stuttering ride!!!!

tonyd · #1 (**permalink**) 04-06-2006, 02:56 PM

Went for a ride today, I have BDR #178 with a ford 351w crate engine, the ride was very jerky, couldnt get the car to idle when cold, it stalled a couple of times.Then went it was warm and driving at about 35-55 mph the car was stuttering and jerking, not bad but you could notice something was wrong.When you hit the gas there was a delay and rough feeling then it decided to go.Any ideas as to the problem much appriciated.
Timing was tested and was good. possible electric problem or carb?

Carb is a 670 holly.
Cheers Tonyd

Woodz428 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-06-2006, 03:06 PM

Not a lot of info. It could be old gas if it has set for a while. Could be from some "winter" fuel, if it is blended in your area. If you have an MSD it could be a rev limiter chip failing. It could be lots of things, but without a little more info it's just shots in the dark.

wtm442 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-06-2006, 03:08 PM

check to make sure the choke is working correctly.

Could be a hundred different things.

Check for moisture inside the cap.

Good luck

tonyd · #4 (**permalink**) 04-06-2006, 05:00 PM

no moisture in the cap, car was sitting over winter but was started every 2-3 weeks and not driven very often.Has MSD seems to be ok.
Thought it could be crap in the carb, or electrical? There was no reason for this to happen.I noticed it the first time I drove it in spring a few weeks ago.Pretty mild winter here in Virginia.
Should I drain the gas and re fill it.?

DC COBRA · #5 (**permalink**) 04-06-2006, 05:36 PM

If you are running a holley carb, be sure to check the float levels, mine did the same thing as yours and my rear float was just a little high. Reset it and man she cleares up beautifully.

DON

tonyd · #6 (**permalink**) 04-06-2006, 06:07 PM

cheers Don will try it tomorrow.

letitbe · #7 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 04:41 AM

Hi,

DC COBRA may on the right track and esay to check. Another thought from a pilots point of view. Every time I fly the first thing I do on pre-flight check is draw gas from the fuel tanks. Every plane is equipped for this with a release valves at the low point of the fuel tanks. If a plane is left to sit for even a short period of time moisture will accumulate in the fuel tanks and settle at the lowest point. If this is not drained off when it hits the carbs/injectors its bad news during take off. Engines stall, lose power or die. I have encountered moister/water in the fuel allmost every time I drain for pre-flight. Most of us do not drive our cars daily and store the for winter etc.so this might be something you want to check too. I'm sure your problem will be something simple and you will on the road with a smile.

Best of luck,

davidlee · #8 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 08:51 AM

Iwould think if it is a carb problem when it is idling it should be rich ie. black smoke and a strong smell of gas. IHMO
David

Speedysnake · #9 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 09:20 AM

TonyD,

I have to admit to a mistake to help you here

I have a 351 / with a 650 Holley.

I washed the rear wheel wells and fenders on my car right after I topped it off with 93 octane Amoco. Unbeknownst to me, the fuel cap was apparently not tight. After I put the car away I noticed a strong smell of gas & found the tank overflowing. Since I didn't think it was making gas, I realized I had gotten some water in the tank. I let the car sit a couple of days and pulled the fuel line off the pump. Then I ran the pump for a few seconds & got about half & half water & gas. Then I cranked it up & let it run a while, no problem. Since then, I've changed the fuel filter, and run about two tanks of gas through it and it has cleared up but, and now finally, my point; What you described is exactly what was happening to me for a short while after this fiasco. I hope this helps.

tonyd · #10 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 02:30 PM

Tomorrow is saturday so I will spend some time on it , I think it might be moisture in the gas tank, or crap in the carb.Hopefully to easy things to fix with a bit of time.Just really frustrating.We had looked at the carb 2 weeks ago and the floats looked good.So I will end up dumping some gas and cleaning the carb and then test drive.Cheers for all the advise.I will respond with the results.

BigAl · #11 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 02:57 PM

Tony,

I would suggest checking a spark plug or two. If I run my car several times and don't let it fully warm up or get out on the road it has a tendency to foul the plugs with a black fluffy soot.

Gatorac · #12 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 03:02 PM

It sounds like one of the needles has stuck. Pull of the air cleaner and start it up. If you see gas flowing into the carb or dripping off on the butterflys, that is the problem. Easy fix. Just pull the needles out and clean them off. This happened to mine at first start. It acted just like you describe. Poor to no idle and rough running under anything but full throttle.

Water in the gas will usually be an intermittent problem. The car will start to buck and maybe stall then clear up for a bit.

SkipB · #13 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 10:14 PM

Simple, fuel filter is clogged.

SkipB

Tell me if I'm wrong!

tonyd · #14 (**permalink**) 04-10-2006, 06:22 AM

Well we worked on the car on sunday, found no water in the fuel filter, no blockage.Pulled the carb apart and found a piece of paper towel stuck inside the idle ports and the idle setting was way out, cleaned it all put it back together, goes perfectly now.While we were adjusting the idle and the car was running I noticed that one fan was not running when the manual switch was activated.The connection was loose, so this now explained the engine getting hot at the stop lights.Problem solved. Drive home was good and no overheating.Nice way to finish the week.Thanks for the suggestions.
Cheers Tonyd

Flittleton · #15 (**permalink**) 04-10-2006, 05:27 PM

It is amazing what you can find in carb! Glad to hear you are up and running!!

SkipB · #16 (**permalink**) 04-11-2006, 02:59 PM

Tony,

I am glad to hear it was a simple fix. Although taking a carb apart is not too much fun! I was kinda right that it had to do with fuel delivery. Does paper towel count as a filter device?

SkipB