Engine revolutions taking time before dying down!

[Clive James Jeggo]

Can anybody help please!
I recently purchased a 1964 356 C, and a problem that I haven't been able to resolve to date is that once the engine is at normal working temperature the revolutions of the motor remain high for three to fours seconds after releasing the accelerator pedal. While using the throttle linkage by hand beside the carb's and making sure that the linkage is closed the revolutions still remain high for three to four seconds before completely dying down to idle.
Any idea's? Thanks in advance

[Craig Richter]

Probably, your distributor's advance mechanism is sticking and needs a rebuild.

[John Brooks]

I agree, you car try to clean and lub the advance plate weight pivots , I just had a couple distrubutos overhauled here

http://www.sparkingplugs.com/index.html

[Clive James Jeggo]

Thanks for your replies guys, I've got a heavy flu bug at the moment so I'll look into your suggestions later in the week. Thanks

[Doug McDonnell]

Just my 2 cents but get your distributor overhauled. It will keep you from having a lot of “caburator” issues. PS I hope you don’t have the Flu I had in January or it will be weeks before you are recovered.

[Ben Wainscott]

Agree with the above, as my SC had the same problem. John Jenkins of 356 Carburetor Rescue overhauled my distributor, corrected the bad Teflon sliding surface gasket, got the shims in the right location, and checked the curve on his Sun distributor machine. After replaced the advance springs to get the proper curve we reinstalled it back in the car. First time in many, many years that when I pulled to a stop the idle was consistent.

[James Learmonth]

For about the same price you can purchase a Precision123 electronic distributor that will eliminate that idle problem and a host of other "carburetor" problems. You will find your car more flexible around town because the ignition advance is always correct for the engine speed. I have had this distributor for over five years and 45,000 miles and it is virtually bullet proof. It did, however, die for no apparent reason while my engine was on the shelf at the restoration shop for five months. Precision brought it back to life for $145 USD . I do though hide a real good Bosch 050 behind the spare tire. If you try it you will have a hard time finding something to dislike. www.123ignitionusa.com .

Jim Learmonth
65c Coupe
Houston, TX

[Wes Bender]

+1 on John Jenkins' work on the distributor. Also, add your location to your profile so we know approximately where you are.

[Clive James Jeggo]

Thanks again for the advice, I'm still house bound with energy levels at zero at the moment, this could take some time. I live in SW France so maybe I'll need to find a company nearer to home for the overhaul or checkout the rates for sending it by post.