<VV> powerglide car hesitates off the line

[Ramon Rodriguez III]

Hey guys.

Apparently I'm doing something very wrong, as all three powerglide cars
I've owned the past few years have given me the same problem.

The issue is that when you pull away from a stoplight or stop sign the car
wants to quit.  While tinkering I often get this behavior to stop but it
soon returns.  Let me first give you info on what I've done:

The drivetrain is a 1963 84hp engine and powerglide. This powertrain has
not been on the road in many years.  The compression test looked good, but
I don't remember the numbers.  I'm 99% sure I replaced the plugs but I'm
going to pull one and check here in the next few minutes.

I rebuilt these carburetors myself, let them soak for two weeks then blew
them out with air and cleaned them.  Installed rebuild kits including new
accelerator pump cups.  I set the float levels etc. according to the shop
manual. Accelerator pumps squirt strong.  Choke pull-offs are good so no
vacuum leak there. Idle circuits seem to be ok as it idles at a decently
low RPM.

Brand new MSD Blaster SS coil, brand new points, brand new condenser, brand
new cap, fairly new wires by Seth Emerson.  Dwell set with a dwell meter to
31-32 degrees.  Timing set to 9 degrees BTDC.  Vacuum advance checked with
vacuum pump and is very close to spec.  Mechanical advance doesn't have any
slop in it.

Vacuum leaks are what I keep coming back to.  In the process of trying to
solve this problem I have replaced the hoses and clamps on the balance tube
with brand new ones, installed new vacuum caps on the unused carburetor
vacuum ports, capped off the vacuum port on the cross tube for the PCV, and
capped the port for the powerglide vacuum hookup.  As far as I know I've
eliminated every possible vacuum leak except the throttle shafts.

Carbs were balanced at idle with a unisyn.  Carbs were also balanced at
partially open throttle with unisyn.

Lifters were just adjusted (with engine running) by me after installing new
pushrod tube seals.  I was a little bit conservative on the preload, only
did about 1/4 turn on them.  I am hearing one lifter clicking a little bit
intermittently so I'm thinking about putting another 1/4 turn on each.

The powerglide and torque converter have never been checked or worked on.
 Do 50 year old torque converters fail to stall (is that correct use of
terminology?) properly and create too much load at low rpm?

One last piece of probably crucial information, I've still got a bit of a
miss at idle that is not rhythmic but always present.  As stated above I'm
about to re-check the plugs right now.  If I find anything other than new
plugs I'll send another message to update you all.




I'm certain I'm doing something wrong.  Any help figuring out what would be
much appreciated.  In the meantime I'm trying to go back through everything
again and trying to make sure all of the above is accurate information.

Thanks guys!

Ray Rodriguez III
Lake Wallenpaupack, PA