Technical Car dies when you put it in gear

I' having hell with my wife' galaxie. We just had the fe rebuilt and a c6 rebuilt. I can' get the car to idle down or it starts to break up. When you put it in gear it just dies. I've looked for vacuu leaks. Tried adjusting the carb. Not real sure what do look for now but I'm about to set this thing on fire...
It' a 61, 352 FE with a 2 barrel c6 trans, new torque converter, electric fuel pump.......the whole damn car is new

 

So even in neutral or park, you can't get it to idle?

 

So many things can mess ya up,so need to check each. Timing,point setting n advace,vac.,fuel n PSI,float hight,valves working right. Besure the carb dose not have an open spot a hose should be on or a plug missing on the intake or crab.
Any one or more of those wrong can do that. You got to get it smooth at idle first in "N" not in gear.

 

Has the carb been rebuilt? Has it run properly with the electric fuel pump in the past? Have you checked the fuel system pressure (shouldn't be much more than 6 psi)?

Don't set it on fire. It'll take longer to fix.

 

Also, Holley or Ford 2bbl? If Holley I might suspect blown power valve.

 

Even a low battery can cause an engine to run like ****.
But if it's cranking ok, that's not the problem, of course.

 

Neutral and park it will idle but I can' get it low enough .


It' a ford 2 barrel.

The carb has been rebuilt and was working with the electric fuel pump (think it's
A 7psi pump)

All vacuu lines are hooked up.

No points it' get a hei (also new)

 

It fires right up, no hesitation, real crisp throttle response

 

Idle,you say not low enough,well then its not really at idle at all,your on highspeed jetting an low speeds are likely closed or power valve is busted

 

Is the HEI a new addition as well?

 

Might try byp***ing the neutral safety switch.. JUST TO CHECK IT .

 

You beat me to it. My 62 did that.

 

Jeezus how old are you that you are slower than me. I have ta B the slowest dude there iz on the confuser.
I'm sorry.

 

I learned that 2100s are real sensitive to rebuilds. They are great but can be unforgiving as far as set up and tuning. Sometimes it takes several bench building sessions to get them right.

The 2100 requires the factory fiber or plastic spacer between it and the intake. This is due to the 2100s hollow base. Without the spacer, or a bad one the engine can have a m***ive vacuum leak.

 

Two questions/thoughts.
Does the idle seem to kind of "hover"...in other words, does it idle down at least to a certain point, but after hitting the throttle, seems to come down slowly? If not, no need to read further. But if so, I'd say it's a vacuum leak...and in that case, I have one more question. Does your car have power brakes? If so, when looking for vacuum leaks, don't forget to check (maybe try blocking off) the vacuum hose/port for that.

 

Does it try to die if you choke it while it's dying?
This is cheap and easy block off all vacuum lines, and check manifold vacuum at idle. If all is well hook all back up again check for vacuum leaks with a throttled down water hose to see if it stumbles.

 

Vacuum leak at intake gasket?

 

Sure sounds like a vacuum leak... I'd hook a vacuum gauge to it and go from there. And when horsing those heavy FE intakes into place it's not hard to screw up a intake gasket.

 

Many things can cause a high idle but vacuum leaks and timing are the most common. Set the timing with the vacuum advance hose disconnected and plugged.

 

Let the clutch out slower

 

A long time ago I had a small v8 that would idle well, and run well when underway, but dropping it in gear would drop the idle speed so much it wouldnt idle well, and would die a lot.
I decided it must be a tight torque convertor designed for a bigger engine with a lot more idle torque than this little v8 had.
After I put in a looser convertor, the problem went away, and the car became a joy to drive.
Maybe it's a tight convertor designed for a bigger engine with more idle torque?

WHY BE ORDINARY ?

 

i had one that drove me nuts like that. turned out the bottom of the intake rotted through.

 

Sounds like vacuum possibly to me, couple shots of starting fluid around base of carb could rule that out quick..

 

Come to think of it I did once find an FE intake that had burned thru from the exhaust crossover into the intake plenum. A stock, cast iron 64 4bbl manifold. Might be worth checking.

 

I had a truck that would die when I tried to put it in gear and it turned out to be the alternator.

 

What's your initial timing set at? Depending on how big your cam is it might need a touch more advance...especially if you have a low (tight) converter.

 

"The problems that arise from an engine vacuum leak can be more than annoying. Idle speed that is way too fast is one of the difficulties, and stalling is another. "
http://procarmechanics.com/problems-caused-by-an-engine-vacuum-leak/

 

Vacuum leak

 

Haven' had a chance to less with it again yet but, the natural safet switch was already byp***ed.

The HEI is a new addition.

As far as the bottom of the intake being rusted out I'm not sure but when it was rebuilt I woiukd think the builder would have noticed that.

I swapped out the carb and that didn' seem to help the issue but I haven' been able to find any va*** leaks, if I smother the carb it dies out real quick but I didn' have any starter fluid handy last time I looked at it but ill get some. I doubt it' the torque converter since it won't idle down low enough when it's not in gear. I'l try some of the responses I've gotten and see what happens.

 

"As far as the bottom of the intake being rusted out I'm not sure but when it was rebuilt I woiukd think the builder would have noticed that."

This isn't a common problem. It wouldn't be something most people look for unless there was a persistent problem that hadn't been solved. I've been repairing vehicles for 45 years and only seen this a handfull of times on various makes.