I should have been more clear on the sequence of events.

1) it was running OK, but not top notch, not purring like it should.
2) i took a stab at the valves to see what I could do, felt like trying to do it myself for the first time.
3) ran great, tons o power, etc...\
4) let it sit, came back to poor running.


the 32/36 DGV carb has been pretty decent, as far a weber can be in this application. I've gone through the basic tuning process for the weber so many times that I can do it blindfolded. The idle is never perfect (webers never seem to be on these cars, in my experience), always a bit lumpy and on the rich side, but the power is always there when the setup is done correctly and it gets around the city with decent mileage (could be better I suppose).

I'm leaning towards the timing gear coming apart after the valves were set. To say that I put it through it's paces when it was running great would be an understatement. I was tearing around town with a definite sense of joy and accomplishment. There's a good chance i pushed it beyond what the decrepit timing gear could handle. The PO had it worked on by the highly-regarded local vintage volvo guy, I had him check it out I when purchased it and have since done all maintenance/repairs on my own. The only problem he found at that time was that the timing gear was going and I've put 30k on the odometer since then.

Your suggestion about the jam nuts on the valves certainly sounds like a great place to start, however, I won't be able to get to the valves till the weekend. It's gonna have to sit in the garage till then.

I appreciate any feedback or ideas the folks in this community might have. Collectively, you have provided me with a lot of great information over the years.

Thanks,

Brian.

PS... Something I forgot to mention was that I dropped the primary idle jet on the pavement when I was changing it out last week, I didn't have any carb cleaner handy, wiped it on my t-shirt and shoved it right in. Obviously this could cause some clogging in the primary idle circuit. This morning I sprayed the hell out of the jet, the orifice and the idle mixture screw/orifice after the fact and the idle seems to have returned to normal. This solved the rough idle, but not the horrific noise that will probably keep me from running the engine until I get a good idea of what is causing it.