65 4 speed GT - What's Wrong?
 

On friday I bought a 4 speed 65 gt coupe. It runs and can be driven, but currently doesn't run well. I cleaned out the carb and it is running better, but is still pretty rough. When attempting to drive the car at a steady speed it lurches and sputters quite a bit. A friends dad told me he thinks its the valves. Any opinions on this? Thanks.

Could be plugs, wires, bad fuel, ignition timing, wrong carb jetting, or about 50 other things. Got any more info?

Need more information....
A K-block has solid lifters, they would need to be adjusted somewhat frequently. Where as an A or C block has hydraulic lifters.

Have you done acompression check? It can reveal bad rings, bad valves, etc.

Have you checked for intake manifold leaks? If you have a leak, then you are going to be removing it to replace them. If/when you remove it, be sure to check the passage underneath the carb mount point to make sure it is not plugged shut.

Have you checked to the distributor cap? Is it cracked? What kind of condition are the plug wires in? Points set correctly and clean? How about the vacuum advance canister, does it work properly? If mechanical, same question. While you are at it, is the coil providing a good spark?

The distributor has been converted to electronic ignition, wires and cap looked good. Haven't checked the plugs. Pulled the top of the carb off and it had some sort of green buildup in the float bowls and some other places. I cleaned it out real quick with some carb spray, but anticipate fully rebuilding the carb. Also wondering, are the mechanical fuel pumps pretty robust, or should it be gone through after the car has been sitting for some time? What shop manuals/restoration manuals would you guys reccomend?

Haven't checked the compression, but plan on doing that. It is not a K code; it's a 4 barrel standard 289, which I think is c code.

It's also got an original bench front seat, but I think someone swapped in a later bench from a 67 or 68. Would it be difficult to swap this seat for a correct 65 bench?

Swap another carb on there and give it a whirl. It is mostlikely a plugged jet or something. I used to run a Holley on top of an Edelbrock intake. Good driveability and mileage (25-27 unless I stomped on it).

The only time i had a problem with my mechanical pump was when it wore out (diaphram tore. could smell fuel in oil). As for manuals, depends on what you intend to do wtih the car. I still have several "how to rebuild abc engine" and "how to tune xyz carb" type books even though I sold my '65 2+2 and '66 GT 2+2 back in the early '90s. The basic principles apply to pretty much all the early engines: give it spark, fuel, and air and it will run

The heads would pretty much determine the A vs C. Well the heads along with the intake. If I remember correctly, the blocks were pretty much the same.

The seat(s) is just bolted to the floor. Pull the plugs under neath the car (if they are still there), stick a socket with extention and unscrew the nut. You can install bucket seats in their place or the correct bench seat. Pretty simple.

It's a FORD thats why it run likes crap