the throttle completely from cruise condition.
Anyone have any advice? I haven't spent much time tuning. I think I need to bring the initial timing back to around 16*. I got it running last night. I didn't set anything other than the idle on the Holley.
The Firecore system seems to be very hi quality. The timing sits dead still and there is no variation. The wires are tight going onto the plugs, so they must have great contact with the plug.
I know the valve covers look crappy. I ran out of paint and I am planning to pull them off and redo them when I get another can of paint.

[myk]

I'm anxious to see how your install and tune goes, and what sort of differences you can feel in the cars mannerisms once everything's up and running again...

[firefighter3931]

Hi John, glad to hear you got her up and running 

The 18 initial & 34 total is fine....that will not cause it to detonate. Check the float levels in your carb and adjust as required. If the floats are set too low it will create a lean condition and cause issues. 


Ron

[66FBCharger]

[

Hi John, glad to hear you got her up and running 

The 18 initial & 34 total is fine....that will not cause it to detonate. Check the float levels in your carb and adjust as required. If the floats are set too low it will create a lean condition and cause issues. 


Ron

Ron,
I drove the car to work yesterday. I am not conviced it is detonating. It sounds like it might be a rattle, like maybe a loose baffle in the muffler or a resonance or something vibrating underneath. I will have to investigate.
I am hoping to get some time this weekend to tune the carb. It seems to smell too rich. I can't find my vacuum gauge so I didn't adjust the carb. The carb is the way it came from Holley.
I am happy with the installation.
The car starts great, idles smoother and (I'm guessing because of the Holley) there is NO hesitation like there was before with the Edelbrock. There is NO spark scatter as with the previous Mopar Performance.
Thanks for the advice. I will check the floats.
Should I bother to adjust the mech advance to get the full 36* vs. the current 34*?

[firefighter3931]

John, thanks for the report....sounds like there's been a definate improvement between the ignition and carb upgrades. 

At this point i'd leave the timing alone and focus on the carb. It sounds like the idle mixture is adjusted too rich. Once you lean that out using the vacuum guage it should help. 

Ideally, the mixture screws should end up somewhere between 1-1.5turns out from closed. The float level should be right at the bottom of the sight plug....fuel just dribbling out with the engine running. 


Ron