Thread: well just got the 406 running only a few problems

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well i got the 406 running last night or actually this morning at around 12:45 haha anyway it ran right away and i set the timing to the mark that the guy that had the motor before tuned it to anyway it would barley make enough power to make it up my driveway. so i played around with the timing until it would make it. but its like the motor doesnt make any power until all three carbs are opened. i should be able to run around fine with just the inboard carb. when im going down the road the car kind of jumps forward and back and does it really bad on hills any ideas? i think im just gonna take it to a shop next week but i have to find some way to get it running half way decent so i can get to school on monday haha it sucks having to rely on a hot rod to get to school haha. anway i cant realy read the cam sheet here it is.
holman-moody HA-B cam .526 lift im not sure how to read the cam sheet it has a circle and starting on the top left and going clockwise it says
intake opens- 40, top center, exhaust closes- 40, exhaust opens- 70, bottom center, intake closes- 70
and lobe centers- 106
what does all this mean? how do i get the duration from that?
thanks guys
Tyler

Originally Posted by tyler

well i got the 406 running last night or actually this morning at around 12:45 haha anyway it ran right away and i set the timing to the mark that the guy that had the motor before tuned it to anyway it would barley make enough power to make it up my driveway. so i played around with the timing until it would make it. but its like the motor doesnt make any power until all three carbs are opened. i should be able to run around fine with just the inboard carb. when im going down the road the car kind of jumps forward and back and does it really bad on hills any ideas? i think im just gonna take it to a shop next week but i have to find some way to get it running half way decent so i can get to school on monday haha it sucks having to rely on a hot rod to get to school haha. anway i cant realy read the cam sheet here it is.
holman-moody HA-B cam .526 lift im not sure how to read the cam sheet it has a circle and starting on the top left and going clockwise it says
intake opens- 40, top center, exhaust closes- 40, exhaust opens- 70, bottom center, intake closes- 70
and lobe centers- 106
what does all this mean? how do i get the duration from that?
thanks guys
Tyler

Assuming that you have the valves set with the correct clearance, I would check for crossed plug wires, or a slipped vibration dampener which would give you incorrect initial timing marks. Just turn (advance) the distributor and see if it perks up. It's an easy quick check. You can also pull #1 plug and check the accuracy of the timing mark.

A long time ago I had a 1956 Ford with a 406, 3x2, 4-spd, with Goodyear "blue streak" wrinkle wall slicks that I drove to school. That car ended up with the clutch going through the hood.

Jumps back and forth ....sounds like a lean surge. Put your hand over the carb and see if it runs better with a bit of restriction. Or choke it if you have a hand choke. If so, you need bigger jets.

www.hptrends.com they have a $20 download that shows you tuning and setup. Nice rebuild and performance tips also. The site itself is pretty good for general information. RP has ya on the right track too. Test and tune time.

G.

thanks for the advice guys im gonna go try all of that stuff today and see what i can do also i just bought a set of advance springs and bushings for my MSD dist. so im gonna try changing those and see if maybe that helps. thanks for thep with the cam Denny

well i just tried the timing advance bushings and springs and it got a little better. if i put it to the floor it runs great it will smoke the tires until i let off the gas but as far as just running around town its like it is making no power which is weird bc the motor ran fine in the fairlane it was in and drive around town just running off the inboard carb fine but now it wont so i wouldnt think i would need new jets or anything if it ran fine before. the carbs also havent even been messed with they just sat for about 9 months. im puzzled
thanks
Tyler

If the carbs sat for 9 months they probably need cleaning, the metering system could be plugged up with residue.

Tear the carbs down. Metering block gaskets and the blocks themselves will get junky from sitting. The gaskets shrink and deteriorate from sitting after being run and then sat on the shelf. It's worth a look.

yup..... carbs dont do well sitting..... they varnish up inside and the gaskets shrink..... rebuild all 3 and you'll probably be doin good

yah i think thats whats gonna have to happen. its only running good under full throttle which is weird to me anyway im just gonna take it to someone and let them fix it so i dont mess up these nice carbs. but under full throttle boy is this thing a beast

last night i checked the valve lash and some of the valves were off some had gotten loose and some had gotten tight so i re-adjusted them and noticed that as i moved to the other side of the motor some of the other ones that i had just set had changed. i find that really weird how i set them was to just bump the motor over until the valve next to the one i wanted to adjust started going down them i would adjust the one that was open. i can see that they might change a little after the inital start-up but after i had done the drivers side and i moved to the passenger side i noticed that some of the valves that were open on the drivers side had more than .025 lash. am i doing something wrong?

ok thats my problem i was only doing it one cylinder at a time so i wouldnt get mixed up but i was adjusting the intake what the exhaust was open and the exhaust when the intake was open maybe this could be one of te factors in why its running bad.

One thing that all engines respond to even with a big cam is write the firing order down on paper or a card. Split them in half, first four above the last four. Then look at the card to see which cylinder you want to adjust. When one cylinder on the list comes up on overlap (equal exh and int opening pressure on the springs) then go to the opposite cylinder and adjust. I know this sounds confusing. It does insure the base side of the cam of the cylinder is where you need to be for adjustment. Everyone I have told this to gets that deer in the head lights look, but once you do one cylinder, it gets clear.

Thanks Denny. I think he'll get there. He's really wanting to learn with what method he finds comfortable. Nothing like learning how to do this stuff like feeling it through on your own ride.

Be the camshaft........I think ya got something going there Denny. My wife says I have an iron head. I think my mental capabilities are like iron. Maybe we can start a "Zen" engine building thread. Another good adjustment proceedure to insure proper placement of the cam. Good one.