I agree with this. But also check the fuel tank. It can be full of junk and will be fine on a short drive and then it will suck up into the pickup screen and will stall, sometimes if they sit a little bit they will run better again. I chased this on my 51 Pontiac and after cleaning the tank all is fine. Best of Luck, Mark
Actally, I don't think you need new tune up parts. But hey...it can't hurt. But I'd really hate to see you put that new carb on and then push dirt into it too. Before you hook up the carb, or even before you do anything else...I'd put the fuel line into a nice clean glass jar and crank the engine a few turns. (with the coil wire off) Look for dirt that'll settle to the bottom of the jar. You can even pour that gas through a white napkin or rag and look for dirt. If you see any, don't run the new carb until you resolve that problem. Also, don't go putting on all the new parts at once. If the gas is clean, install the carb and run the engine. If the problem is resolved, you know it was the carb. Don't forget about the vented cap too. If the engine still runs crappy, move on to other components. Make a change...test run. Make another change...another test run. Good luck.
By the way. An auxilary starter switch is a big help when you want to just crank the engine. You know...the kind that you hook up to the starter so you can crank the engine from under the hood.
all good advice and I will take it all.... the good news is I don't need a auxillary starter button as I have no hood or fenders and can reach the key, carb and ignition all at the same time. I will take the advice of doing one thing at a time, to help eliminate culprits.
Which makes sense. Thought it was flooding but if plugs are clean. Hmmm junk in the tank, clogged up carb? Its getting narrower
Rickybop has brought up a very important point. Do not put a new carb on until you are sure everything in the entire system is spotless....tank, lines, filters, etc. I bought a car that was sitting for 4 years one time and the tank was disintegrating inside, unbeknownst to me. Good thing the filter caught all the rust and trash or I would have been cleaning injectors. As for the venting issue, sometimes a car will idle for a long time with no vent because of the air that is in the tank, but when you start driving it the system needs more fuel and it gets airlocked. Edelbrock carbs are slightly tuned on the mild side from the factory, which is what makes them so streetable. Some people put kits in them to change the jetting but all we have ever done is take them out of the box, bolt them on, and go. My two Son's and I are running 2 Edelbrock 600's on each of our cars, and they haven't been touched since bolting them on. They are very forgiving. Don
What a refreshing thread without any drama, just guys helping guys. Wish all the HAMB was more like this thread. Looking forward to you solving the problem. Everyone here was giving very good advice. Good luck and kick butt.................... CRUISER
Lol, when I got the Comet back on the road after I let her sit for a few years there was a disgusting amount of sediment clogging the fuel filter. I was changing it out every sixty miles or so. I figured out by accident that when it started to act up on the highway I could s veer over onto the rumble strip a bit and knock the crud loose enough to at least get me to the next exit and a safer place to fool with it:
When I first got my 27 on the road 25 years ago I drove it to work every day. It would break down in exactly the same spot every day too. I finally found a sliver of fiberglass almost so small you couldn't see it under one of the gaskets inside the Holley electric pump. Once I removed it the problem never came back. Sometimes the smallest thing can look like a major problem. Don
Great advice on checking the fuel and changing one thing at a time. If you can, check the fuel pressure! We had a big problem with an Edelbrock "street" fuel pump. It was supposed to be a low enough pressure matched deal. After we finally put on a regulator and pressure gauge, that pump was putting out 10+ pounds. Edelbrocks flood like hell with anything over 5 to 5.5 pounds of pressure. Previous post shows AFBs like 3 pounds. If you do not have a fuel pressure gauge, and the symptoms continue, pull off the air cleaner and look to see if fuel is dripping down the venturies. Ours was a cascade of fuel in the rear carb. Even made it hard to turn over. If you have an Edelbrock, you better have a regulator and gauge OR a cheap low pressure fuel pump.
Yo dude. Just returned your Pm. Looks like you are having all sorts of problems. Lets try and meet soon. I have a pretty free schedule the next couple days and should be able to shoot down there.
This probably isn't the cure , but if you have the electric choke{ or when you get one], be sure to hook it up and set it. My Lincoln acted similar, had the choke but never hooked up, got online to be sure of wiring and a guy said they don't work as designed on the throttle when not hooked up.? I hooked it up and it runs so much better and is more responsive.? I believe you have a "floater" in the tank problem. At least it started there. Good luck ,make sure we all find out what it is. Jack
sounds like a fuel issue, like not enough. a small inline rotary pump generally puts out about 3# pressure. if you have an old mechanical pump, that may be the problem. my edelbrock carb runs great right out of the box fwiw.
