ahhh get the two of you now. I've seen those things. produde straight up.
well I've changed all of them last night and I'll probably have muscleache for a week :-) honestly what a ****ty job. replaced the nuts (on of them pulled half the stud thread with it coming out. must have been crossthreaded from start. I was so lucky to be able to put one back properly).
Anyway the ticking is gone. I'll check for those yokes anyway, definetly won't harm. But will better replace that single stud as well.

now I have to get the idle right

 

It sounds like you don't have air tools. Yes, without air tools, this job will give you a bit of a workout. If you have screw in studs, it should be a pretty quick job to replace the stud.

For the idle correction project, do you have a vacuum gauge? It would be good to check vacuum at idle and see if there are any vacuum leaks before you tackle the carburetor. The small Ford intake manifolds can sometimes be tricky to get sealed well at the ports. In fact, over the years I have run into just enough problems here and there that I have a ritual that I go through in installing the intakes. It's probably overkill, but I hate doing a job twice.

I have four pieces of 5/16" all thread about 3" long. There's nothing sacred about the 3" dimension, but just make them all the same length. I screw them in the corner bolt holes, set the gaskets in place and put a 3/8" bead of silicone on the ends, then carefully lower the intake over the studs. Remove the studs and finger tighten all the intake bolts. Use a torque wrench and torque from the center out. Keep repeating the torque sequence until all bolts torque without turning.

This is a bit of a PITA, but for me it has virtually eliminated intake gasket leaks.

On many other engines such as the Brand X small V8 you can just throw that intake manifold somewhere close to where it is supposed to be and it won't leak. The small Ford is not so forgiving in this area, at least in my experience.

Anyway, sorry for the long intake explanation, but make sure you don't have a vacuum leak, even a minor one, before trying to correct the idle problem or you will very easily be "chasing your tail."

Good luck,

 

I do have a vacuum gauge alright, which jumps all over the place at idle. as soon as I rev it and hold it it's steady. at idle it moves between 8 and 14 (very quick). I sprayed down the carb and intake but I couldn't find any leaks
Not sure how to check on vacuum leaks with vacuum gauge. I'm not sure if that jumping around is just related to the cam (overlap). no idea

 

It is good that you are using an undamped gauge. When it is jumping wildly, but steadily at idle, that typically indicates a leak at a particular runner. When you checked with your spray, did you spray along the edges between heads and manifold? You can't really check for vacuum leaks with the gauge, but it can tell you whether you have the expected vac reading. What you describe sounds a tad low even for the cam you are running, but it's been a long time since I had a vac gauge on such a motor.

Yes, the fact that you have a good bit of cam in it, makes idle troubleshooting a little more difficult, and it may very well be that this is the only idle issue you have. The reversion caused by such a cam will have an effect on the vac reading as you describe, but it will not be a steady or rythmic effect.

As I recall, in one of your videos where sound from the tailpipes was clear, it sounded normal for such a cam, but you might have had an idle speed a little higher than you normally should have for such a cam since this was assumedly soon after cam break in. Too high an idle speed would mask a vacuum leak situation.

What is the minimum RPM at which it will idle?

 

in the video i made it actually sounded good. lopey but rythmic. now it is like every full two revolutions sounds different to the one before. the engine will idle quite low, but anything under 850 will shake violently. I sprayed between heads and intake, but will do that again, just to be sure. Tonight I'll try a different carb as well. just to be sure as well. lots of plans *g*
the odd thing is that the exhaust is fumy and it stinks (just like being way too rich), but if I go leaner it'll start cutting out. I tried with the 4 corner idle, but that just seems to increase idle speed

 

Have you retorqued the intake manifold? Have you driven it since this problem started? If so, does it have good power or does it bog down?

 

haven't re-torqued since initial torquing. Will check on that. no loss of power though. it seems to move plenty. anyway. i'll have to check on that

 

No loss of power is a GOOD thing. My worry was that your cam and lifters didn't survive the break in. When the cam goes flat, the engine will bog noticably.

Since you have no loss of power when driving, it makes me even more suspicious of a vacuum leak of some description.