Questions about tuning and timing dual carb 1.8 Options

[Slick914]

I'm going to attempt a tune-up on my car and have many questions. I know most of these are basic questions, so please bear with me. Your help will be greatly appreciated!

My engine... 1974 1.8 Has dual Weber carbs. Not positive which ones. Distributor appears to be original? I'm assuming that the cam is original, really have no idea. I attached a couple pics that may help identify what I have. Sorry, it's raining outside and the car is covered, can't get better pics at the moment.

Many questions, so I'll just ask them as they pop into my head, no specific order...

1. .016 gap correct for points?
2. At what rpm should I set timing? 3000, 3200, 3500?
3. What's a safe timing setting? 27, 28, 30, more?
4. Is it true if my point gap is set right, the dwell should be fine?
5. How do I sync my carbs? I have a synchrometer from previous owner.
6. Is my distributor supposed to have a vacuum line?


Hmmm, I know there were some other ?'s but can't think of them right now. The car runs ok now, but I know I can get her to run a little smoother. When cold, it backfires through the carbs especially upon acceleration. Even when at running temp, it can be hesitant during acceleration at times. Once the rpms get up there some the hesitation goes away. These symptoms could be a common thing with the set-up I have for all I know, but I still need to give her a tune-up regardless.

[Slick914]

You are going to have a bitch of a time getting those carbs setup correctly and get your timing correct.

You were exactly right! I spent 2 hrs fooling with it today and still can't get the darn carbs set right. It's worse off than when I started. I can get all barrels close except for one. On that one, I have to open up the air bleeder too far in order to get it synched like the others. Something might not be right internally with that carb. All my other air bleed screws are closed and that one is damn near whistling from sucking so much air. Got too frustrated and threw in the towel for the day. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)