I just picked up a 1979 Accord CVCC with 165,000 miles for $ 300.00 and it is in great condition. I have one major issue I'd like to get some suggestions about before I get too carried away. The motor runs but it is running very rich and has very little power. I found a recipt concerning a Engine rebuild in 2003 and I've checked the compression readings for each cylinder are they are all above 110. I've done the basic "Tune Up" with Cap, Rotor and Plug wires with not much of a change.
I have a few questions to answer before I dig deeper.
1) Do CVCC motors require a special Spark Plug ?
The motor has 4 Autolite Plugs that are fairly new but show a rich burning condition. I prefer NGK plugs since my experience with a Toyota that I've drove to death. That car required an extended tip on the plug due to CC design.
2) Is there a Float Level Adjustment for the CVCC Carb?
I've rebuilt Holley and Carter carbs for V-8's and I realize how important the Float Level adjustment is.
3) What is the proper proceedure for Valve adjustment?
I know that most valve adjustments are done by adjusting the gap between rocker and valve. After reading about the 2 intake valves for the lean mixture and the rich mixture I'm thinking that one of the Intake valves is out of adjustment. Do I adjust the large intake valves first and then the secondary or each cylinder at a time? I don't hear valve noise so it seems that the head is in fairly good shape.
4) Could a Intake leak / gasket issue cause this kind of power loss issue?
I believe the seal from the intake to the head is suspect.
Wouldn't this cause a lean mixture issue?

The real symptom is trying to go up steep inclines. The motor falls flat on it's face and I have to keep the RPM's up to keep from losing momentum and even then speed is hard to maintain.
I am hoping someone with CVCC experience would be able to point me in the right direction.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

I found the Valve adjustment proceedure on http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39319.
Great documentation !

 

I believe if I just spend a little more time "Surfin" I'll find my answers all by myself...
Carburator Float adjustment process :

http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~wstef/carb.html

That only leaves that Spark Plug and Intake Issue question.
What Spark Plug works best with the 1800 CVCC ?
Thanks

 

Glad to see you're getting things figured out. If you get tired of messing with the stock carb, pick up a Weber adapter kit. You can remove all that vacuum crap, and go with any Weber or Weber clone (Holley 5200, etc). You can get the adapter plates for about $50, and rebuilt 5200's are all over the internet. I've got one on my 81 Accord and my 84 Accord. They're quite fantastic!

The valve adjustment for the CVCC motors is the same as the regular Honda motors.

The 79 Valve clearance is:

Intake 0.006in - 0.15mm
Exhaust 0.011in - 0.28mm
Aux 0.006in - 0.15mm

As I'm sure you figured out, the aux valve is that little tiny one on the opposite site of the head from the intake and exhaust valves. When you adjust the valves, you do all 3 on each cylinder at the same time. Set the engine to cylinder 1 TDC, set all 3 valves on cylinder 1, then go through them in their firing order setting them to TDC and setting the valve accordingly. I believe it's 1-3-4-2.. you might wanna double check that, its the same on all Hondas. But, it's just a 180 degree turn of the crank, or 90 degree turn of the cam to move to the next cylinder...

A vacuum leak can definitely cause an issue. The CVCC carbs are sensitive to changes, as there are quite a few systems that are dependant on eachother. I don't know the details of them but I know there are a bajillion vacuum lines, and a leak wouldn't be a surprise.

I run the NGK plugs in mine. They're cheap and they're OE parts. Can't go wrong with them.

I guess since this is 2 days later, were you able to get it running right, or are you still having the power loss problem?

 

Thanks for the suggestions.
I believe I've isolated the problem..
The Timing belt doesn't look like it's lined up correctly.
I was reading a post somewhere concerning counting the teeth to make sure the crank and cam are lined up correctly. It's pretty hare to confirm without removing alot.
It looks like a job for the weekend.
I'll keep you in mind If I decide on the carb swap.
Thanks again !