Tuning by Ear ...

She fired immediately upon turning the key .. WOW ... and was smooth smooth compared to the last time she ran .. I drove her around the block a few times just to see what it was like and quickly realized something wasn't quite right ... she idled fine but when I pressed down on the accelerator she kinda hesitated, then coughed, then s-l-o-w-l-y accelerated ... hmmm ...

Though she fired right up after the switch to the rebuilt 2v, the way she drove around the block was concerning. I took another look at the old carb I had pulled and then at the carburetor on Old Blue. Something wasn't right ... on the left hand side near the choke there was a hole and on the old carb there was a screw? I pulled the screw from the old carb and slipped it into the hole on the new one ... I took her around the block again and this time ... much less hesitation pulling away from the stop AND .. when I stepped on it she pulled like a bull ...

I hit the web and read everything I could find on the Autolite 2v and tuning it for the Ford FE engine. First, I needed to capture some baseline numbers on her vacuum, timing and idle settings. From what I have read on the web on these old Big Block Ford engines (and there is a LOT of great information out there) they can be testy if there are any vacuum leaks after working on the carburetors or  valve covers so I thought I had better keep my eyes open for any issues that could be related to vacuum leaks while I captured her current operating metrics.

I knew Old Blue was having a tough time when Uncle Ken sent her out  including the now familiar instructions for starting and driving her:
1. Before starting pump gas pedal hard 3 times, pull out the choke and let her run a little before driving. (This was not sooo unusual ...)
2. When coming to a stop or making a turn, ease out the choke a little to keep the engine running, etc. (This instructions always made us smile)

These hints were indeed required to keep the old 352 running and during the first month my youngest son (who always sat in the middle of the big bench seat) took it upon himself to be 'Choke Boy'; reaching down and pulling out the choke when we made turn or came to a stop of any kind, and then reaching back down after old blue picked up a little speed and pushing the choke back in. She hiccup'd pulling away from a stop no matter how warm she was and after a few weeks of putting her in the garage at night I noticed huge dark black carbon deposits on anything near her tailpipes from the over rich fuel state of operation with the old carburetor.

BUT NOW !!!!! I had to let Uncle Ken know and wrote him a quick note "WOW … I installed the carburetor today and what a difference ….easy start, quiet smooth idle, no choke action required on turns or stops … what a difference!!! No problems with air leaks or reconnecting the various controls and fuel lines … done in about 45 minutes. Poor Cricket will have to give up his job as ‘Choke Boy’ but Old Blue runs incredibly smooth .. like a limousine !!!"

Most of the articles said that the next steps would involve tuning the carburetor and timing of the ignition system. I asked uncle Ken if he knew anything about the timing or other adjustments done to Old Blue and he responded "The old carb was "tuned" in the woods while hunting as we were having problems with altitude not allowing the engine to idle.  So it was guess work on my brother's part which I thought was pretty good. When we got back down to low altitude, it seemed to run okay ... so I left it that way."  

So back to the web to find out what I could about timing the 352. I knew from previous cars I had owned that I would need a timing light and after reading many articles realized I may also want to find a vacuum gauge. I crawled under Old Blue and took a look at the harmonic balancer - like most of the metal on old blue there was a covering of light rust and I started rubbing with a scotch pad looking for any indication of the little marks I was going to need. After about 15 mins 2 XX's appeared and soon I had found the little marks ...

I continued rubbing, even bumping the starter to spin the balancer a little and soon I found the timing marks...

I painted each 10' mark with a dab of white paint and let it dry - this so I would be able to read the position better with the timing light.

[This document shows where to find timing marks on Ford F250 Truck]