Help with recently restored engine.

[cornishrooster]

Old felt can be reused. I'd only do so in a pinch. Brakleen can be used to over-saturate it and flush-out all traces of old grease...doesn't take much solvent to do, either. Then you squeeze/blot is dry with paper towel, give it time to dry, then apply fresh tune-up grease. The felt used is stiff, even when new. IDK that there's really anything really wrong with cleaning, re-lubing & reusing unless it's worn out. For the few pennies a new replacement costs...why bother? And no, felt has nothing to do with your no-spark condition.

FYI, I'd not use compressor oil. Use tune-up grease only, it doesn't drip and get flung from the point cam.

Thanks for the reply. Just trying to narrow it down here, ordered more felt to replace the old one, the one I have is hard as a crouton. Replaced the condenser today and it fired right up and idled well but the popping and farting still remains when I give it gas. Pulled the plug just to be certain I was at tdc. I have the valves set to .003 on the exhaust side and .002 on the intake side, then set the points to .014". Also put brand new plug in it. It's weird it almost sounds like the popping is coming through the carb. If I put my hand in the air intake I can feel bursts of air coming through. I built the engine with an aftermarket repop of the head and cylinder etc, no reason other than saving time on disassembling and cleaning, wondering if there's a faulty cast of the head perhaps.

 

[kirrbby]

In post #10 you mentioned the air screw all the way in. Where is it set now?

All in is no good.
Start at 1½ turns out, maybe 1¼, then adjust it, at idle, to the highest rpm at idle. Then adjust the idle screw if necessary.

 

[cornishrooster]

In post #10 you mentioned the air screw all the way in. Where is it set now?

All in is no good.
Start at 1½ turns out, maybe 1¼, then adjust it, at idle, to the highest rpm at idle. Then adjust the idle screw if necessary.

Hey hey. I have it at exactly 1.5 turns out to start, turned it in a bit to get a steadier idle. Idle isn't the problem though, it's when I give it gas. I'll post a video of it. Pops pretty loud, goes from bogging down to a couple chugs and pops. Anyhow hopefully it'll come across on video. Appreciate the help.

 

[cornishrooster]

It sounds like a timing issue from what I'm reading. Backfire in the carb is from the valve not shutting all the way before the combustion happens. But when I look at the flywheel, cam gear and cylinder they're all where they need to be at the T mark. Pretty frustrating. Would advancing the timing by one notch on the cam gear be worth a try?

 

[69ST]

If cam timing is off by one tooth, you'll have running issues, big time. That could, possibly, be the problem here. Take a peek inside the intake port. If it's not squeaky-clean, as it was before the first firing of the engine, you're getting lots of reversion...which may be directly linked to the issue you're trying to resolve.

A sticky, or leaking, intake valve could result in the symptoms you've described.

 

[cornishrooster]

If cam timing is off by one tooth, you'll have running issues, big time. That could, possibly, be the problem here. Take a peek inside the intake port. If it's not squeaky-clean, as it was before the first firing of the engine, you're getting lots of reversion...which may be directly linked to the issue you're trying to resolve.

A sticky, or leaking, intake valve could result in the symptoms you've described.

At TDC right there. Anything look off?

 

[69ST]

There's a bit of perspective distortion in the photo. Assuming that the "T" lines up with the crankcase notch (viewed straight-on) and the cam sprocket dot is dead-on as it appears to be, then cam timing isn't the problem.

 

[cornishrooster]

Alright finally making some progress. After achieving good idle but having bogging/popping while revving I decided to try and be a bit more scientific about the process, writing down number of turns in/out on the air/fuel screw and idle screw etc. From there I changed the throttle needle clip placement one lower and then would reconfigure the idle and air/fuel screw from there. So far idle is great and revving sounds spot on till I hit full throttle then there's a pop now and again. Before I had the throttle needle clip at the leanest setting and now it's one up from the richest setting. New plug at this point has still not fouled. I'm pretty sure I've made all the adjustments I can make with the carb without trying a bigger jet. Any thoughts? Trying to be as self sufficient as possible here but just don't have enough confidence in this area to be sure I'm on the right track.

As a side note I was able to ride it which was amazing, albeit with mixed results. 1st is suuuuppper slow which makes me feel like I may not actually be in 1st gear, but it's the first gear after neutral. The engine will rev high but I'm not gaining much speed. Then I popped into 2nd as I was revving out in 1st and it bogged a bit but with some gas I started cruising a good speed, even hit 3rd and still ran well but didn't hit close to 25mph. I'm sure there are several things wrong with my set-up at this point and I'm guessing one is the gearing, two would be clutch adjustment. My aftermarket tires are running the original gear which is a 38t. Going to dig into a gearing calculator and see what changes I should make. Definitely getting closer but would appreciate and guidance. Thanks all!

Cheers
Mike

 

[69ST]

Best, educated, guess at this moment is that the engine wants more fuel. Too lean will give bogging, low power and ultra-weak throttle response. A lily-white center insulator would be strong verification.

Move the jet needle C-clip to the lowest groove and see if things improve. You may need a larger main jet. As an interim test...if you're getting impatient...try placing a washer beneath the jet needle c-clip, if you can find one small enough. If throttle response improves, then you're definitely on the right track.

 

[cjpayne]

Are you using the entire original aircleaner set up? If not, it will need rejetted.