When driving the Cougar in warm weather for about 15 mins, car will die completely and then takes a couple of tries to start. Not sure if its a carb problem or a cooling system thing. Any advise would help.
Also while we are on the subject of carburetors, I need a new one from what it looks like. Suggestions please. 289 small block. Pictures below.
Thank you!
Your photos show a mid 1970’s Motorcraft 2V. You don’t say what year the 289 is but in any case it would have used an Autolite carburetor when new. Tune up problems need to be addressed as a whole. With the incorrect carburetor it’s a good bet there are other glaring problems that need to be addressed too.
I see a D1OE Casting number on the intake maniforl just in front of the corroborator. You may have a 302 from a later car. I see you have what looks like an HEI distributor.
Royce knows his stuff well on these cars. He was practically born driving them. Did this just start happening, or has it been happening for a while?
check the HEI to make sure its where it suppose to be. Had an old astra (pontiac vega) that did the same thing and found out the dis. was off by a couple of teeth , moved to top dead center then drove it for 3 years.
Sounds a lot like my 4300’s heat problem. I doubt it has anything to do with the ignition side. Fastest fix would likely be to (1) snag a replacement carburetor if you want to drive the car while you take a look at that later 2-barrel, and (2) get a 1/4 inch thick carburetor spacer that bills itself as “insulating.”
That funny device in the rear of the air horn behind the two primaries is the first giveaway that you have a non-original 2100 variant. A parts-supply-chain rebuilt 2100 will be about $250 + core charge or more, or you could get a Uremco rebuilt via Summit for about the same. Uremco number if I have your car right is 7192.
I’ve had zero problems after giving the carburetor a little more isolation (1/4 inch synthetic rubber/metal sandwich worth) along with swapping to a fresh carburetor.
That carb has an electric choke that is not connected. Power should come from the STA terminal on the alternator with a fuse in the line.
Looks like he’s got it cranked all the way lean so that it’s out of the loop.
Have you verified that fuel is reaching the carb? Sounds like a failing fuel filter. After it dies check to see if you are getting a good stream of gas from the squirtters. Some of those GM distributors have bad modules that fail when hot.
True.
A conventional ford style distributor has an advantage over HEI. You can mount the ignition coil further away from the engine which cuts down heat exposure.
Some people have found that creating a fuel return line even though that’s not OEM can cut down on heat soak issues.
What’s your timing, fuel pressure etc? Have you hooked up a timing light to all spark plugs wires to verify that they are lighting up?
What do your actual spark plugs look like?
Electrical resistance increases with heat. This means that any marginal circuit may behave itself only when cold.
I appreciate all of the feedback, advice and questions. Im realizing that I should have someone look at it professionally. I am very new to the classic car thing and a lot of what you guys are saying is confusing or complicated for me anyways. This is my dream car and Im going all in on this restore. I will do my research on all of your guys questions and suggestions and get back to you guys. I love this forum. I hope one day to contribute. THANKS FELLAS!
The tendency among the unknowledgeable is to replace things instead of adjusting them properly first. You should seek out someone who is familiar with working on older vehicles who can accomplish a tune up on what you already have. Then examine to determine what is still a problem afterwards. Lots of internet experts out there but what you need is an actual one.
I claim to be an actual Internet expert…
Sounds like good old fashion vapor lock. Fuel pump could be history, also fuel filter on the 74 carb D4PE. I would almost doubt you have a 289 still in there.
I have a little money to spend and would like to replace the carburetor regardless. What would you recommend? I see a lot of Edelbrock and Holley carburetors. What would you suggest would be a good carburetor for this engine?
