65 Hesitation Issues

Car idled rough and had a bit of hesitation on acceleration so got a tune-up – new plugs, wires, points, etc. Mechanic can’t solve the hesitation at this point and said the engine does not kickdown now. He has my shop manual and thinks it might be the linkage. Am thinking it might be the modulator valve.

Outside of the hesitation, the car shifted properly before the tune-up. It now seems to have less power. Any ideas at this point?

Phil

Hi Phil –

After reading your post, I can only provide some suggestions based on the information that you have given us so far. My first thought was that you may have Carburetor problems because of your hesitation and idle descriptions. Secondly, does your mechanic have any experience tuning up older vehicles with carburetors, points and so on. What is your mechanic  referring to when he states that ” the engine won’t kickdown now” and what do you refer to with “etc” in your list of what was replaced or checked. Your symptoms sound like easy to solve classic car problems that require on scene older car experience. If your mechanic has little experience with diagnosing and tuning up older vehicles, he would probably be wise to send you to someone with such experience. Let us know how this all works out for you.

Sincerely,

Bill

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Hi Bill,

I finally resolved this issue and your suggestion was bang on.

I went to a very experienced mechanic who is familiar with old vehicles and carburetors.  Once I explained the issue, he asked if the place I had gone to worked on the carb. They had advised me that thy tinkered with the carb a lot. The experienced mechanic then spent an hour or two and found that the “throttle springs” (that’s what he called them) just below the carb were not functioning properly and one was not working at all. He replaced them and the ’65 Lincoln now shifts properly, has a lot more power and operates normally.

Thanks for your assistance.

Best regards,

Phil

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Hi Phil

Thanks for reporting your success. Others with similar situations will read that and benefit from your experience.

Bill