Some guys in the neighborhood where I'm working on my car are building a very OT Chevy with a big injected engine. While I was bangin on my car last week they took it for a quick zoom around the block. It started running rough and went ka-boom! as he was bringing it back to the garage. My curiosity got the better of me and I wanted a closer look at the car anyway. Evil evil z-28. Gas cap wasn't venting properly. Seriously caved in the tank on just that little run.
Yeah, small stuff. Small obstructions or small leaks that are hard to find. Unrelated to the OP's issue but... I had a flooding problem. The inlet valve for the carb wouldn't close as it should. Took the carb apart and at first couldn't see a problem. Looked closer and found a tiny little green seed of some sort holding the valve open. Why...you little bugger...lol.
I would use a filter from a fuel injected car, they seem to filter very well, and they are big enough to contain a lot of dirt. I have had bad results with the wix metal can inline filters, 33030 or whatever the part number is. The fram clear inline filters are good. I use the wix 33030 as a prefilter before my electric pump, then a big metal fuel injection type filter after the pump. And a return pressure regulator I had similar problems with my motorcraft carb. I finally ordered a NOS thermoquad and kept my filters up, and it is solved now. Yea I also had to keep my foot down, the power valve is big enough not to clog. Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
I know it's a little different, but check to make sure the distributor is still tight. When I first put the small block in my chevy I had a similar problem. Had it dialed in, drove great around the neighborhood. Took it out on the road, got on it a bit and it suddenly started running like crap. It barely ran. I tried a bunch of things before I noticed the stripe I drew between the intake manifold and distributor shaft was no longer aligned. Took a little effort to move it by hand, once the engine was running and I'd hammer the throttle and I could watch it move a little. Good Luck.
lmao on this one Lots of good advice here. Probably something stupid but dont feel like the Lone Ranger. Working as a mechanic for 40+ yrs you pick up different things to check out cars when they come in. When I put the new engine in my 57 I needed a small piece of hose to attach the fuel pump fitting to the line. Scratching around in my toolbox I run across a piece just the right length. Took me 2 days to figure out why it would only run with the choke plate closed. Took that piece of hose off & saw I had at sometime plugged most of it off. Hose is now laying out with the rattlesnakes & jackrabbits by me.
Lots of good advise here, great thread. As stated before do 1 thing at a time. I would be curious what the inside of the old carb looks like. I had a similar situation a couple of years ago (only not so bad). Edelbrock 1406. I found a layer of red silt in the bottom of the float bowls. Cleaned out fuel system and has been good ever since. Good luck.
Hey, this thread let me down. I am having some issues myself and the Post Owner didn't follow up with a reply... I just wasted my time reading this whole thread.... Man!
Not at all!! The thread has LOTS of good information in it. Doesn't matter if he wrapped it up, cause if you follow the advice - of fixing one thing at a time, then testing - you'll get to a running engine. Of course it didn't apply to the first two replies.... 2 guys that know less about carbs than general mechanics! Welcome to the NEW and IMPROVED HAMB!
ouch! I guess I let down the HAMB by not responding. Yeesh! This is a great thread and no, I have not worked through all my issues. It's a never ending battle to get old crap runing like finely tuned crap I will send an update this weekend, as I am getting some help from a fellow HAMB'r this week and should work out all the last issues I have. I have done a new fuel pump, rerouted the main fuel line, bought a brand new 4bbl and have it running pretty well. Runs great cold, when hot.... runs awesome on the freeway.... but when hot, the idle drops really low, then stalls. Hitchhiker is going to lend me a hand in some fine tuning and timing, as well as some other tricks, and I will respond once we do some messing around with the motor.
all good.... I like Edelbrock products, that's why I bought a brand new 1406 and threw it on. Easy to run, easy to tune (if you know what the hell you are doing HAHAHA). My tank is venting properly..... I have run it without any cap at all. Fuel pump is brand new, I think its a timing and afine tuning issue. We'll get this knocked out in time for the Greenwood Car Show (one of my favorites) weekend after next.
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