Well I finely found out what was wrong with my Ghia, I let Herb re-time it so I could blame him for all my problems, but he did it right, so I couldn’t fuss at him. I bought a header with a glass pack muffler at BAP and I had a 009 distributor, so I replaced both at the same time. That is when I asked if anyone knew where the timing should be. The engine had a dead spot or hesitation every time I started out and when I shifted gears. After Herb re-set the timing, it still had the same problem (sorry Herb) so I replaced the 009 distributor with the stock one. Now I was really getting frustrated because the engine performance did not improve. I was looking at the under side of the engine a few days later, you guys know how it is, we have to look under the engine every once in a while just to see how things are, and I noticed that part of the exhaust pipe was rubbing against the frame. I then replaced the glass pack with my stock muffler and much to my surprise the engine runs just like a new one, so I replaced the stock distributor with the 009 and it still runs like a new engine.
Almost everyone I told about this said it needed the backpressure that the stock muffler had. Now I ain’t no Rocket Scientist but that just didn’t sound right, but I just drove the car and enjoyed the performance.
Night before last my son called and I was telling him about the problem and he asked me if the heat riser was open on the header and of course my response was “Say what?”. He told me he had the same problem last winter and someone told him to check the heat riser because sometimes they don’t drill out the hole. When I checked mine, they were not open or drilled so the intake manifold was not getting any heat, which is what caused the poor performance. I drilled them out and reinstalled the glass pack and the engine is running just fine.
So what I am trying to say in this looooong story is that if you put headers on your car and you have a single carburetor, check to make certain the heat risers are open.
