289 dies if I give it gas

Bit O/T but my wifes car is giving me headaches. Got this one from a deceased estate as an unfinished project. Its a 1967 mercury 289 with a c4 . Motor was rebuilt and also had a carby fire when they were trying to start it after the rebuild. It has a reman carby from autoline canada. It has pertronix not points. It will start and idle with no problems. I click it into gear and its still good but as soon as I give it gas like you would to get moving on level ground it instantly dies. Will start right back up and idle.
I rebuilt the carb. No change.
Went up 2 sizes in jets. Idles better.
Have set or checked the timing numerous times with and with out vac advance hooked up.
Sprayed soapy water on and around the inlet manifold looking for vac leaks.
Been trying to get it running so I can get back to working on my 39 truck. Its almost like its got a kill switch hooked up to the gas peddle but in nuteral I can slowly bring the rpm up and click it in to D and it will spin a wheel and launch but as soon as I get off the gas it dies.

 

With the engine off push the accelerator while looking down the carburetor to see if the accelerator jets are working.

Charlie Stephens

 

What carburetor, It probably got pissed off with you calling it a Carby. Anyhow Two barrel or four barrel and what model.
There just isn't much to go wrong with a two barrel but if it is the one that was in the fire the nozzles that squirt gas from the acclerator pump may have been damaged. I'd pull the air cleaner and see if it is getting decent shots of gas in the venturis when I work the throttle and back track from there.

 

I did that and also took the accelerator pump off again to see if the spring was in the correct way an it was. I also had my wife try and drive it while I gave it a dose of starting fluid but it died just the same.

 

its a 2 barrel 2100 and its not the one from the fire. From what I was told the fire burned for a while before he got it out. He replaced the plug wires carby and vac hoses

 

With the engine not running, look down the throat of the carb while opening the throttle slowly all the way. You should have a smooth steady squirt of fuel from the accelerator pump nozzles. You may find that it squirts a bit and then stops or comes out in dribs and drabs. If that is working good, strong, steady flow, you may want to look elsewhere for your problem. If it isn't fuel, it's probably ignition. The fact that it still died when you added extra "fuel" makes me think that fuel delivery isn't your problem.

 

First step is making sure that you got all the pieces in the acclelerator pump circuit in the right place.
This is Mike's Carburetor service's Autolite 2100 diagram. Motorcraft 2100 Exploded View - Mikes Carburetor Parts (carburetor-blog.com)

Make sure that the rubber/silicone check valve # 64 isn't damaged. I've seen a couple that were damaged when they were installed. I've also seen one that didn't get installed all the way so it would seal the guy who did the carb just stuck the tit in the hole and didn't push the little dog knot through the hole. I'm not sure if that was the one with the spring on the wrong side of the diaphragm or not.
Up on top the check ball # 9 should be loose and the weight #8 should be loose and have clearance when #6 is tight.

Then you have #37 the pump inlet Check ball. It has to be free in it's seat and not stuck.

I don't remember if you can get a check ball in the wrong place or not or if the old check ball might get stuck in the seat if the carb was real cruddy inside when you took it apart.

View attachment 5810137 View attachment 5810138

 

Start here............

 

Everything Mr48chev said except, If you have #64 (rubber/silicone check valve), you won't have a #37 check ball. It's one or the other. The carbs with inlet check balls are older.

Mike

 

95% of carburetor problems are ignition related

 

Read thru these Ford specific Pertronix instructions. Ensure you have 12V to the pertronix and not running with Resistor wire still installed.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/mustang...on-1965-1974-installation-instructions/a/312/

 

If the accelerator pump actually squirts fuel you can see when you move the throttle lever, I'd be looking at the electrical wires (not the plug wires) in the ignition system, especially between the ignition switch and the coil and between the coil and the dist. Your Petromax ignition could very well be your problem too. Was any electrical wiring under the hood replaced after the fire? When the throttle is moved, is the throttle linkage moving any wires under the hood?

All you need to cause the problem you have is for the throttle linkage to move an electrical wire under the hood that may have been damaged by the fire. Insolation melted thin from the fire on any ignition source in the electrical system could ground out by simply by being moved.

 

Thanks for all the great replies. I will wofk on it saturday. I will start with the wiring and looking for the balast. I might take out the petronix and put some points on to see if that changes anything.

