starts hard. runs rough for a minute.

[ndutton]

Dave's advice of dealing with one thing at a time is incredibly valuable.

If there are no spark plugs in, won't I get a face full of gasoline as the starter turns the engine?

I did not see where this question was answered. The answer is no. The fuel is drawn into the combustion chambers by vacuum (not pumped in) and with the plugs removed there is no vacuum. I'd suggest however removing the small wire from the coil '+' post during compression testing. It will prevent overheating and possibly damaging the coil.

[hanleyclifford]

Taylor, with the compression numbers you posted and the fact that the engine is still running rough after a bit of warming I doubt you have a sticky valve issue. I am assuming that your plugs being wet and sooty were wet with fuel, correct?
I am a big fan of the EI and it does not come with a cap. If you convert to EI start fresh with a new cap, rotor and wires. I'm not worried about your coil either at this point. Once the EI is installed and the timing set there is almost no maintenance on the ign system. I run 5~6 years on my cap and rotor and 2~3 years on a set of plugs (RJ8-C). Just an occasional check of the "C-adv" mechanism. A far superior system. Most of the coil problems we see on the forum are due to to hi of a charging voltage, thus the resistor. I ran without one for over 20 years and did install one for a test to see if I could discern any performance drops with one. I noticed nothing and it is still installed~~can't hurt.
I do suggest the carb first and touch nothing else. If you find the carb or the filter gumbed up yer' on to something. Until the carb is OK I would not mess with the ign. Once the carb is OK and the compression numbers are good I would then kick the gong and convert to an E/I~well worth the effort and cash.
Whatever you decide to tackle, do tackle one thing at a time. My personal suggestion is first carb then see if the roughness or compression is off (valves) and if the compression is still OK convert to the E/I.

Dave Neptune

+1 on this. While the dwell is likely not spot on, it is running the engine. You should plan to buy either a tach/dwell meter or go to EI - there's more future in the latter. I agree that the carb should be the first thing checked.

[taylor]

carb

Thanks for the clear direction on this one. Having one task is a lot less overwhelming than having a bunch. (And I'm a liveaboard, so the fewer gasoline-smelling engine parts I have strewn about my cabin at a time, the better.)

Yes, the plugs were wet with fuel.

I tried to empty the carb bowl, but there wasn't enough space to turn a wrench (socket or analog). Since I would need to remove the carb anyway in order to empty the bowl, I think it makes sense to just rebuild it.

I've ordered the carb rebuild kit and a new polishing filter. I'll check the Moyer vids and the existing threads. If I need more help, I'll start a separate thread. When it's done, I'll come back to this thread to check in about how the engine is running.


(And after that I can think about EI or valves, depending on how things go.)

Stand by, I imagine it'll be at least a few days before the kit shows up.

[taylor]

she runs!

Sorry for the long delay. I spilled some gas while reinstalling the carb, and it took a couple of days to properly clean up, and then I wanted to make sure that everything was fully aired out before starting the engine.

The steps I took were:

1. Replaced the polishing filter
2. Pumped gas through the line to make sure it was coming out clear and that no water separated out
3. Rebuilt the carb using the Moyer kit

Engine now runs as good as ever. Just to be sure, I tried pulling the spark leads one at a time, and the engine ran noticeably worse for each one. So, safe to say, it is now running on all four cylinders.

Thanks everyone!