Hey.. I have a basicly stock 401" in my 65 Electra.. It has a Edelbrock 750cfm man. choke, Pertronix pickup and coil w. 12v, Recurved dist. as the only changes.. My problem is, that when the car is running temperatur, it really wants to quit on me when in D or R and at a stand still ( intersection etc. ) Theres no problem when the car is P or N, it can idle really low rpm, but when put in gear and held on the brake it stumbles big time.. The car runs great, with good milage and nice color on the sparkplugs.. Has no starting problems, and the problem only comes when in gear at an complete stop.. Have no issues with the brake or nothing.. I have checked for vacum leaks, but I cant find any Does anyone have some thoughts about what it could be? -Houmark From Denmark
check for a vacuum leak where the choke would mount on passenger side of carb. there is 3 or 4 little holes there put your finger on each hole and check. i posted a old thread with photos
The carb is from last year, and I have never used the choke.. Could it still be that? It's an easy check, so no doubt I' will check it.. As a side note, thank you for all the help with camshaft ealier this year, I havn't bought yet because the dollar rose in value, and the norwegian krone went down = Less paid and more expensive parts
Sounds like you need to increase the idle speed a little. My 401 with 750 Edlebrock likes 650-700 rpm at idle in gear (D,L, or R) when hot. This means about 750-800 rpm in P or N.
Check the vacuum advance on the distributor, sometimes the diaphragm goes bad and will cause a vacuum leak....will also change timing at idle and reduce rpm. Is your transmission converter at high stall or low stall at idle?
64 wildcat > Ive allready increased the idle alot, so the car dont die, but "just" stumbles.. I havnt got a rpm gauge, but my best shot is that the idle is ~1000 in park.. Way to high allready.. wkillgs > Wouldnt that effect the way the engine runs at all rpm? Its only when the car is under load ( Holding it on the brake ) because as long as its allowed to roll, even at 1 mph theres no problem.. I have no clue about the stall speed.. Can I have done anything to change it? The problem just came out of the blue one day -Houmark
A couple of things I've noted about the Edelbrock carbs. 1st. they normally send the WRONG gasket with the carb. for a STOCK Buick manifold. AS has been stated check on the right side of the carb. for an exhaust leak/vacuum leak & also the vacuum advance. Next, do you have the plate that goes under the carb. to protect it from exhaust gases??? Or have those two holes been plugged under the carb.??? Stock a '65 Electra came with a variable pitch converter. As also has been stated make sure it's not in LOW stall at idle. With your foot on the brake it should be on HIGH stall. Tom T.
I havnt had any issues before now.. When I installed the the carb, I had liquid gasket under the metalplate and a regular gasket between the carb and metalplate.. No problems before now.. How do i check the stall speed? And how do I change it? Think Ive check the stupid hole at the choke first.. Thanks for all the answers
I used two gaskets (one on each side of the metal plate) and the metel plate from a Buick supplier. Idle speed shouldn't be a problem. Since the carb is new we can assume that the accelerator pump works? I set mine to the middle adjustment. Like others have mentioned, check for any vacuum leaks. When I tuned mine I disconnected and plugged the vacuum connection for the heater controls to eliminate them temporarily.
The proper installation of the metal plate is AGAINST the base of the carb. then the gasket AGAINST the manifold. Just make sure the base of the carb. is truly flat. This can be accomplished by some 400 grit wet-R-dry sandpaper on a sturdy flat surface like a thick piece of glass or thick piece of steel. Just make sure the gasket/metal plate covers the holes on each side of the intake. Just a FYI, if you plug those holes, which IMHO, are not needed any longer for the way we drive our vehicles today, you won't EVER have to worry about that part of the burn-out puzzle any longer. We DO need to keep the heat in the manifold so blocking the 4 holes & NOT letting exhaust gases into the manifold is the WRONG thing to do. Just my thoughts on the subject. Tom T.
The holes in the intake, under the carb, is not closed, so id put the metal gasket first ( with liqiud gasket underneath ) and then the regular gasket between that and the carb.. Ill pull of the carb and do it again, so Im sure its okay.. And while the carb is of, Ill check the hole at the choker.. Id drove the car today, and when it started up, it pulled a little forward, eventhough it was in P ? Is that normal? Dont remember it doing it normally.. How do I check if its in low or high stall? Thanks..
See above. The steel plate goes against the carb, the gasket goes BELOW the steel plate. Manifold, gasket, steel plate, carburetor. 1. The gasket has to be made from high-heat material. I think the originals were asbestos. 2. There is no need for "Liquid gasket". 3. The gasket and steel heat shield need to fit both the manifold and the carburetor. What was the original carb on this engine? Does the Edelbrock carb have the same shape to the throttle body at the gasket surface? Sounds like the trans linkage needs adjustment. Find the switch for the stall speed. Engine OFF, key ON, move the switch--you should hear the transmission solenoid click. HIgh stall speed is used whenever your foot is on the brake, so the engine should idle easily in Drive at a stop. IF the torque converter is set to the "low stall speed" position at a stop, the engine will idle slower, and the car may want to "creep" forward more. When was the last time you adjusted the idle mixture screws?
The original carb was a carter ~625cfm, and as far as I could see under installation the carbs were alike.. The gasket I bougth for it, was as far as I remember that type of gasket you are talking about.. Id adjusted the mixture screws when I put the carb on.. Maybe a complete tune up would be round the corner The thing that troubles me, is why the car only behaves badly when its hot and in gear, but I have time monday to check it all.. Hopefully its a little thing, but is it ever ? ou: Thanks for the answers.. Houmark
Well, nothing new about the carb, but had to fix the exhaust, and some leaky highjackers.. The exhaust wasn't a bad heatriser as I thought, and the leak from the highjackers were the shock absorber between the cylinder and piston.. 2 month old Monroe, that's been broke before installed.. The exhaust pipe was rusted very weird, so need to get a new peice and weld it in It's like a battle between me and my 50year old car..
Didn't find the hole at the choker.. Adjusted air and idle, and played around with the switchpitch arm.. When it was in, the car behaved better, so adjusted it so it was as far out as possible.. Also moved the acc pump arm to highest hole, so it gets as little as possible when I hit the gas.. Will the low/high stall still function? Haven't drove the car yet, just a little forward/backward action in the driveway, but felt much better..
Drive it to the gym, and I must have forgot how powerful a "stock" nailhead is.. Lots of power, and idles much better in gear, almost without the stumble Also looked like my leakin highjacker fixed itself.. Still keeps the car elevated after 2 days ( normally low and empty after 1 )
