[PontiacMatt72]

First attempt to move my (completely new) junk under it’s own power last night, idles well (1400-1500) out of gear (neutral/Park) but soon as placed in gear RPM drops significantly (below 1000 RPM). Confident this is a carb tune issue.

Carb is a 2-Circuit 1050 Dominator... beyond that all I can say is I bought it used (removed from a running engine). Haven’t torn into it to see what it’s currently equipped with. Planned to fine tune it anyway once I got to this point, and here I am.

New to Holley all together (and a car of this caliber for that matter). I have done some research on the tuning basics. What I’m looking for is a recommended kit (or kits) or parts needed to fine tune this thing.

Setup details:
535 E-head Victor combo
MSD programmable 6AL-2, Timing locked out at 36*, with 20* retard from 0-1000 rpm, 2* retard at 1100+. (Starting point, open to suggestions)
Solid roller, ~.700 lift, 27x int 28x exh duration @.050
PTC Converter (approx 4500-5000 stall - they never told me when they built it. Lol)
TH400 w/brake
4.11 gear 9” w/ spool
14 x 32 rear tire
2850-2900 lbs.

[charlie66]

is it possible that its too lean. How many turns out are the idle screws?

[blaktopr]

To start with stop pulling timing especially in the areas where idle rpm is. Leave the locked out timing and go from there with the carb tuning. Are the air bleeds removable? Also make sure your primary and secondary blades are open the same at idle.

[charlie66]

From my experience the dominator blades are so big that you cant set the T-slots the same as a 4150 ..

[grandville455]

Originally Posted by charlie66

From my experience the dominator blades are so big that you cant set the T-slots the same as a 4150 ..

It’s not the blades , it’s the positions of the t slots , their all over the place on Dominators, either too long or too short. First thing to check is pull the carb off and screw the idle screws all the way out or until the blades stop moving and see if they cover the transfer slots , then we’ll go from there

[PontiacMatt72]

Originally Posted by blaktopr

To start with stop pulling timing especially in the areas where idle rpm is.

To clarify, the reason for the 20* retard from 0-1000 rpm is to serve as a “start retard”. According to the tach the engine is cranking at 800-900 rpm during starting, hence the 1000 rpm mark. I assume a good idle RPM for an engine of this caliber would be around 1400rpm... is that incorrect?

As for the carb questions I’ll get back to you all as soon as I can (this weekend likely).

[charlie66]

Originally Posted by grandville455

It’s not the blades , it’s the positions of the t slots , their all over the place on Dominators, either too long or too short. First thing to check is pull the carb off and screw the idle screws all the way out or until the blades stop moving and see if they cover the transfer slots , then we’ll go from there

I know what you mean . Mine , if i set the blades so the slots are as tall as wide it will idle at 2500 rpm. I have to cover the slots or i will never get the idle down. The air screws all are still very sensitive too. A quarter turn of one changes the AFR ...

[steves1967]

Step one- unbolt it- take it off

Step two- box it up and send it to Patrick at Pro Systems.


Best money I ever spent on carb work, Patrick nailed it first time right out of the box on my old 474.

[Dragncar]

Does Dale Cubic do carbs you send in to him, or does he just sell complete new carbs outright ?

[Jim Zeek]

i send mine to nickerson.

[grandville455]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

To clarify, the reason for the 20* retard from 0-1000 rpm is to serve as a “start retard”. According to the tach the engine is cranking at 800-900 rpm during starting, hence the 1000 rpm mark. I assume a good idle RPM for an engine of this caliber would be around 1400rpm... is that incorrect?

As for the carb questions I’ll get back to you all as soon as I can (this weekend likely).

1400 seems high to me? My cam is 270/276 on a 112, and my car idles at 1000 in gear, and about 1200 in park, no bypass air etc, This bigger engine idles better then my 468 did, You get the carb right and it will run and idle good. Need to check stuff first, also not a bad idea to buy a pin gauge set off ebay, and see what everything is, what metering blocks are on this? Stock Holley?

[slowbird]

Im just throwing this out there (doubt its your issue but something to be aware of) i had a converter that was too tight for the engine combo and would pull the engine way down when we put it in gear. With tunning it got a little better but a looser converter was what we needed.

[charlie66]

The problem with dominators is there is alot of area around the blades and the throttle body because of there size.. I think the t-slots dont come down far enough with some so it leaves a big space between the the body and the blade to come above the transition slot making the idle go high . i wish they made a tool to make them longer. Mine deffinitely are short . Ones even shorter then the other. Took me some time to figure it out...

[PontiacMatt72]

It’s model number 8082-3, and yes stock metering blocks far as I can tell.

Photos from when it was purchased:

[grandville455]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

It’s model number 8082-3, and yes stock metering blocks far as I can tell.

Photos from when it was purchased:

Ok , Its probably got the stock calibration for emulsions, leave those, U will need to open up the angle channel feeds tho to .160, I would still get pin gauges, Their a great investment and cheap enough or least use some small drills and see what your IFR etc are.

[mjm421]

Originally Posted by slowbird

Im just throwing this out there (doubt its your issue but something to be aware of) i had a converter that was too tight for the engine combo and would pull the engine way down when we put it in gear. With tunning it got a little better but a looser converter was what we needed.

this^^^^^^^

[PontiacMatt72]

Alright, enlisting the help of a professional to get the carb tuned in better.

But, afterward, there could be the potential need for fine tuning at the track. This the need for tuning parts/kits.

So, back to the original question: what would be a recommended kit(s) for tuning a Dominator?

[Dave Polichena]

Originally Posted by PontiacMatt72

Alright, enlisting the help of a professional to get the carb tuned in better.

But, afterward, there could be the potential need for fine tuning at the track. This the need for tuning parts/kits.

So, back to the original question: what would be a recommended kit(s) for tuning a Dominator?

The carb guy should get it pretty close, get a set of pin drilled jets to fine tune your et

[shaker455]

Here's a good place to start Matt with a jet kit:
either kit is fine.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hly-36-181/overview/

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-210230/overview/

Jeff

[73LeMans]

Matt -

Been following your threads for a while. Seems like an interesting build. Want you to succeed, so if you haven't found a carb guy, I gotta say Jeff (Shaker455) does some killer work with these things. I'm not saying there arent others on this board capable, but I have first hand knowledge of Jeffs work, and its friggin fantastic. He's done all my Dominator work and got my 462 running so well, it would start with the flip of a key and idle like a stocker. In the entire 20 years of driving that same car, I never had it run better.