Brand new good times

[Swank]

Thanks John, thats some good stuff to know, i'd definitely like to get this running smoother at idle, ....right now i'd settle for getting it to start and idle like it was, ...dang.  Working on acquiring some wire gauge bits.  I agree, finding why it quit running is the elusive part.
G, on this autolite, the front of the choke plate has "tubes" that go straight to the bowl,  they open above the gasket and the gasket has an opening over the float. 

So, will a head gasket cooling leak completely kill a running engine?, and if so, shouldnt there be enough liquid to see it at the exhaust manifold exits?

[hiball3985]

The Autolite carb numbers are reference to CFM so a 1.23 should be OK except it's a smog era design as John said.
Number = CFM
.98 = 190
1.01 = 240
1.02 = 245
1.08 = 287
1.14 = 300
1.21 = 351
1.23 = 356
1.33 = 424

[hiball3985]

Very strange how you would have that much water in the exhaust and nothing coming out of the headers. Something off the wall but with that much water in the exhaust maybe a baffle in the muffler rusted out and broke loose blocking it, saw that happen on a friends Caddy one time, took us weeks to find the problem.

[Swank]

The pipes and muffler is probably the only thing i didnt take off the car.
But if theres a leak somewhere around the head i should have some water coming out of somewhere, correct?
I'd feel more enthusiastic about tearing the top of the engine off if there was a faucet type situation happening.

[hiball3985]

Losing that much water out of the tail pipe would show up as a water loss in the radiator also, is it going down? It would also be putting air bubbles in the radiator water if something like a blown head gasket of cracked head/block, have you watched it without the cap on?
Do you have small kids who play with a garden hose? 

[RICH MUISE]

Just a thought from a guy who doesn't know diddly about this stuff........any chance the water is coming from the gas tank/bad gas

[djfordmanjack]

x2! As far as I know Ethanol wants to hold water, so if your mixture is utterly rich, your engine burns lots of alcohol also which in case could cause lots of water coming from the xhaust, no ?

[terry_208]

I just looked at your video. How much has this vehicle been run after getting it running again? Perhaps, condensation has built into the exhaust system and is just being expelled.  Has the entire exhaust system been allowed to get fully to operating temp recently?  I know, I'm making a stretch here but I've seen cars run a steady stream of water out of the exhaust when pulling away from a stop.  I wouldn't tear into the engine until after the entire exhaust has been at operating temp for awhile, but that's just me.

[hiball3985]

x2! As far as I know Ethanol wants to hold water, so if your mixture is utterly rich, your engine burns lots of alcohol also which in case could cause lots of water coming from the xhaust, no ?

See! I knew it was from the damn corn syrup  I've had cars sit for months that it didn't effect but that would depend on climate also. More humid climate would absorb more then a dry climate. Ethanol fuel can go through phase separation also, I've been testing that ( 10% ). In my dry climate I have fuel four months old that isn't showing separation yet that I can see.. KILL THE CORN

[John Palmer]

Both the Autolite  in your photo, and the Holley in Guenter's photo are from the same early 1970's emission era.  They both were modified by the factory to eliminate the float bowel from being vented directly to the atmosphere like all previous carbs were from day one.  They were forced to do this to reduce the evaporative emissions. 

Both carbs have their float bowels vented "inside the air horn" into the air cleaner.  The external vents were blocked off, and is nicely shown in Guenter's Holley photo.  The good news, the evaporative fumes are sucked into the engine and are reburned (like a PCV valve).  The bad news, is that when you shut off a hot engine, with the hood closed, in 120 degree weather like in Arizona, the gasoline in the sealed float bowel percolates into the engine, flooding it and making for hard hot starts.

If you install the thick air horn air cleaner gasket, then drill a small 5/32" hole angled back towards the air horn in the carb top plate, you will have a externally vented carb just like they were originally built.

You need to figure out where the excessive water is coming from before you start doing some of this fine tuning.

Good hunting, John

[John Palmer]

I agree with Terry's point, get the exhaust system up to operating temperature, and leave the radiator cap loose to check for any air bubbles coming from the radiator water.  Lot's of moisture can collect inside the pipes and mufflers.  This is especially true in a vehicle that is not daily driven.

Only pull the heads after you have convinced yourself that the heads/gaskets are leaking.

[Fairlane62]

Considering that you are in Louisiana I would lean toward the water being condensation in the exhaust.

Regarding the running bad:
1. Did you try replacing the power valve?
2. Have you verified that the float and needle/seat are working properly and not flooding?
3. Have you verified that the accelerator pump diaphragm isn't blown?
4. Do you see excess fuel dribbling from the boosters while running or just after shut down (don't put your face directly over the carburetor while running 😬)

James

[Swank]

Ok, first thing this morning, since the pipes were still pulled back, i took a couple blue shop towels and wrapped them around short rods and stuck them between the exhaust manifolds and the pipes. Cranked it up and it ran for about 45 seconds and died.   Not a speck of water anywhere.  Thats this video.  Rpm's are way too high because this is one of the longest runs and I hadnt been able to adjust anything.

https://youtu.be/KyAwJoFN9GA

So at this point I'm ruling out leaky heads, at least until something becomes overly obvious. No bubbles in radiator and it is not losing volume.  Not planning on pulling the heads at this time.

Im now tracking down why its cutting out.
I did tests on the ignition circuits.  Only thing out of specs, per the book, was the resistor.  Book says ohms should be between 1.3-1.4,  mines running at 2.6 aprox.  Replacement on the way.   Will a bad resistor kill the engine like this?

The carb has a new power valve, accelerator pump, and the float is right at the recommended 29/64th while on the car.  Idle has to be a bit high to keep it running momentarily.  Idle screws are out 2 turns right now.  I did notice drops of gas off the venturi turbine tubes. Took some video of that, dont know if its visible in the video.  It started dropping a lot then stuttered to a stop.  Nothing seems to be dripping after it stops. It doesnt want to start for a few minutes afterwards though.

https://youtu.be/yzbz3UIuvqs

Car has not been run a lot since it got going.  Round the block a couple times and idling in the drive for a few minutes at a time.  All this over only the last 2 weeks or so.  Not a drop of water out the tailpipe all day today.

[Swank]

I told the kids to stay away from the car with the hose too, ...just for good measure.

[hiball3985]

Doubtful that it's the resistor, they either work or don't, when bad the spiral wire breaks. Almost sounds like it is flooding, it just takes that short period of time to overfill the bowl, or possibly the fuel pump is putting out too much pressure for the float/needle seat. Maybe the spring clip that holds the float in place came loose?