Problems...unsure of where to go next

69' Electra 225, 430.
-Accel points elim kit
-Accel yellow super coil
-new cap/rotor
-new plugs/wires
-new PCV valve and grommet

i just had the carb rebuilt by Dennis Barker. The car had some running issues before the rebuild but figured they were carb related, guess not. The timing is set at 12* per Dennis' recommendation. It's pulling 17-18 feet of vacuum no
problem. Idles great and pulls hard all the way up in the driveway. Take it out on the road and it starts cutting out and I can barely limp it home. Figured it was fuel related so I threw a new pump on there, only $30 so worth a try. Still the same issue. I have a new sending unit to put in but need to drive it to my buddy's place to drop the tank.

whats my next move? Any suggestions?

 

I'm all for testing, just wasn't sure where to go looking. Being a mechanical pump I wasn't sure you could pressure test them. Where would I hook up a pressure gauge? I've done this with a EFI car but not quite the same.

 

Tune up stuff was done as a process of getting it running after sitting awhile. Points were shot so just went with upgrade kit.

 

My experience has been that if it will rev without a load, and not rev with a load its always spark plug wires, have the plugs been changed, if so the wires usually get damaged when new plugs are installed.
Make sure coil is not hooked up backwards.

Good luck

 

If the car has been sitting than bad fuel is the first thing that comes to mind. Ethanol gas only has a shelf life of about three to four months. If older than that you should purge the old and try fresh fuel. Did you change the fuel filter?

How did the car run when parked?

I have never had any good luck with Accel parts. I'm not saying they are junk - I just have had bad luck with their stuff.

You can get a basic tune up and trouble shooting book or a service manual for the specific car to help you with the diagnostic procedure that needs to be followed in order to remedy the problem(s) with the least amount of new parts.

 

Plug wires are less then four months old. I inspected them for damage, none I can see. They all pass resistance check with multimeter. Plugs were do at same time as wires, standard NGK plugs. Checked coil and points kit instructions, all looks good there.

Car ran when parked according to previous owner, but didn't they all. Took just a carb clean and tune up to get going. Tank has fresh gas in it, full.

 

I was having a similar issue with my '72 GS. Good idle and beginning to a road trip but it would bog as I got her down the road. Like you, I changed the fuel pump but the problem did not go away. I recently took my car to another forum member for a look see and was told the primary wells in the carb were leaking badly. The engine is still out of the car so we haven't tested the fix yet, but you may want to go through your carb.

 

The carb was just fully gone through by Dennis Barker. He says he fixed 40 known problems with the carbs including the wells leak. Not saying it can't be the problem, but lower on the list of things to check.

When I get home I'm gonna run through a few things
-re check coil voltage and resistance. I believe this car does not have resistance wire?
-blow compressed air down the fuel lines
-prime the fuel pump with a bottle onthe end so I can see fuel flow

other checks?

 

Cracked or rotted rubber fuel lines

 

All just months old. But I'll look them over aswell.

 

Try removing the gas cap once it starts running poorly--it may not be venting the tank properly.

 

One more easy thing is to check the mechanical advance for sticking (not advancing). A timing light is a good way to check for full advance. You can also remove the cap and make sure the rotor moves by hand,... timing light is better.

Larry

 

When a mechanical advance is not operating properly (sticking at initial timing) the engine will idle normal and it will start to accelerate normally then begin breaking up as rpm rises. I know this from experience as back in 1978 or so on my way to the Jefferson Starship, Foreigner, Nazareth, Bob Welch Concert my mechanical advance was stuck on a newly remand "Wildfire" distributor from a local speed shop. My Skylark ran fine up to about 30 mph max, and started to break up as if a rev limiter was set. I had to take side streets (30mph max) to Milwaukee County Stadium instead of the freeway and bearly made it in time for the concert. Got home after the show and found/repaired the problem with a light smear of grease on the centrifugal weight pads (they were totally dry). Ran great from then on.
It's definitely worth checking off the list.

Larry

 

Ok guys so he is the run down of what I've checked into.
-Blew out the main fuel line and hard line to be sure there was no clog
-checked fuel filter to be sure it was like new and no clogs
-tested coil with ohm meter checks out at 1.4 ohms like it is rated for
-tested power wire going to coil/ign, getting proper voltage range
-unhooked fuel line from carb and ran hose into a clear bottle, seems like nice steady flow, filled up about half a gallon in just moments at idle.
-re-checked all vacuum lines for loose/damaged hoses, sprayed around with carb cleaner no reaction
-hooked up vacuum gauge to carb still getting about 18 feet at idle and it goes up with RPMs like normal.

What I'm experiencing:
Put the car in drive, go down the drive for a few seconds to few minutes. Seems to drive nice enough. go to accelerate softly, moderately, or hard and it just flat lines, dam near feels like the engine stalls. If i let out of the throttle it will blip to life. Then it's a real struggle to get it limped back to the house. It won't take but the touch of throttle or is dies. Pull back in the driveway and put it in park, idles nice and revs clean.

I did call into Accel to see if they had any advice. Not much but just ran down checks. I did swap a ign. unit from another car i have it in and no difference so I'm leaning against it being the problem.