Hey guys, Buick 350 ci in my Apollo fairly new to carb motors, here’s the issue cranks strong, battery fully juiced but not firing. It’s caught once or twice but dies out. Last time backfired. what I’ve done: Carb replaced and set to factory spec for edelbrock. So tightened screws and back out 2.5 turns. new hei top. Everything’s new. GM hei chip, new NGK coil New spark plugs(modern 4 prong) Taylor wires and Timing is at stock. I would check again if i was able to keep it running for a timing light. it has driven during my replacements but would die out on the road. I know it’s something basic and just hoped for anyone having any tricks for me? I bought basic spark plugs instead of modern ones that will be going in tomorrow. It’s got fuel, i have a glass filter to see.
Does it have consistent spark? Take the cap off, have someone crank the engine. Make sure the rotor is turning smoothly. Sounds like it is out of time, you might have lunched a distributor gear.
Check for spark . Did you change pickup coil? Are you sure it’s timed right? Did you check the timing chain for wear? Pull distributor cap . Mark rotor. Turn crank by wrench one way then the other . If it takes a lot of movement to get it to turn in one direction you may need a gear and chain. The Quadrajet is still the better carb . The edelbrock will still require jetting and other adjustments once you get it running. It is a universal carb not set for this engine. It just gets by . You may notice bad mpg or hot exhaust on cruise. Thru floor.
Thank guys for the input. It’s running well. Better than before. i noticed the wire from the fuse block to the distributor were a little crappy. The connectors to the distributor were loose and looked like they weren’t connecting or staying connected properly. I had an extra much better dual wire connector for the tach and power to the distributor. I spliced the new connector in and shrink tubed the connections. I also charged the battery up to 100% to see if there’s drain on the battery. I also pulled down timing to 3-4 degrees, as close as possible to spec. i drove it for about 3 miles to the gas station and back without issue. It held idle with no drop in rpm and kept rpm without dipping on or off the pedals. I didn’t have an extra set of hands to check if the weights would spin smoothly without the cap on but right now, until i get home next week I’m happy. i do plan on rebuilding the Qjet, I’ve never rebuilt any carbs before and have heard this is the toughest one to do which led me to the free edelbrock carb. But not just in this thread but others everyone says the qjet is the way to go. so with all this done, i was wondering if the gear would be shot? Would it run so well with a bad distributor gear? It looks like it may have been a shoddy wire connector but curious what you guys can tell me about a distributor gear problem i didn’t know could happen.
was this a non hei car converted to hei? If so go look at my youtube video where i converted my centurion. I explain what was prob your issue.
I got it with HEI and never looked into it. I will take a look now. I’m also picking up a timing chain set for the hell of it. It’s running well right now but thought to myself better to change it myself than wonder what others did. I honestly am thinking about a cam while I’m there. The biggest cam i could fit in with stock heads would be nice. interestingly, the car runs well for the most part but something is making it shut off out of nowhere. Everything is new but the timing set. So why not right?
Timing set is not the problem. A wild guess would be a crap coil, or wiring to it. If it just "shuts off" when it quits, its probably ignition. If it just kinda peters out and dies, it may be fuel related, pump, stuck float etc..
Yeah that’s what I’m dealing with right now. It can’t be fuel at all. I’ve just about did everything i could on the electrical side. All new items and connectors. It stalled today and didn’t start. Someone mentioned it may be a worsening timing chain since it backfired once and doesn’t immediately start back up. I waitED 30 min and it kicked on as normal. But when it died and i turned the key it just kept cranking.
So I had put an NGK coil in thinking it was a good choice. Was this not a good choice? Should i just stick with AC Delco on all of it?
I would wire distributor power directly to the battery. Drive it like that, if it stalls, you have narrowed it down to inside the distributor.
a friend of mine that drives a high comp studebaker said the exact same thing. Said to put a plain wire with inline fuse if i want to and right to the distributor. I was worried if slowly draining the battery that way. Guess this procedure is common.
No, I meant on a temporary basis just for testing. You want to find out where you are losing continuity. If it is between the ignition switch and distributor, or, inside the distributor.
+Didn't know you already changed the coil. With electronic distributor you don't want a resistor wire and you want a .5 resistance coil. Is the cap new. I've seen the carbon button that contacts the rotor break up.
Usually when it fails hot and then works again cold it's either the coil as people have said, or the HEI ignition module.
I get you. I had replaced the hei module twice and it starting back up would lead me to believe it may not be that. My understanding is that it would never start if that piece fails, correct? i will have to check the coil somehow. If anyone knows the procedure? I also noticed my car battery dropped from 100% to 40% which made me curious as well. Just not sure what it means.
