Engine won't idle w/ warm

[dtrotter54]

New to the forum and I have a '57 Bird D code that has been in storage 25+ years. Over hauled carburetor and flushed fuel system and boiled out and sealed fuel tank. Replaced a bent push rod and checked the valve lash. The engine starts and runs good, but after it warms up, it will not stay running and we have to "feather" choke to keep it running. It acts like a vacuum leak and we have checked all hoses etc. to no avail. It has been suggested that it could be the choke tube underneath the intake manifold causing this problem, yet when we cover the inlet to the carburetor it still occurs. Any help, suggestions would be appreciated. Also, checked the timing and it is retarded 10 degrees, but our distributor is "frozen" and will not rotate.

[dtrotter54]

We decided to go ahead and remove the intake manifold. The gaskets did not show any breakage. We were able to remove the choke tube and it was broken in several places. The carberator base gasket looked like the original and it was almost "rubberized". We had to scrape it off the intake manifold. We're going to re-assemble everything and hope we have eliminated the vacuum leak. I will keep you posted. Any suggestions on how to free-up the distributor?

[gbhrps]

I've heard in the past that freeing up a seized engine can sometimes be accomplished with diesel fuel, fill the cylinders up, leave it a week, and carefully try rotating the crank back and forth.

Perhaps the same could be done with your distributor? At this point you really have nothing to lose. Good Luck!

Gene