Load-o-matic distrib issue?

Daves55Sedan

Daves55Sedan

Well-known member
'55 Ford with 292 engine and original '55 Ford "EBU' carb and Load-o-Matic distributor.
Got bad gas here again which ruined a fuel filter and carb very quickly. I replaced fuel filter, rebuilt the EBU carb with a Daytona Parts kit and re-installed. I also filed ignition points and cleaned the rotor tip while I was at it.
From there on out I could only get to about 75MPH. If I try to push down the pedal further the engine actually reduces speed. So I decided to swap the EBU carb with a identical rebuilt Holley carb. Same problem, but with the Holley, it seems like the engine is going to shut down if I try to push the pedal past 75MPH.
I checked the engine timing with the carb vacuum port disconnected and plugged. I have it set at 6 degrees BTDC as it should be for a Ford-o-matic. It sounds to me like the advance curve in the distributor is way off. Could it be that the tension on the points spring is increased enough to retard the distributor advance springs from operating properly? I don't see how, since filing points shouldn't remove hardly any material. Could I have accidentally rotated one of the advance cams with just my finger while I was working on the points?
Seems unlikely that both carburators are at fault. Prior to getting bad gas, I could stomp the pedal, engaging the passing gear and she would take off for the moon. I want that back again.
 
First question..Did the car exceed 75 mph before the bad gas? Sounds like a fuel delivery problem to me. Fuel filter plugged again? Fuel pump pressure and flow? Fuel lines and hoses? Is the EBU carb a 4 barrel? Secondaries not opening? John
 
My 55 Ford had a sock on the fuel inlet in the tank. If that gets messed up, there is no easy way to clean it. I removed the whole 55 inlet in the tank and cut a hole in the top of the tank and made all new.
 
as Don said if it has a sock on it you may be able to blow air through fuel line where it connects to fuel pump.when you say it lays down on you it sounds like fuel.if you have time and have a manual choke.try slowly pulling choke out when driving at speed.doing this will reduce air flow.pointing to a fuel lean out less air means the little fuel getting through can handle the air fuel ratio.works great when you have a pinhole leak in fuel line 100 miles from home.used that a few times in the early days.the sock is an in tank filter so with you having an inline if it blows off no harm.if not that then make sure points are clean and recheck gap usually to small gap will have same symptom.
 
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Hoosier Hurricane said:
First question..Did the car exceed 75 mph before the bad gas? Sounds like a fuel delivery problem to me. Fuel filter plugged again? Fuel pump pressure and flow? Fuel lines and hoses? Is the EBU carb a 4 barrel? Secondaries not opening? John
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I run it above 75mph a couple times a week and occasionally punch it to engage passing gear. Car is used everyday mostly on highway. Did not have problem before the bad gas. New fuel filter installed after system clogged. Filter is okay for now. Fuel pump is about a year old. The EBU is Fords original '55, 2-bbl with SCV. It is identical to a Holley 2100.
 
Ole Don said:
My 55 Ford had a sock on the fuel inlet in the tank. If that gets messed up, there is no easy way to clean it. I removed the whole 55 inlet in the tank and cut a hole in the top of the tank and made all new.
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Don, I have another fuel tank that was "dunked" but it needs some rust holes repaired. Is it possible to drill out the original rivets and remove the fuel inlet tube from the tank and then re-install a new tube with screws or something? I definitely need to do something about my tank. Theres a lot of garbage in there.
 
I agree that it sounds like all the fuel is emptying out of the float chamber at high speed, but I double checked the float setting and it is according to specs
 
I also double checked to see if the miniature clip that holds the vac advance arm on the breaker plate might have come off. It is still on. But that has happened before. Even if it had, it should not have had such an effect, since the engine is not under great load at that speed. I also used a Mityvac to check the operation of the vac advance with the engine not running. It does pull the breaker plate when I squeeze the Mityvac.
If it stops raining tomorrow, I am going to check the operation of the vac advance with the car running using a timing light to see if the crankshaft damper jumps when I rev the engine.
 
I'll suggest rechecking the point gap and if that checks out okay, then replace the condenser again. New condensers have been known to be defective out of the box.
 
I'm with Ted. I had the same problem with an Oz Falcon ute. Ran great but would not go past about 60mph. I like you thought it felt like fuel and changed carby, filters and blew ou the tank. Went to check the plugs so took the distributor cap off with leads and Lo and behold the point gap was about 0.009". Widened the gap and it went like a rocket. Got a dwell meter shortly after that.
 
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