any ideas? last fall i bought a 46 ford street rod pickup with a mildly built 307 chevy small block (date coded 1968) backed with a 350 turbo trans with a 2500 stall converter. Not sure of what all is in the motor but does have a factory aluminum intake from a 64 to 67 365 hp 327 (as found by researching the part number) an edelbrock 1405 performer carb (600 cfm) a gm hei ignition and headers. Also believe and have been told by others that it has a timing gear set instead of a timing chain from the sound coming from under the timing chain cover.I don't know. anyways, the motor started running like doo doo earlier this spring and hasn't been right since. has an odd hesitation and is noticed way more once you put it in drive. will run ok (not greaat) for a few short cruises down the road but then will die and will only start on starting fluid. then it seems like it will run o.k for a while, not great, but then it will start the cycle all over again. i noticed at low cruising speeds (like 5 to 10 mph) the motor actually has a little up and down flare in the rpms like i'm pumping the gas pedal, but i'm not. I'm holding it steady. But then you hit the throttle and it will clear it's throat and accelerate ok. just seems like cruising at any constant speed there's some kind of miss or hesitation there. the truck ran fine when i bought her last year but this season it seems to want to have other ideas. also, exhaust has always smelled a bit on the rich side to me...even when the truck was running fine. coil breaking down? fuel pump getting weak? carb needs rebuilt? leaky intake manifold gasket? Any Ideas???? Its driving me nuts...
It's callled "D_I_A_G_N_O_S_T_I_C_S". You do not guess at what's wrong with your car. You systematically check, measure, test, a component until you find the one that is not working correctly. Fix that, then test ride again, to see if you fixed the right one. Sometimes there are more than one problem. If you're looking for advice to find the area to investigate first, fine, but guys on the internet can't diagnose a problem, just from a short description. Maybe even a long description. In any case, Deuces is probably correct, check the fuel sytem first. Check fuel pump pressure and volume. Rebuild the carb. Check/replace the fuel filter. Check the fuel ines for leaks, and rubber hoses for porosity. Old, hard ones can pull air, instead of fuel. If those measures fail, the start testing the ignition system. Ohm out the wires, or just replace if very old looking. Check spark plugs for color, deposits. Have the coil tested. If you don't know this stuff, buy a good book on mechanics and study up. If you're into old cars, you'll need it! Oh, and if the ignition tests out OK< then get into engine diagnostics. COmpression test, maybe leakdown, pull rocker covers to check valve action, timing cover to see if the cam timing is correct, and on and on.
Did you store the truck over the winter, you mentioned "season" like you just pulled it out from storage? Is the fuel old? drain the tank then follow the steps CHOPOLDS layed out for you. Good Luck
I would check to see that it's not ****ing air somewhere when it gets a little hot. Or the float (s) are sticky and you are actually running out of fuel...or low pump pressure? stick with it, and keep us posted!
Chopolds is correct - ****yze, diagnose and check. I find that older builds using rubber hose for fuel lines or fuel line connectors (frame to pump, tank to frame, etc), those parts get forgotten...they weaken on the inside and collapse when demand from the pump is strong, or they deteriorate and send little pieces of rubber and other flotsam into your filter or float bowl if you have no filter. But...start with the basics, do NOT just begin replacing parts in hopes that you'll stumble on to the problem. Also - be cautious about taking advice from helpful buddies/neighbors - quite often they are only guessing anyway. Good luck dj
Junk in the bowl or a needle valve gunked up? Pull the carb, check if there is an internal filter like on the quadro-slobs and how the inline filter is doing. May sound stupid, but get a gas can with 5 gallons of high test and run a rubber line to the fuel pump inlet and then dump the other end in the gas can . Plug the line from the tank (obviously). this will eliminate the bad gas scenerio. Pork
Obviously your getting fire or it would not crank with starting fluid.i had a similar situation with my chevelle .it was like it was running out of gas.i thought fuel pump but when i pulled gas line at carb i had pressure.so i moved to carb.it would run at idle but would die going down road.usally if you have a jet or something stopped up with trash it stays stopped up til you remove it.my problem was the stock holley fuel filter was coated with old hardened gas(i believed its called varnish)i cleaned it with wire brush and carb cleaner.put it back in problem solved.if this dont help i would still focus on gas supply.
thanks everybody for the input! just looking for some opinions! i too, like most of you suspect a fuel system problem. I did notice the inlet fuel line is rubber going to the carb and looks old and cracked on the outside. pulled the carb and found sediment in the float bowls, which is never good. I don't even see a fuel filter to speak of which is crazy dumb. so gonna rebuild the carb, change out the fuel lines, put a filter in place and probably even change out the fuel pump too, it looks aged and seems like good insurance. i just want her to be reliable. And for probably less than a hundred bucks to do it all, i'm sure it won't hurt anything and will probably cure my ills. Thanks guys, and I'll keep ya updated!
here are a few pics of my baby....1946 ford pickup, channelled 6", 39' ford front fenders and a '36 ford grille....As you can see it's not excactly a piece of ****.....
You said it is much worse when you put it into drive (engine under load). Does it seem to idle too high in Park? If so, I'd start looking for a vacuum leak.
D I A G N O S I S : HEALTHY AGAIN!! Just wanted to update ya and thank all the people with the ideas and positive thoughts.....thats what car guys are best at, helping each other. pulled the carb, cleaned and rebuilt it, changed out the old fuel pump for a fresh one, replaced all the old rubber fuel lines and put a fuel filter in there too and whammo!!! She's alive again and kickin! Smooth as she ever was and goes like a bat outta hell when ya tromp her down....One thing i did notice which was the most peculiar was when i pulled the carb apart i found little aluminum shavings in one of the float screens. Not completely plugged but more than you would ever want to see inside your carb. I'm thinking It's factory machine shavings that got left in it when it left Edelbrock. Not very impressive. Anyways....gotta cruise......
do the simple stuff first. check for a blockage in the fuel line. my guess is that your filter is clogged. on edit: i think i was right....
Glad its fixed, since it is a vehicle that you recently aquired, might remember to do a compression check, and a vacuum gauge check as well, those two things will tell a bunch about the condition of your motor.
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