possible Holley carb return fuel line

[pavel3]

Hello everyone - new guy here. I have a Tornado 230 engine built in 1964 that runs very well but is a bit blue smokey. She flunked the emissions test and so I can't drive the vehicle in town except on "day" permits.
Unburnt hydrocarbons are 33% over the max allowed and the carbon monoxide reading is about 20% over maximum. I have been told that there are 2 likely reasons:
First: there is too much 'pre-ignition'. The distributor is stuck (at 20 degrees BTDC) and consequently I haven't been able to adjust it at all.
Second: I was told that because of the design of the float in the carb, that the fuel level in the bowl is always at max and this will affect the mixture going into the manifold (too rich). I know FI engines must have a return line so the electric pump doesn't overheat but is there a problem in these carb engines?

Question: is there a way to attach a return fuel line to the float bowel so excess fuel can find its way back to the tank? Perhaps later carb models had a return line in the design???
Question: other than soaking the distrib base in penetrant and carefully twisting it, is there any trick to loosening it up?

Any help would be appreciated. Now that I hope you have read this far - confession time. I have a Willys wagon with this engine, not an M715. Can you forgive and help anyway? If required, I'll promise to be on the lookout for an M715 and put my Tornado into it.... Thanks in advance!
Pavel up north

[kwai]

Question: other than soaking the distrib base in penetrant and carefully twisting it, is there any trick to loosening it up?

I use a bfh. The rubber kind so I don't damage the ignitor housing.

The smoke could also be caused by bad valve guide seals allowing oil to seep by.
44 years is a long time for the rubber to harden.

[george walker]

Hydrocarbons are unburned fuel, oil (and most any petroleoum product). To make your engine pass you must have: good properly gapped plugs, correct point gap (dwell), correct timing, clean oil and air filters, clean pcv valve and passages,(the last 3 if dirty can add alot of hydrocarbons on a test) and a carb that is properly functioning and adj'ed. Your first point is correct, if the timing is off that much it will be a problem. However remember you must have the points gapped(dwell) properly first, because dwell affects timing. The second point is half right if the float is set to high it can be a problem, however it isnt designed to always "be at max", it can be set correctly so there isnt 'excess fuel'. There is no way (or need ) to have a fuel return on that engine. Yes really bad valve guide seals or even rings can make for a problem too, but you would see the blueish smoke of oil burning to clue you in. Make sure the items listed are set properly and it should help alot, or fix, your test results. Use the manuals link at the page header and look in the -20 tm it has all the tune up procedures an specs you will need.

[brute4c]

The ignitors love to freeze in place because the timing cover is aluminum and the ignitor shaft is steel.

You can try a pry bar or hammer on the ignitor...some have done this and got it worked out...I chose heat on the 2 I have done...works great if you take your time.

With a torch, heat the spout on the timing cover that the ignitor shaft goes down into. heat all around as best you can being careful not to overheat the aluminum and melt or distort it. Stop and try to turn the ignitor housing...if it doesnt turn, heat a bit more and try to turn...keep going until it moves...it may only move a little at first and stop, just heat a little more and it will get looser and come out.

Clean the corrosion off the shaft and from the inside of the timing cover spout with light sandpaper and coat the ignitor shaft with anti seize compound before reinstalling it and you will be good to go.

I have used this procedure on both the military engine and the civilian engine so it works for your application.

[Binford]

His is a 1964 engine. That would be civvie, no? So would he have any difference in the "ignitor" department?

[george walker]

If he has a civ engine it will have a more conventional dist w/ sep. coil. The habit of the dist. sticking in the timing cover may still be a concern w civ's also.

[brute4c]

The reason I stated I have removed both this way is because the shaft of both the mil and civvy units is the same...only from the neck up, so to speak, are they different. The sticing problem is exactly the same one to the other.

Technically, the ignitor is the military name for the combination coil and distributor headon the shaft as oppose to the civilian unit having just the distributor head on the shaft and the coil mounted remotely.

[pavel3]

Gentlemen (Kwai,brute4c,Tim & George): Thanks for your replies! Now I know what an "igniter" is. Yes, the engine has been carefully tuned recently and the filters are new. I'll tackle the distributor housing again with a soft hammer and some gentle heat. Haven't done that yet because I have the same problem with a Ford F250 distributor that I also cannot move at all - so I'm a little hesitant to have at the Tornado. The front cover on the Tornado looks a bit 'delicate'... if I break it...
I'll forget the 'return line from carb back to fuel tank' idea, get the timing right and check the float level once I've read up on that topic.
Changing the valve guide seals (I have a set) sounds tricky because the rockers have to come out? I've never been inside the Tornado engine.

Thanks from this 'civie' to all again!

Pavel up north

[brute4c]

No sweat!
The rockers are a piece of cake...just 1 nuteach then lash them to .008 inch when you put them back on.

[pavel3]

OK replacing the valve stem seals sounds straight forward. I had better get the correct gaskets and parts first. Can you recommend a good place to get the necessary parts? Walcks?
Thanks brute4c.

Pavel up north