I am not really knowledgable when it comes to engine problems so I figure that I would ask here and hopefully get some suggestions as to a fix for this. Thanks in advance for any and all replies! Ok, My Girlfriend has a '71 Camaro with a just-rebuilt '73 350 SBC, 4 Speed Muncie, and a 4-BBL Holley Carb with a TorkerII Intake. She bought the car from some younger kid (18-21yrs) and he pulled the Intake and the Heads off because he was having problems with the engine. So when she bought it she had the block and the heads cleaned and had the block bored out 30 over, and she purchased new parts for the engine(I think a new Cam and Pistons) and had the engine reassembled and reinstalled. So now that the car in running condition again, the car isnt running right and neither Her or I know exactly what is wrong. Basically the car wont start up on its own charge. It needs to be jumped to get it to started. Now, here is the kicker. Once its started It seems to Idle fine, but if I drive it down the road it will die on me. And it dies on me like when I slow down to take a turn off to the next road, it will idle normal then die. And also after It has been idling for a while and you shut off the motor, the car wont start up again - its like the battery doesnt have enough juice to start it up again. Now, I know that this problem might be related to the battery, but I have tried 2 different batteries with the same problem. The batteries I used werent new ones, but I am pretty sure that they still can hold a charge so I am not sure if it is the battery causing this. The alternator looks brand new to me, and it seems to be providing a charge since when the car is idling I read 12-13V across the battery terminals. About the only thing that she has replaced on the car since we encountered this problem is the Voltage Regulator. Oh, also worth mentioning is that the car doesnt have points, it has HEI I believe. This problem has had me stumped for months now, and I am looking for any advice anyone can give me as to what is causing the problem? I am not sure if I am giving enough information either but any advice would be greatly appreciated. Im not sure if pics of the engine would be of any help, but I took some and I am posting them here. Lastly, since she purchased the car with it seemed like half of what was in the engine bay taken out, it was hard to know what was working and what wasnt. I know that the guy that reassembled the engine for her said that there was something on the carburator that seemed like it was melted a bit, and I dont know what it was - I am not sure if that is a problem either. She was also thinking on replacing or rebuilding the carburator if money permitted. Thanks again everyone. Isaac
It sounds like an electrical problem first (not sure about the condition of the Holly.) You need to check the output of the alternator. You MUST get 13.6 to 14.2 volts output from the alternator in order for the HEI to work correctly. Put on the voltmeter and run the engine up to 2500 RPM and see if the reading kicks up and at what RPM. Also need to make sure the distributor is not getting its electricity from the stock ignition wire, I think that is a resistor wire for points distributor. You really need to go through the whole wiring system on a car that old.
I agree - sounds like an electrical problem. The old batteries you are using - are they from a car that runs with them, or just ones you had laying around? I'd trust the former before the latter. First, make sure there is a ground strap from the engine to the cowl. Then make sure the battery's positive and negative cables are in good shape and not shorting against anything, and that the wiring at the starter and solinoid is good. Also, replace the resistor wire (though it should still run with it). Make sure the fuel lines aren't plugged or stopped up - you might try driving with the gas cap off to make sure no vacuum is building up that stops fuel flow. A new fuel pump is cheap - so if its not the problem it won't hurt your wallet that much. That's all I can think of at the moment.
What doug said. The alternator might not be kicking out enough power to run the ignition. You can always take the alternator/battery to autozone, the one here has a testing station that'll check them for you.
Thanks for all the help, guys. I will try troubleshooting the wiring and also she might as well replace the alternator - its cheap enough anyway. I will let you know what I find out. Isaac
Should be a small ground wire from the negative battery post to the rad support. Make sure it is connected and not corroded internally. I would also check the wires to the starter. I see the car has headers and if the starter wires get too hot........ I assume the fuel filter is good, probably wouldn't hurt to remove the fuel line at the pump and blow back to the tank. There is a sock type filter on the tank pick-up that might be dirty. Almost sounds like you might have more than one problem here. How is the starter?
I believe the starter is fine, no problems there but I am not sure. I will be replacing the alternator and battery to see if that will solve the problem. Hopefully it will :grin:
Also check your fuel pump, if nothing else works. That same thing happened to my mom's Bonneville twice. The first time it was the mass air flow cencor. The second time it was the fuel pump wasn't picking up gas or something like that.
A new battery seems to be what solved the problem. It starts now just fine, possibly the batteries I tried before didnt have enough juice for the HEI? Well, Thanks again guys!
Alternator probably isn't kicking out enough power to keep everything running. A full battery will slowly die off with a weak alternator until it all just kaputs.
