dr. james

Thanks to everyone's advice I think I found the problem with the PCV hose that goes from the valve cover to the back of the carb. The hose was cracked.. I changed both the hose and the PCV valve and the car now runs fine. That was a cheap fix. Thanks again.

I have a 1966 California Mustang that I purchased on the west coast two years ago and shipped it to Massachusetts. The car has a rebuilt 289 engine with a 2 barrel carb. After driving for several minutes, and when I approach a stop sign or red light, the engine stumbles runs rough and sometimes stalls. It starts right up but the roughness continues so I keep my foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake to keep the RPM up to prevent stalling I have replaced the plugs, distributor cap, wires, vacuum advance, and pcv valve, gas filter, and had the carb rebuilt. The car is equipped with a Petronix ignition system. After all those improvements, the car continues with the rough idle and stalling when warm. in the morning, at start-up, the car runs beautiful for about 5 miles then the stumbling starts. I'm at a loss about the rough running. My local mechanic suggests I may have a vacuum leak but he hasn't found the source. Members of the antique car club suggest I switch the Petronix system back to original points. Does that make sense?. The car is show quality but not enjoyable to drive with this problem. Any suggestions?

1957 Ford Thunderbird wanted. Must have both hard top and convertible top as well as power steering/power brakes, and automatic transmission. Only rust free car will be considered. Please post pictures with realistic price. I am a cash buyer who is not a broker or car dealer.

John, you are correct I'm new to this forum and I don't know how the old post got repeated. I will send my new question about the 1957 cars later today. Sorry

Members, I've been approached by a person who owns a very nice 1957 Thunderbird with both tops, power steering, power seats, power front disc brakes, tilt steering wheel, and he is interested in an even swap for my 1957 Chevy Belair two door hardtop with power glide trans, power steering, power pack, rebuilt 283 last year, 4 new wide-white radial tires, exterior color black with original style red/black interior. The Thunderbird is available for $45K. I owned a 1955 Thunderbird 35 years ago but my wife hated the car because of hard opening doors, big steering wheel, and sluggish 6 volt system. She tells me to do what I want because she has never driven the 57 Chevy and has no plans to drive a 57 Thunderbird. According to my research, the Chevy appears to be more valuable than the Thunderbird. Your advice will be appreciated. Dr. James 66 Mustang 57 Chevy Belair

Members: I'm sure that many members have heard the story of the school teacher who owned a low mileage car that she only drove to and from school and then parked her car in the garage overnight. Well I'm married to that 4th grade teacher who owns a 2006 Acura TL with 53k miles. She bought the car new from the Acura dealership 13 years ago. I actually looks as good today as it did when she took delivery. She drives the car 4k per year. I just returned from the Acura dealer after having her car serviced with an oil change and filter. While in the waiting room, a service tech came to me and said the car is ready but despite the low miles and excellent overall condition, the car needs new spark plugs $429.95, valve adjustment $499.95, and a new PVC valve $124.95 and some fluid changes that quickly added up to $2000. Incidentally, the car has a new timing belt, water pump, new hoses, belts, fresh antifreeze and 4 new Michelin tires. I immediately got the impression the service tech was hoping I would say I would trade-in the car after learning about recommenced repairs. On the way home, I stopped at my local garage to ask the independent mechanic if those repairs were needed and if the estimate seemed accurate. He just shook his head and said the car doesn't need those repairs at this time and when I decide to have the work done, he could perform the repairs for a fraction of the dealer estimate. Who is correct? Thanks, Dr. James

Joe, Thanks for your thoughts about the Acura. I have the original owners manual in the glove box but I haven't looked at the book. The service department at the dealership called yesterday to ask if I wanted to schedule an appointment for the $2000 repair estimate. I declined. I will let my local independent garage mechanic handle the repairs, as needed, and save myself some serious money. The independent mechanic mentioned the PVC valve replacement at approximately $40-$50 complete rather than the dealer estimate of $125. I think my next new car may be battery powered. Dr. J

Bill, Thanks for the reply to my wife's 2006 Acura TL. I did have the timing belt, water pump, belts, hoses, and anti-freeze at the dealership when the car hit 35K miles. I was told to watch the age of the car, not jus the mileage, before changing those item. The bill for those repairs was $1200. I don't object to paying for needed repairs on a good car but I do object to someone trying to take advantage of a good customer who has purchased 3 vehicles at that dealership. Someone responded to my question and asked why I was asking for advice on a modern car on the website devoted to antique cars. I should have posted that I look at this website because I own a prize-winning 57 Chevy Belair Hardtop and a prize winning 66 Mustang that I recently purchased from sunny San Diego. Again, thanks for your reply. Dr. J

