ok lets go with one thing at a time...first off an engine could over heatif the timing is retarded too much..now when does it over heat?ilde?only while driving?what are you running for a distibuter?vacuum advance?electronic advance?(and by the way i have a 750 doublepumper on my 69 vette with a 454 my god they are awsome)ok lets start with those 2 then we will work on the rest ok?

ok is the vacuum advace adjustable?threw the vacuum hose hole on the advance is it adjustable thre there with a small alan wrench?ok are the floats set right when you pull out the site screws for the front and rear floats? how far out are the idle mixture screws..at idle if you pull off the vacuum advance hose does it change the idle?

ok first off at idle if you remove the vacuum hose off of the vacuum advance the idle should not change much do you have the vacuum advance hose running from manifold vacuum ?or port vacuum?electric fuel pump? if so you have it regulated for how many PSI? or is it mechanical? sorry for the 20 questions i just want to get you up and running here..and try to cover all the basics to give you proper direction to fix it

ok good fuel preasure..so off of idle and driving it runs great?

ok lets do this first..with it running unscrew the float plug screws and with it running with that screw out no fuel should be coming out(dontloose the little washer with the screw)LOL..now with it running the fuel level should be right at the bottom of the screw hole so if you bump the fender with your hips a little might slosh out kinda thing ok?you with me so far..im preaty sure they are at a good level but we need to check...now the idle you said is jumpy so lets try to get the idle as best we can v/s the cam you got in it.and get it to be that nice lumpy sound at idle..with it running unplug the vaccum advance and plug off that hose with anything that will block it off start turning the mixture screws one at a time..start with one and turn it in slowley untill it starts to die then turn it back untill it smooths out and stop turning it back out after it will not make a differnce in the idle ok?i hope i didnt loose you so far..dont go out more than 4 turns on each..do that for BOTH screws..i usually will turn them both in all the way then turn them out 2 turns each then run it and work bringing them in a little untill they die then back them out untill it smooths out do that for each side..then try to see if you can get the idle where you want it ok?let me know and lets go from there..if we can get it to idle good then we can set the timing..we can not set the timing untill we get it to idle good ok?work with me here i know it sucks but i realy think the idle and timing problem we can have fixed up in @ 20 to 30 mintues..ok let me know how the carb adjustments go..ill be here waiting for you..take your time..and let me know how it goes

ok now since it can idle idle it unplug the vacuum advance and now set the timing.to spec then all we have left is the running hot

and after you set the timing adjust the idle where you want it and play with those idle mixture screws like i told you too and then the timing and the carb is adjusted then the cooling problem then your all set

We need to get the timing set first before we go after that. Get the timing set to spec with the vacuum advanced unplugged. How far out or in is your adjustable vacuum advance right now?

ok for now put the alan wrench in it and turn the adjuster all the way in clockwise..then unhook the vacuum line set the timing then readjust the idle and the mixtrue screws..but we realy need to set that timing when its idleing smooth..we will screw with the adjustable advance later but screw the advance all the way in for now set the timing then fine teek the carb and then let me know where we are ok?your close hang in there

ok so the idle and the drivability is workable now you know how to tweek it from here..VERY GOOD JOB..ok now lets fix that heating up problem..has it always run this hot? what temp T-stat you runnin?when do the fans come on what temp?you said you have i fan sucking form inside and 2 or 3 pushing correct?will it onlky get hot at idle or also when driving it?how hot will it get?

yah if you have the timing correct now it should help..has it run this hot since you put in this engine?

ok well the engine tuning is all up to you tweeking..you will find the sweet spot..now are the front fans blowing the air from to front into the engine? and is the one inside the engine pulling the air into the engine compartment..electric cooling fans do way better if they are set up on the inside of the radiator pulling the air across the the radiator pulling the air in make dam sure they are spinning the correct way..how big is the fan on the inside how big is the blade?how big are the blades on the 3 outerfans?

Which direction do you have the electric water pump flowing the coolant? Is it sucking coolant in from the upper hose or in from the bottom hose?

When you turn your power steering, stock for this car the electronics are supposed to increase the idle so the vehicle doesn't stall. Since we do not have any idle kick up motor, you might have to bump the idle up to compensate. If you look at any of your stock power steering hoses, are there any two terminal switches anywhere on those lines? Are you running the complete stock power steering system including pump/pulley?

yes you can take the belt off just make sure the power steering fluid is not filled to the brim sometimes when you turn the steering and its up to the top some fluid may come out of the cap..so if you pull the belt just drop the fluid down to the low side..yes you can still steer...ok for now pull the belt and make sure your not over heating anymore..how big is the pully now on it?

ok well we can try to spin that pully slower like with a bigger pully to slow down the power steering pump..how it the car running with the temp?

ok let me know

if you have a 195 t-stat in it @ 200 is ok...is the timing set on the money?when it dies does it slowly chug out or poof like someone shut the engine off?

can you adjust the idle mixture screw with it in gear? pull them out both of them 3 turns run it and see if it will idle in gear

ok...timing is set to spec?

try to put it up a little more and see what it does to the stalling in gear..try like 18 ish lets try something here..set it up high adjust the idle screws back so its nice and smooth and see what happens

hmmm can you try to turn out that vacuum advance adjuster screw out a few turns?and try it..run the engine take the vacuum advance hose off the carb..suck on it and see if the RPM'S come up

hmmm..i dont know why its dying in gear...so the advace is working if you can suck it and the rpm's go up..is that hose connected to the carb? where it is connected to is there vacuum at idle?and when you rev it up that port gets vacuum?

ok run the engine and pull off the hose on the front of the carb going to the vacuum advance put your finger over that port at the carb is there vacuum there at idle?

ok it is on the wrong port..there should be one on the side of the carb that doesnt have vacuum at idle but it will when you rev it up...swap caps and put the vacuum hose to that port with no vacuum at idle ok? then put the timing back to 12 adjust carb idle screws then try it

well the vacuum line is connected correctly for the vacuum advance?how big of a cam you have in this? can you drive it and see how it drives and if the idle in gear is the only problem or not?

are the cooling fans running all the time?

im wondering why its that hot..is the electric water pump pumping the coolant too fast?

well the more retarded it is the hotter it will run..is it 12 BTC or ATDC ?

can you try it at 0 just to see what it does?

ok

i dont know know also..let me look into it and i will get back to you