 

+1 more for looking at that Pertronix wiring. I can't count the number of times guys have left the resistor wire in the circuit and had strange issues when the voltage drops in the Run position.

 

Oh no, not another one

 

When they are working they are good, but are often not considered as being the culprit when there is a problem.
Hopefully this one will not take a gazillion posts to solve............

 

1. No copper core wires with a Pertronix. Make sure you have at least 500 Ohms per foot on your plug wires or the RFI will overcome your Pertronix.
2. What's your timing set at? Today's fuel needs 14-16 BTDC to idle decent and have any power off-idle.
3. Make sure the centrifugal advance is functioning when you check your timing. You should see around 20 degrees additional advance when revving past 3000 rpm.
4. Make sure the vac unit on the distributor holds a vacuum indefinitely. A small (or large) leak there will destroy performance. Plug the carb port feeding it until you can tune out the worst of the problem.
5. Red Pertronix wire needs full ignition/alternator power while cranking and running at all times. 3 Ohms combined between the coil and any ballast wire for a standard Pertronix (black module) or 1.5 Ohms for the red module which is the Pertronix 2. Pertronix 3 needs a .6 Ohm coil. Run the wrong coil or wiring and it falls on its face, frying shortly after.

 

This sounds very familiar. I had a boat in a previous life with a 350 Chev engine. One day at the lake, it would start and run just fine. Click the boat into drive and it would quit once there was a load on it. It would rev and run just fine until the propeller kicked in.
A mechanic suggested to me it might be the coil, so I took the coil off my daily driver in the parking lot, installed it in the boat, and the kids water skied for the rest of the day. Put the coil back in my daily to pull the boat home again.

 

The point plate is worn causing the gap to close when the vacuum advance moves the worn out plate. Take the cap off and watch the plate movement when you apply vacuum to the diaphragm

 

LOL squared!

Of course, if he's an Aussie you'd have to give him a pass.

 

Too right mate

 

I suspected as much. Though you might consider at least adding your general location in your profile information. Might be another HAMB member in your area that can lend a hand.

 

I worked on a 67 mustang that had a dyeing problem on acceleration, felt like the key was turned off but would start right back up.
Found a bad starter solenoid.

That little wire had rubbed a hole in the insulation paper and the forward motion would make it move and short out the coil through the 12 volt bypass side.

 

Part #48 on the exploded view.
Power Valve.
Every bit as "Special" as a Holley Power Valve...

 

Still working on this problem.
Replaced carburetor
Replaced distributor with 80’s electronic
Replaced coil and plug wires
Replaced starter solenoid
Replaced fuel pump
Removed and capped all vacuum hoses/ports

Still dies if I give it gas and if I ease it along and get going it dies as soon as I take my foot off the gas. I am able to get it moving if I don’t stomp on the gas. I can do a line locker for as long as I want. But if I take my foot off the gas quickly it dies.

 

Pull the vacuum advance and see of the problem goes away. I have had distributor primary wires loose contact with the movement of the advance plate act that way.

 

When you finally figure this out, please post what fixed the problem. Curious minds want to know.

 

I think my next move is take off the inlet manifold and put it back on to make sure it’s sealed properly.

edit to add: so I was at the parts store to get manifold gasket kit and was lamenting to the counter guy about these problems and another customer says it could be a bad torque converter causing it to stall. I have been focus on ignition voltage and vacuum leaks and have not even checked the fluid level in the trans. Could a bad converter in a C4 be causing this?

 

Might check for an obstruction in the exhaust system.

 

@Doublepumper gave a good tip. My uncle had a 68 Galaxy with a 390. It quit in rush hour traffic and wouldn't restart. Checked all the usual stuff, had low compression in a couple holes, leaking valves. That shouldn't have caused it to quit but he pulled the heads and had them done. Put it back together and had the same results you have.
His brother was helping and suggested they drop the exhaust. After some debate and much cussing (you had to know this guy) they dropped the crossover and it roared to life like Jack the bear.
Fords in that era had a crossover that had two layers where it was put together. The inner layer would rust out and big chunks would clog the exhaust. Your car may have the same problem, as they may have used the same or a similar part.
You can diagnose this with a vacuum gauge. It will read high vacuum if there is an exhaust restriction. See the attached chart posted by one of our HAMB buddies whose name I can't recall.