Members: I'm sure that many members have heard the story of the school teacher who owned a low mileage car that she only drove to and from school and then parked her car in the garage overnight. Well I'm married to that 4th grade teacher who owns a 2006 Acura TL with 53k miles. She bought the car new from the Acura dealership 13 years ago. I actually looks as good today as it did when she took delivery. She drives the car 4k per year. I just returned from the Acura dealer after having her car serviced with an oil change and filter. While in the waiting room, a service tech came to me and said the car is ready but despite the low miles and excellent overall condition, the car needs new spark plugs $429.95, valve adjustment $499.95, and a new PVC valve $124.95 and some fluid changes that quickly added up to $2000. Incidentally, the car has a new timing belt, water pump, new hoses, belts, fresh antifreeze and 4 new Michelin tires. I immediately got the impression the service tech was hoping I would say I would trade-in the car after learning about recommenced repairs. On the way home, I stopped at my local garage to ask the independent mechanic if those repairs were needed and if the estimate seemed accurate. He just shook his head and said the car doesn't need those repairs at this time and when I decide to have the work done, he could perform the repairs for a fraction of the dealer estimate. Who is correct? Thanks, Dr. James

Thank you to everyone who responded to my problem with my 1966 Mustang 289 that was stumbling and surging. I finally found mechanic who diagnosed and fixed the problem in a matter of one hour. He initially adjusted the carb and checked the timing but the problem continued. He then checked the vacuum advance using a pressure gauge and he announced "I found the problem" After replacing the vacuum advance, he adjusted the timing, and adjusted the carb. The car runs like new. Problem solved! Thanks again to everyone who responded to my question. Dr. James

Yesterday I disconnected the distributor vacuum advance and plugged both the advance and the metal tube running to the side of the carb. After doing so an driving the car for a few miles, the problem with hesitation and surging continued. Obviously, I have other issues but those need to be solved at a repair facility with the proper test equipment. Thanks for the tip

I'm learning very quickly that local shops know nothing about carburetors especially with the number of cars with fuel injection. I was considering purchasing an Elelbrock carb but I put that decision on hold until many other tests are performed. Thanks of responding to my problem.

john, I won't give up because the car is too nice and I plan to have it for many years. Your suggestions are genuine so all I need to do is convince my neighbor, who works on the Mustang when he's not tuning up other customer Ferraris, Jags, or Mercedes, to set aside time to perform the tests you mentioned. He's a one many shop but he has he ability to fix any engine especially a 289. If he would devote several hours to my problem, it will be solved. Thanks again,

KG, I have every repair invoice for this car for the past 37 years. The invoices fill two 3-ring binders and I've looked carefully at each one but I don't see any bills for an electric fuel pump so apparently the fuel pump must be the one that came with the car. The engine rebuild receipt clearly shows a new oil pump and water pump but no mention of fuel pump. Thanks for your comments. I will eventually solve this problem.

have the opposite problem, a rich mixture. Go for the carb first. Dave, When the surging and hesitation problems went unsolved, I suggested to the mechanic who was working on my car that I planned to purchase an Elelbrock Carb to replace the Ford Motor Co carb in the car. He discouraged me for doing that so I went for a rebuild but the problem continues. If you owned this car, would you change the carb to an Edelbrock or similar to hopefully solve the problem?

Modeleh, The carb was rebuilt last month and the shop installed a new float because the original float was damaged. I will look down the primary barrels to look for fuel dripping. The car starts immediately regardless of how long it has been sitting. A member of the antique car club where I belong suggests a vacuum leak or defective vacuum advance device. Thanks for your suggestions.

Terry, The plugs are not dirty or sooty but the exhaust pipes that come through the rear valance have considerable soot. However, the repair facility where I take the car adjusted the mixture control and the soot is decreasing. The mechanic said I should expect to see some soot coming from a 52 year old car with a carb. I may revert back to original points and original type coil and scrap the Petronix ignition and Petronix coil. Thanks for the reply.

Huptoy, Thanks for responding to my problem. My zip is 01970 which is 20 miles north of Boston. I'm willing to travel a reasonable distance but remember the car runs very rough and the gas mileage is about 10 miles per gallon.

Terry, The car is a c code 289 with a 4 barrel Ford Motor Co but I'm not sure if that's original. The carb was professionally rebuilt less than a month ago and the rebuilder said the carb was clean but the float was damaged so he replaced it. When I purchased the car two years ago, it ran fine for a short period but then the hesitation and stumbling began. It was at that point when I started replacing the items mentioned in my request for help.

I have a low mileage 123K '66 Mustang with a rebuilt engine. The car hesitates and stumbles when driving especially when I come to a stop. When I stop, I need to keep my foot on the accelerator to keep the car from stalling. The car has Petronix ignition and Petronix coil. Recently, I had the following improvements made to eliminate the problem but they continue: new plugs, new plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, rebuilt carb, PCV valve, fuel line filter, and timing check. My friends at the antique car club suggest I may have a vacuum advance problem but others suggest I get rid of the Petronix additions and switch back to original style points and coil. This problem is very frustrating and it has reached the point where I only drive the car to leave it at the repair facility but they can't solve the hesitation and stumbling. Other than that, the car is absolutely beautiful because it came from San Diego and has never seen snow or salt. Can anyone offer me a solution? Dr. James