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  1. #1

    Default Need some guidance - please advise 1985 GT

    Hey guys, i was wondering if you could help me out here. Since ive had this car its been nothing short of a nightmare for me. Let me break down the basics..
    1985 GT, the previous owner bought it as a roller, so now it has a 1995 F150 302 in it.
    When i got it it ran good, i never really jumped on it or anything, but it ran and drove, it just had some solenoid problems where i would have to jump it off the solenoid to get it started every 3 out of 5 times. Now let me explain a bit, somewhere in the cars previous life someone butchered the wiring, im almost certain that every wire that is in the drivers side fenderwell for the duraspark box and probably the headlight harness, etc has been spliced. It has a 1 wire HEI distributor controlling all of the ignition functions. I didnt like the looks of that HEI dist plus i wanted to use the dual snorkel air cleaner on it so i bought an aftermarket Ebay distributor and went to the local autoparts and picked up a replacement duraspark box. I could never get that to work (im pretty sure that was my fault because of the wiring issues) so after messing with it for what seems like forever i put the HEI back in.
    Problem with the HEI is it had to be positioned with the vacuum advance at the 3 oclock position so i could give it crazy ignition advance to keep it from backfiring and running like crap. During all of this testing im pretty sure i blew out the powervalve on the Holley 4bbl i had on there, so i replaced it with a new Edelbrock 600. I thought maybe it was possible that the carb was giving me alot of these issues. The car was at the point where it was running good, you could nail the gas in neutral and no backfiring. Problem was that if you put it in gear and tried to move it off of my carport it wanted to die. You have to completely feather the clutch and gas to get it to even move, I dont think its the clutch because it seemed to have enough life left in it when i brought it home. So once again im thinking that it had to be something with the timing. The only other thing i could think of was maybe the timing chain was stretched, or it jumped a tooth or something. So this past weekend i put a new timing chain on it, but the timing chain that was on it was perfect. It wasnt really stretched and the marks were lined up perfectly so its not like someone had it installed incorrectly which was really my hope. I was aggravated enough in seeing that so i just left it, and thats how she sets 3 days later. Im seriously at a loss on this car. I want to restore it as i think this could be a great car, its completely rust free, has nice interior and i just replaced all of the rubber and restored to the ttops. It has great potential.
    It would start just fine, but maybe something is incorrectly wired with the ignition sequence that is causing all of these problems? Could my timing be off that much because the wiring through the ignition is messed up even though im using the one wire distributor?
    I mean it is called "ignition timing" right? Does anyone have any guidance for me, im about it lose it on this car.
    Thanks

  2. #2
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    First congrats to you on the "New" to you 85 GT! One of my favorite Foxes of all time! Great looking car and a blast to own and drive.

    At this point I will give you some advice that I have learned the hard way and please take no offense to anything here as nothing is meant as a personal attack. When fixing a Previous Owner's issues or bad repairs you want to take your time and be methodical. Unfortunately since this car has been modified, possibly butchered, and changed your normal repair sequence may not work in some ways.

    I have no experience with the HEI setup on a Ford. I had enough on my old 84 T/A and would never do it again. With that said, let's work with what you have at the moment and go from there. You may be limited on how the HEI will physically fit into the engine due to the vacuum canister, but you can still tweak the timing by adjusting the engagement of the distributor teeth to the camshaft. Just moving the distributor to cam by one tooth may allow enough rotation of the distributor to get your timing where you need/want it. Hard to describe this without being there and pictures, but I can walk you thru it over the phone if needed. Feel free to PM me and I will give you my info. In regards to timing I would recommend either 8 or 10 degrees advanced to start with. The engine should run fine at either of those and allow you to correct other issues before you play with the timing any further.

    Swapping carbs with all of the other issues may not be the best option as tuning a carb to an engine that may already have ignition issues will be difficult if not impossible. If the engine was running fine with the Holley you might consider a new power valve and replacing it for the time being until you know you have your ignition issues addressed.

    As you stated your ignition issues may be due to incorrect wiring of the distributor, but the only way to tell is by testing and verifying that you are getting the correct voltage and power to the HEI distributor and coil. That is something I would recommend testing and verifying so you can fix if needed or at least delete that variable from the equation.

    Best advice I can give is to focus on one item or issue at a time until you know that issue or item is fixed, corrected, and working properly. When you start throwing parts at the problem you may be wasting time and money to fix issues that aren't the actual problem or inducing even more issues that weren't there to begin with. We have all been there and done that. Unfortunately sometimes fixing these cars is a long and tedious process of elimination and honestly not that much fun. The end result is worth it, but the process can be a bit painful to say the least. If you are in over your head in regards to some of this, I highly recommend a friend, buddy, etc. that might have more/better experience if possible. Besides often two heads are better than one!

    Good luck and send me a PM if you would like to discuss this over the phone.
    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
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  3. #3
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    One thought - sometimes you can move plug wires one terminal and rotate the dizzy to where it's not hitting and you can set the timing ok.

    Agree with Trey. Just a few more thoughts

    Keep in mind that Ford cyl numbers start on passenger side.


    I can't count the number of HEIs that I've had get caught and not advance/retard correctly. Make sure things are doing what they should.

    Also make sure you have the dizzy on the correct type of throttle dependent vacuum port.

  4. #4
    FEP Power Member 4-barrel Mike's Avatar
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    Experts: is the firing order of a '95 F150 302 the same as early 302's or 351's & HO 302's?

    Mike

  5. #5
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    AFAIK - 94 and later 302's in F150 all received the 302HO/351W/460 firing order.

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