Joanna,
>shop... anyway, it has me wondering if it could *just* be a carb
>problem and not a valve adjustment issue. I had planned to take it in
Well, carbs rarely go wrong unless you have a fuel blockage or a vacumn leak
(Throttle body wear etc). Does it idle roughly after it's initially warmed
up, or is it only idling roughly say after a decent driving stint? 1/2hr +?
You say you've done 5800 miles? Like 10,000km.. Hmm, how about an Oil and
Filter change? When was it last changed? What about the points? Maybe the
gaps closed up or the points are shot. Is the car getting hotter than
normal, is the oil pressure a bit lower than normal at idle? What about the
ignition timing? If the timing is retarded significantly and the idle is
lowish-sub 900rpm you can get a rough-ish idle. Distributors can move and
effect the timing. Maybe it wasn't secured properly the last time the timing
was checked.
I would change the oil and filter. Check the points and adjust gap/dwell if
necessary. Check the timing. Check the air filters - are they clean?. If
that doesn't fix it, check the valve clearances. Valve clearances should
really be checked first but as it's probably the most difficult to do on the
run maybe do it last if the above doesn't work but if you feel like it do
them first. If everything is in order, then go looking elsewhere. Could be
anything else in the ignition system as well, but always start with the
basics. Most of the times it's something simple.
Cheers,
Neil
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