[p1mnc247]

well here is my problem the old goat is doing fine just went to a car show over the weekend got best of show out of 65 cars cool.the problem is the car is still pinging when i give it full throtle the engine is running about 210deg i am running 93oct with oct booster i think the thermostat is a 180 need do i need to go to a lower temp thermostat and maybe a electric cooling fan need help....

[p1mnc247]

well here is my problem the old goat is doing fine just went to a car show over the weekend got best of show out of 65 cars cool.the problem is the car is still pinging when i give it full throtle the engine is running about 210deg i am running 93oct with oct booster i think the thermostat is a 180 need do i need to go to a lower temp thermostat and maybe a electric cooling fan need help....

[limejudge]

I have found that the only way to truly stop pinging is to adjust the distributor (i.e. retard the timing) until it goes away. You can go to a lower temp t'stat and electric fan, but always adjust after any modification. I always drive the car, and check under full throttle conditions, and adjust more if I need to. There is a happy medium between best performance and no ping-but finding it takes a little work.

[Motor Daddy]

Reduce the total timing 2 degrees and see what happens. Are you running a vacuum advance? A lower thermostat is not going to help keep temps down. A electric fan might help while at idle, but it's a band aid and should not be needed.

[ctgross]

What they said will help..but actually there is only two things that will correct it.

1. Give it the octane it wants(what kind of "booster" are you adding?) .......or

2. Reduce your compression to accept todays 93 camel pi$$.

[6t7goat]

my 67 gto did the same thing. At part throtle it was ok but wide open it pinged bad. I played with the timing some but didn't like what it did to the performance. I went to Sunoco and put half a tank of 100 octane and filled the rest with 93 octane. It has not pinnged since. A little pricey but I dont drive it much so I don't mind. Plus I love The Smell!!

[p1mnc247]

will reducing the timing help bring the temp down a little would like to see the temp around 180 the engine is a 455 30 over bore has 600 miles on it since rebuild thanks wildman.....

[Kenth]

Are you using the original timing curve?
Does the carb have it´s original jetting?

[p1mnc247]

yes the timing is oringal and carb is an eldebrock nothing is changed my brother who buildt my engine said just run stright 100 oct it will cure the pinging damn thats expensive oh well can't take it with me so might as well spend it .....

[Motor Daddy]

Ask your brother what the compression ratio is and what the total timing is set at. You may be able to tune it without wasting money on 100 Octane. If the compression is ~9.5:1 or less you should be able to get by with 93 or less with a good tune up. Maybe it has to much total advance. Start with 30 total and see how it runs. As far as the temps, 210 is not overheating but 180 would be a lot better. There are many factors that could effect temps, with air/fuel ratio and timing being big ones.

[convgto]

I had the same problem with my newly rebuilt 1965 389- pinging. I tried mixing fuel and octane boost no help, and we tried retarding timing no success. Today hotest day yet 80 degrees and no pinging at all.
My mechanic told me to install a msd billet dist, 6al and blaster 2 coil it runs better and no ping at all. I wanted to keep the stock look so i hide it beside my battery/fender attached to a aluminum plate you cant tell 6al is there, my dist cap was already red so i did not care about that, paint the coil. hope this helps, Ken

[shaker455]

Don't blame todays gas, I'm willing to bet your detionation is being caused by an inproperly tuned carb and most likely a set of out dated breakpoints.

I've seen this many times, Pontiacs love advance and I run a 160 thrumo, please post your jetting in your carb.

[p1mnc247]

the dist is electronic dis and the carb was installed out of the box with only idle ajusustments i think it is 10.1 comp hope that helps thanks wildman....

[shaker455]

Okay, tell me some more ...what edelbrock carb is it? 1407?

What do you have for a cam and exhaust? whats you timming set at?

[carbking]

Before I sold my 1964 GTO, I had similiar problems with stock 3x2, and completely stock engine on 93 octane.

Tried a number of different jet combinations, no help.

Tried a number of different octane boosters, and after rebuilding the carbs because of the octane booster, still no help.

The fix: I started mixing race fuel and 87 octane regular. At a mix of 1 gallon race fuel to 4 gallons 87 octane there was no ping, even when the ambient here in "Misrey" hit 105 degrees F.

This was before ethanol came to our state. I suspect with the lower BTU content of the ethanol, the mix would need to be adjusted to a little more race fuel.

Jon.

[Motor Daddy]

No doubt that higher octane will fix the problem. The question is can it be tuned away without using higher octane fuel? I still haven't heard what the timing numbers are set to. If he doesn't know, it's likely that it is not set properly! To much total timing will cause detonation. What is the total timing set to???? When that question is answered then a better diagnosis can be given.

[p1mnc247]

the timing is set at 12deg it is a eldebrock performer cam, 750 eldebrock carb, stock exaust manifolds, performer manifold anything else...

[Motor Daddy]

You need the total timing. That is usually somewhere around 3000 rpm. Just get a dial back timing light and increase rpm until you see the timing doesn't advance anymore. 12 degrees initial could easily end up being 36 degrees total with a 24 degree mechanical advance. That would put you into detonation territory bigtime with 10:1. Start out with a total at 30 and see how it runs!

[buwalda]

Engine temp affects pinging. Higher temps= more probality of pinging. You should do everything you can to get the engine temp & air inlet temp as cool as possible. If you can reduce temps, you may not have to reduce total timing, the rate of timing, or use octane boosters.
Use a 160 high flow stat. Make sure your impeller clearance is minimal, as outlined in the 'heating & cooling' section; make sure your fan is working efficiently & that your radiator is not partially clogged. Blocking the exhause crossover in the intake will help a little, as will a cold air intake to the carb, but engine warm up will take a little longer in winter.