1973 Barracuda 318, dies in gear

[Matt13]

So, just got my 1973 Barracuda 318. At some point, someone added an Edelbrock Intake and a Holley 4bbl carb., headers and seems like a slightly aggresive cam. She starts after a little effort, but when I try to put it into gear or pump the gas, she dies. After a little warm up it will allow me to pump the gas and rev up, but put it into drive and it dies. Carb? Fuel pump? What are your thoughts?
TIA

[Rich G.]

Big cam and automatic don't mix well. A lot of tweaking with the carb and possibly different stall speed converter will help.

[Matt13]

Well, I am just guessing about the cam, based on how it runs once it runs. The owner was the son of the previous owner, and he doesnt know exactly what his dad did to the car. It looks like it's been sitting for a while, so who knows what needs to be changed/updated/rebuilt. I am trying to take the path of least $$$ to figure out this issue.

[1 Wild R/T]

Simple, don't put it in gear.......

Seriously though it may or may not be to much cam, could be a vacuum leak, could be a tuning issue, could be to tight of a torque convertor.....

Where in California?

[Matt13]

I'm in the east bay, city of Clayton. I got a new fuel pump (old one was looking nasty and corroded) changed the PCV valve and fuel filter and also ordered a new Holley 0-1850c to replace the old one on the car now. A rebuild was going to cost $350 so for $50 more I get a new and more modern carb. Also changed the plugs so we shall see what happens once I've put on all the new parts.

[Chryco Psycho]

There is a whole tuning process to go through step by step to get the most out any carb , you will need to test for vacuum at Idle in Neutral & in gear , there is tuning tips for Holleys in the reference section too . Glad to help 

[Matt13]

Thanks! I will definitely be watching tutorials on adjusting the carb.

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

 

I have a mild 340 that I fought the distributor with for months... was fighting the mechanical curve advancing at 900 rpm. When I'd put the 727 in gear, idle would drop down to 650, and timing would retard and engine would stall. I made a timing plate that had shorter slots for the advance pins, as I needed about 15-18 degrees advance at idle for best start/run. I shortened the slots at inside so that the springs were a little tighter at idle, raising the start of curve to around 1100 rpm.

If you see timing jumping around at idle (5 degrees or more when you vary idle in park/neutral from 600 to 900 rpm), that's at least part of the issue...

I can dig up some pix of the plate I made... I think I had a thread here on it somewhere...



edit:  https://forum.e-bodies.org/engine-transmission-and-rear-end/4/questions-from-distributor-rebuild-on-a-340/11945/msg164555#msg164555

[Cudajason]

 

I would start with checking the timing.

[Matt13]

Thoughts on getting an HEI Distributor for it? I was hoping this would solve any potential timing issues.

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

You probably already have an electronic dizzy... If you have an Electronic Control Unit on firewall (rectangular box with transistor on face, like this)... you won't have to part with $400 or so... but getting the right one would be one way to fix timing issues! (If that's all that is the problem)

[Matt13]

I do have the stock electronic ignition box, mine is only a two prong, not sure if that's a good thing or not. I am thinking of this distributor for my 318:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pro-440-434/make/dodge

[Cudajason]

Thoughts on getting an HEI Distributor for it? I was hoping this would solve any potential timing issues.

Have you determined if your Distb is the culprit...no sense just throwing parts at it.

Have you hooked a timing light up to it to see where the initial timing etc is.

I ran a 360 auto with a good lope to it, and if the timing was too low, the car would die when you put it in gear.

Jason

[71383bee]

Thoughts on getting an HEI Distributor for it? I was hoping this would solve any potential timing issues.

Have you determined if your Distb is the culprit...no sense just throwing parts at it.

Have you hooked a timing light up to it to see where the initial timing etc is.

I ran a 360 auto with a good lope to it, and if the timing was too low, the car would die when you put it in gear.

Jason

Agreed.  The stock dizzy is likely not the sole cause of this and ANY distributor bought will simply not just drop in and not need to be tuned to what the engine needs.  The stock mopar electronic system is a simple and reliable system that works great from a HEMI to a slant 6.  Dropping in a GM system without knowing what the real problem is is a waste of $$ IMHO. 

You may also be dealing with old gas and gummed up fuel lines if you already replaced the fuel pump and its been sitting.  For cars that sit I recommend dropping and cleaning the tank.  disconnecting fuel lines and at a minimum blowing them with air or just replacing them.  Swapping the fuel pump and rebuilding the carb.  If your in a pinch and just want to see if it lives then make sure to fill the tank about half way with fresh gas or run it through a gas can.  I've been stranded before from issues like bad gas. 

Keep it simple and check off a list.  If the car starts and runs...ignition is working. Warm it up and check timing.  After resetting timing then look into tuning the carb.  If your not familiar with these cars having your timing properly adjusted can make a HUGE difference. 

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

My best friends became adjustable timing light and a vacuum gauge when I was working on mine - they still are today, and will be joined shortly by their cousin, the A/F gauge!