Hey everyone, My name is Jess and I live in Corvallis, Oregon. I bought a 72 skylark about a year and a half ago, rebuilt the engine and just started having problems again. It has a hard time starting and when it warms up, it backfires, stalls, or stutters if I push the accelerator barely at all. Any suggestions. I think it may be the carb. I also thought it might be the fuel pump, but I checked the line, and I am getting fuel from the pump. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jess
Performance Problems Jess, you need to go back to the basics on this one. Assuming the car starts and and run fine cold leads me to think its a carburetor problem. You will need to still check point gap, plug gap, condition of ignition wires, ignition timing, and vacuum leaks. AL.
Jess, If the car was running fine, and you just started to have trouble with it, we can assume that the firing order and wires are correct. If it has been awhile since you tuned it up, you may want to at least replace the distributor cap(it may be cracked or carbon tracked), plugs, and maybe the wires. If the car is backfiring through the carb, this indicates a lean condition. The carburetor float may be sticking, or the fuel pump may be on it's way out. The fuel pump may pump fuel when you disconnect the line, but it may not be supplying enough volume or pressure under operating conditions. With the car running, try tapping the side of the fuel bowl with a small hammer, this may free up a stuck float temporarily. If the fuel level is low, the engine will run rough at idle and backfire through the carb when you open the throttle. I would also check to see if you have a vacuum leak. Make sure the bolts attaching the carb to the intake are snug. Put a vaccum gauge on the engine, and spray some carb cleaner around the carb to manifold gasket. If you hit a vacuum leak the engine will react, and the gauge reading will rise rapidly. With a stock cam look for 18-21 " at idle in neutral.
One of the old tricks is start her up at night, the darker the better and pop the hood open and watch for any sparking or arcing. I had a problem just like yours, I could see arcing from my coil tower to the distributor terminal. I replaced the coil. This is the best way you can check out your system when your in a bind.
ok well this is what i think......have yo changed any little thing on the car? like to me it soun as if the engine is flooding....mine did the samwe thing and i saw that my chocke was not working...you carb may be bad and need rebuilt. check the valve where the fuel comes in is it stuck wide open? also check the choke cable and see if it is working. try that cause thats what it sounds like.
cause your engne sounds like it is flooding do you hear a kind of girrgling sound when you do get it running?
I had a 455 do that once and that was the exact cause of the problem. Try spraying the cap, wires, and coil with a water mist. If it stalls or begins missfiring, start replacing parts.:bglasses:
Had the same problem too, except it was a broken contact on my distributor rotor. Don't be afraid to replace parts. The ignition system is very simplistic on these cars. After you have checked your ignition system then start with the carb. Start by rejeting it. A piece of advice, when sharp shooting a problem always start with the simple and cheapest solutions and gradually work towards the most complicated.
