1972 350 Surging Under Load When Stopped and at Operating Temperature

oh oh.....did you have the carb apart before the surging started ?

I dont think anybody asked important question ...What was last thing done
to car before it started acting up?

 

Try to cancel the order. Nobody ships on Sunday should be easy.

 

There are numbers on those rods. understand..

Also I don't know who you ordered from. Just make sure you get a kit with thicker gaskets & ethanol compatible..

Also you have a California carb.. should or could a simple jet rod change help?? I know nothing about California carbs

 

I ordered from Quadrajetparts.com last night, I bet I could still cancel and add those. The parts I got are all ethanol compliant. I would just do the metering/jet change, but pump cup is a little deteriorated and gaskets aren’t in the best shape, so I figured it’s just good practice to change that all out while I’m in there?

 

THANK YOU. Very helpful.

 

The car ran bad before, I just opened it up yesterday/today and found this. Yikes!

 

I imagine its your first Carb rebuild .....lots of good info/diy on youtube

 

It’s how I’ve gotten this far. Ha.. I’ve opened one up before to set float level, but never done an actual rebuild, correct. It’s been fun so far, just taking my time and taking a lot of notes.

 

So, my theory as to how the rod was bent.. I believe the car was running badly for previous owner, and he must’ve thought it was something in the carb. The needle, seat, and one gasket look new(er). He must’ve bent the metering rod when reinstalling the air horn. He said he replaced plugs, wires, cap, and points, I’m betting his actual issue was there, which he probably found after* messing with the carb.

 

Your kind of right.. Piston was stuck,, PO opened and freed it up, upon his reassembly the original 1972 piston keeper popped loose. then the rod bent.. when he put the airhorn back on.
Watch a few you- tube flicks they will help

 

quadrajetparts sells a new retaining bushing. worth the $2 or whatever it is. you can go nuts on that thing and it wont pop out.

 

Maybe that's why he sold the car? HA!

 

I had the wherewithal to order that at least. Glad I did!

 

lol I got duped!

 

Not necessarily unless you paid to much? The guy may have though the car had bigger problems than a bent metering rod and thought he needed to dump the car before the engine stopped running altogether? In his eyes he was trying to dupe someone but duped himself?

Its a good thing if you're happy to have the car, easy fix now that you found out what is wrong.

 

Absolutely.. I was just joking. It's a huge relief that it's a smaller problem, totally glad to have the car.

 

And to add to that, your gaining experience!

 

Hey again, all. An update: still having the same issue. Here's what I've done in the last week, and I've FINALLY gotten around to trying all/most of the ideas listed early on, as well as recently:

-Rebuilt the Quadrajet..
-New pump cup, gaskets, *correct* metering rods since one was bent, needle and seat, power piston bushing, new float and set level indicated on the sheet (15/32"), fuel filter, a thorough cleaning, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. I took my time, took a lot of pictures, watched a lot of YouTube videos and was very careful. Even if this wasn't part of the issue, I'm glad to know it's got fresh components, and I've been able to check it off the list.

-Choke seems to be working just fine, kicking down when it should, opening the flap, etc.

-Pulled dipstick, and it does have a hint of a fuel smell. Someone, I think Rex, mentioned I should look for a heavy fuel smell. I'm not sure what constitutes heavy, but it's enough I know it's there. Possibly the fuel pump, still?

-I observed carb when it started running rough after fully warmed up, didn't see any pooling or anything

-I finally got the chance to get over to my dad's to grab an engine analyzer that he had, and dwell angle is at 34* and I believe I want 30*? I tried to adjust it, but it doesn't want to stay at 30* unless I'm sort of pushing inward. Possible issue? Again, this problem only seems to be happening when it's fully warmed up

-I hooked up my timing light to see if it's misfiring, and I think this is where the problem is.. the light isn't consistent at idle, or it'll flash about 12-13 times in a row at the right tempo, then it misses a flash and I hear the misfire-type noise I've been describing.

-The wires seem to be fine, as the spark seems to get to the plugs okay, but maybe I'm wrong on that and it needs new wires? It seems like the issue is originating at cap/ignition

Again, I tried to check everyone's ideas. I didn't get the chance to check fuel volume the pump is pushing, I'll try to do that in the next couple days. I did check again for a vacuum leak, but I'm not finding anything with the spray test, I'll throw the vacuum gauge on again when I get the chance.

Thank you all for all of your patience and for helping out.. I'm about ready to tear my hair out with it, but I think I'm close..

-Jake