Intermittent rough idle

Turns out that one plug wire had come out of the distributor cap. Occasionally, enough juice would build up to arc a spark from the cap to the wire and that piston would fire. So it wasn't a miss, but rather a hit that happened every 5 seconds.

It did make a pretty spark, though.

Hope this helps.

Mountainman (CA)

The spark plug end of the copper core wires comes pre molded but the distributor end must be attached after you pull/push the wires through the tube. I've had better luck if I solder the terminals on after running the wires through the tube and after putting on the boot.

If the wires don't solve the problem, take the carb apart and clean the needle and seat (or replace them). The carb is pretty simple so don't let it intimidate you. When you remove the main jet, screw it in all the way first and count the turns as you do it so you can duplicate the setting when you put it all back together. Using compressed air is highly recommended to clean out the rest of the carb. If the carb is visibly full of crud you will want to rebuild it and follow Don8NAZ's great carb rebuilding site. I'd have to check the archives for the exact address.

Hope this helps. Good luck in finding a dry spot to work in — it's been many years since I visited BC and the weather was on my side, only one day of rain out of two weeks!

N — joy.

Mountainman (CA)