Acceleration

C

casper_wcx13

Junior Member
Is it normal for my 55 fairlane town sedan 272 v8 to accelerate slowly. I feel like it should have more power being a v8 . Also when it gets up to speed on the freeway everyone once in a while it seems like it wont speed up. What can it be ?


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If your '55 has its original Loadomatic distributor the timing advance may not be working. You should be able to check this with a timing light.
Also inspect the vacuum line coming from the carburetor for leaks.
If the vacuum setup isn't working the timing advance isn't either.
Is it the original style carburetor?
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Another indication of lack of ignition advance would be hotter than normal exhaust temps. Extra hot exhaust manifolds. Possibly hotter coolant temp too.

Sal
 
A check of the fuel pressure and flow, would also be in order for your symptoms.

Pull the fuel line and spin the engine over and see how much volume there is, by watching pump into a coffee can.

From there, you can put a T in the line and check fuel pressure at rpm.

Third, you should check the flex line for a air leak. The FP can't pump much/any gas, if there is any air leak on the suction side.
 
Yes, when I noticed the Y block in my '54 not accelerating like it should, it was because I'd forgotten to reconnect the distributor vacuum advance after checking the timing. That's where I'd start.



Keep in mind the '54 and '55 Y-blocks aren't very fast in stock form, but if you notice it being slower than usual, you should probably consider what the other guys have suggested. Good luck.
 
If your advance springs are not visible, as seen in the photos, you don't have a Loadomatic vacuum-advance-only distributor.

I don'y know how many times I've described the differences between the loadomatic and 57-up distributors. Unfortunately, my computer skills make posting photos too time-consuming for me.Great photos.
 
55blacktie said:
If your advance springs are not visible, as seen in the photos, you don't have a Loadomatic vacuum-advance-only distributor. ...
Click to expand...
paul2748 said:
If it's a later distributor, you will not see the advance springs shown in the above pictures.
Click to expand...
Two of the slightly later versions of Y-block distributor. '57 to '59, and '59+
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If all of this began withe mounting of the EDEL carb, that carb will not send a proper signal to the LOM DIST vacuum advance.

You have to go to an OEM DUAL ADV (1957/ ) or aftermarket ELECTRONIC DIST.
 
What he said ^^^

The newer carb won't operate a '54 to '56 distributor correctly. Their timing advance is solely controlled by the original lower '54 to '56 specific vacuum signal from the carb.

The '54 to '56 Loadmatic distributors have no mechanical/rpm based timing advance function like the '57+ distributors do.
 

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KULTULZ said:
If all of this began withe mounting of the EDEL carb, that carb will not send a proper signal to the LOM DIST vacuum advance.

You have to go to an OEM DUAL ADV (1957/ ) or aftermarket ELECTRONIC DIST.
Click to expand...


The edelbrock was already in the car when i bought it


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casper_wcx13 said:
The edelbrock was already in the car when i bought it
Click to expand...

Then you are going to have to determine what DIST system is on the car now. Was an adapter used to mount the carb?

This seems most logical as few understand the LOM SYSTEM. Can you take photos? Just a photo of the DIST will help determine.
 
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