I do need to retorque the intake bolts, but I will sure be disappointed if there any vacuum leaks there with new gaskets :-/ 

I did play around with different mixture screw settings while idling before it stalled, and it seemed best at about 1/2 turn out from closed; I left them at 3/4 out because there was no perceptible difference in running and I've been told it's best not to leave them at the leanest possible good-running setting.  Any less than 1/2 turn and things were noticeably worse.

I also set the float recently, using the actual fuel level specification rather than the dry float setting.

You say it can flood due to heat--I've never heard of this.  What happens, exactly?  I was wondering whether the fuel could be vapor-locking in the idle passages or something...

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

Check for vacuum leaks around the intake (may want to retorque the bolts) and try turning in the idle adjustment screws and see if this helps. I may be flooding due to the heat and reducing the fuel may help. You may also have a problem with the float being too high and when gas gets hot it will allows the float to sink thus raising the fuel level even more.

Wayne

Wayne
Located in Lineboro, MD
55 Retro Bird
65 Cobra FFR
69 Dart

I have a 1959 292 (stock, 2-bbl Autolite) that has recently developed a very specific problem which has me flummoxed.  It did not show up until the weather started getting really good and hot, in the nineties, with high humidity.  The symptom is that, once fully warm, the car will begin to run poorly and stall if permitted to idle long enough.  If it idles for an intermediate length of time, idle quality might not drop off at all, but when I accelerate out of idle it will stall.  It is then hard to start, but if I wait a while it will start, and as long as I keep moving, there are no problems.

At first I thought I was dealing with vapor lock.  I could see bubbles entering the glass fuel bowl on the suction side of the pump when things got good and hot.  But today I ran the car at idle in park with the carb air horn off and a timing light on the coil high tension lead, watching for variation in spark.  Even though the fuel level in the bowl did not drop noticeably, nor was there any variation in the blinking of the timing light, the idle quality soon deteriorated until it stalled altogether.  At that point, I was unsuccessful at restarting the car until it had cooled down.

The points and condenser have recently been replaced and adjusted. Fuel filter is new.  Coil, cap, and rotor are all less than a year old. 

I should note that around the time of this developent, I also noticed a steady miss at idle that had developed.  Somehow, one of the metal-reinforced intake gaskets had torn and worked its way outward, AWAY from the suction of the intake, creating a vacuum leak on cylinder #7.  I have no clue how to account for such a development.  At any rate, I replaced the gaskets and now the idle is super smooth, until things get really hot.

I'm stumped.  The only thing I can think to check that I haven't recently is the valve adjustment.  Maybe the valves are just barely touching a temp at which they aren't fully seating, resulting in a compression loss.

Any other ideas, or thoughts?

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive