Hi all,

I do have a build thread for my truck but I figured I’d make a new thread as this is a simple question and I feel like I shouldn’t put it inside the pages and pages of my other thread lol.

I’m having a weird issue with my truck. It’s very inconsistent when it comes to starting. Cold/warm, even off for just a minute or two. Sometimes it fires right up the second the key is turned (literally not even a second), and sometimes it has to crank for a whole 10 seconds. I’ve started experimenting to no avail.

When it starts right away it’s after me not even pumping the gas at all, even after it’s been sitting overnight. When it doesn’t start right away I pump the gas once and it still hesitates (doesn’t even sound like it’s firing) then it will slowly come to life, often I need to rev it up and it really doesn’t like it. This is usually followed by a ploom of black smoke and then bursts of black smoke out of the exhaust for a couple of seconds. So yeah it’s rich, but why?

I did richen up the idle (very small amount) as I’m chasing another issue, (related?), where it has an off idle stumble, I have to rev up to 2000rpm before I let out the clutch or it falls on its face and stumbles before finally jumping and going. This solved it temporarily but it’s back now so I think it’s a timing issue.

Timing is around 14-15°, choke is set to open almost right away, the last tick mark clockwise (the factory “middle” setting would make it run insanely rich on a cold start, literally would splatter soot onto the persons car next to me). Vac advance is hooked to the timed ignition port if that’s relevant. Really beats me lol. Any input is appreciated!

92 Dakota SCLB 5 speed 4x4, 99 Magnum 5.9/360 with Edelbrock intake, 650cfm brawler die cast carb, MSD clone chinesium HEI.

 

At cold start, you prolly should hit the gas at least once, just to set the choke. (automatic or not, it needs to be able to close....)

Electric or mechanical fuel pump???

 

Its electric, I turn the key on and wait until I hear it prime usually, though it doesn’t make a difference usually.

 

Shouldn't have to do that with a carb.... there should still be fuel in the bowl. What do you have pressure regulated to?

 

6.5psi give or take, it’s what the brawler wants. Bowls are adjusted to a little under the middle of the glass as uncle Tony recommended for street cars.

 

Something else to keep in mind is, that initial bump on the gas, also squirts some fuel into the intake, to aid in startup......

 

I do that sometimes and it doesn’t seem to make a difference it’s rather odd.

 

Sounds like more fun then a barrel of monkeys

No doubt it is running rich with the black smoke ..... A choke job is to cut down the air to richen the fuel mixture for a cold start .... something possible there.

I also wonder what your plugs look like ..... Have you experimented starting it with a new set of plugs?

Then there is jet sizing in the carburetor ... maybe step it down a few sizes and see if that helps ..... or maybe up but you get the idea. ... Does that carb have a power valve? .... another option to experiment.

I understand a little about the timing and why .... I want to say 14-15 sounds kinda mild .... seems most want to get as close to 30-32 that they can ....
I like stock engines with stock timing .... I'm just too busy being retired to try and mess with all these issues myself.

@joshmanhoff said 92 Dakota SCLB 5 speed 4x4, 99 Magnum 5.9/360 with Edelbrock intake, 650cfm brawler die cast carb, MSD clone chinesium HEI.

How many miles on this engine and what did you do to the internals before you modified fuel system on it? .... granted what you post is next to nothing. A custom intake and carburetor.
The MSD and HEI reeks of future problems .... boy they sure look cool though.

I had a 1989 Ford work van with a 351 crate motor in it that ran great, had a few miles on it .... needed a new carb so I installed a Holley 600cfm on it .... it was just a little bit rich for the stock engine but got by ok.

Just not a great idea to stick a larger fuel system on a stock engine .... did you at least modify the exhaust? ..... A engine is a air pump.
The faster you can take in air, the faster you need to remove it. If not it will get trapped and run rich.

I'm just trying to give you a few ideas to get you started .... black smoke is too much fuel or not enough air.
Have you ever asked Uncle Tony on one of his live Sunday shows? .... I have talked to him a few times and worth asking.

I hope you understand why I jokingly said, more fun then a barrel of monkeys .... you probably have several issues to overcome here ..... And we call it Hot Rodding.

 

Alright a lot of things to go over here lol so here we go. This is in order top to bottom.

I haven’t yet swapped in plugs but I was planning to soon, was actually going to look around and see if people actually have any input on running coppers vs like iridium’s. I know the stock part number is RC12YC or something.

I did drop the primary valves down from 71s to 68s but with the hurricane my “testing ground” is currently a “testing pond” so I haven’t had time to do some plug reading in the same scenario I checked the 71s and read rich. I also have a set of 66s to try. I’m hesitant on poking around with the power valve just yet, I want to get more into dialing everything else in first.

I’m not sure if it’s my cheap harbor freight timing light being off but it says my initial timing was at 14-15, but it sounded happy up at 30 degrees initial but I feel like that is super high for initial especially adding in vac and mechanical advance. I’ve heard on the forum the 360 magnums like 12-14 initial.

Engine was out of a 99 1500, I did a whole rebuild from top to bottom. .020” pistons, new Clearwater/odessa cylinder heads (stock replacement, not monster magnums), .010” under crank/bearings, piston rings stock gap range, plugs are gapped as the manual states. It also has Harland Sharp roller rockers at 1.6 which I believe is stock ratio, and a comp 20-745-9 cam, relatively mild specs as follows:

Duration @.050 212in/218ex
Advertised duration 264in/270ex
Lift .480in/.480ex
LSA of 114 degrees

I had probably less than 300 miles on the EFI/kegger before I switched over to the carb/edelbrock 7577 rpm air gap. Engine just recently has crossed the 2000 mile mark since rebuild.

In terms of the air pump nature of an engine, it has the stock magnum air cleaner if that really matters, 650cfm 4 barrel with mech secondaries set from the factory, rpm air gap, into factory port size heads then out of JBA shorty headers into the stock Dakota exhaust, I believe y pipe into 2.5” with no cat and flowmaster super 44.

I do plan eventually though I don’t think it’s completely relevant right now to do some future mods to induction/exhaust. I want to run a 14x3 air cleaner, one of those retro style ones with the reprint of a “360 4 barrel” sticker on the top of a chrome hat, just for style points. Also plan on adding a 1” spacer as from at least what I’ve seen the magnums like carb spacers. And later on I want to run a true dual x pipe exhaust. Right now I plan to run 2.5” from the headers, into x pipe, then into some magnaflow straight through mufflers, those 4 inch wide round cylinder ones, not a cherry bomb style. Would be 2.5 inch pipe from the headers to the tips, and maybe for some flare 3 or 3.5 inch tips.

I should actually go into one of those chats with Tony and see if I can get some input that’s a good idea.