No power over 4k rpm. Need help with diag.

[jwldane]

Hi,

I have bought a partially restored car and am having trouble getting the engine to perform properly.

The car has been put together from 9 donor cars and I am not sure exactly what I have. I know the car has a 2L block with an 1800 head. Weber 32/34 carb on single plane manifold, Abarth style headers. I was led to believe the car had HC pistons but I am not sure. Car idles smoothly and runs fairly well until you approach 4K on the tach. Then she just goes flat. I have been told that if the car really had HC pistons with an 1800 head, that I would need very high octane fuel or other mods to get the car running right. I have also been told that I should upgrade the carb and cams to 32/36 dfev and stage 1 respectively. If this is correct what should I do first or do they really have to be done at the same time to correct the problem? My guess would be cams first.

On another note: The trans in the car has an "lift up and to the right" reverse gear. Is this a 1970 trans? Is there any advantage to this tranny over the more common "down and to the right" reverse gear tranny?

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[So Cal Mark]

before you worry about changing cams, carb, etc check the basics. A stock engine will pull to the redline, there isn't any reason to have to modify it to run above 4k. Verify engine condition and all settings, including fuel pump pressure and volume.
The only difference in trannys in regards to reverse lockout is the shift tower and shift lever

[djape1977]

check timing marks allingment. if out of spec by a tooth or two, engine will run but not right.
check distributor timing
take the carb to a specialist for a rebuild or get a new one. weber 34adf will be the best choice imho.

as mark said, there's no reason for this engine not to be able to rev up to redline.
hi comp pistons, headers, aftermarket cams are just there to add more power. with setup you supposedly have you should be running at 120+bhp as is