No unfortunately I let my car warm up then I get it out to the street put it in drive it struggles then dies if it's not full throttle to keep it alive but it doesnt move then it dies and have to restart it and that's it for the day till the next morning. That is what is weird to me everything is hooked up that it would need to run but it just dies the initial first time put into drive..
Dies when put into gear
- Thread starter 78c
- Start date
mallard
Veteran Member
I'm a bit confused, what do you mean by "that's it for the day", does that mean the stalling has stopped for the day? I'm wondering if you have a float that's set a bit too low perhaps? Is there any other hesitations? What happens if you're in neutral and give it a bit of a rev up? No flat spots then? I'm thinking some form of power valve or accelerator pump issue.
cadillac_al
Veteran Member
My Camaro did that for about 15 years. It always had to stall once every day before I could take off with it. One day I got the crazy idea to try some new fangled spark plugs. I threw some Bosch Pllatinum spark plugs in it and when I started it to move it I was amazed that it didn't stall. It always stalled like clockwork for years. I would put new AC spark plugs in it every couple years when it started to run rough and I would get a couple years out of them. Those original Bosch Platinums are still in my Camaro since 1997. I now use them in all my cars and those spark plugs always out last the vehicle. I hardly ever mention it to anyone because I don't care to start any spark plug wars. I don't know how HOT your engine is but I'll bet you would be surprised how a set of Bosch Platinums would make it run. good luck.
Yeah it will stall and then it doesnt do it for the rest of the day but it doesnt have much power either I figured the problem is related it has a hard time getting up to speed I'm thinking since the front of the car is tilted up and the gas tank is tilted down and then onto the street it switches it may be the float being moved or something but I've had it happen on flat ground but it doesnt always happen on flat ground. In neutral it runs great no issues but the first initial put into drive it will either die once I let off the brake or it will make it like 2 blocks then die then I have to restart it and it's fine for the rest of the day except it still has no power
This may fix it if I rember right they got replaced last according to the previous owner in 1995 if I rember right so it could be easily time to do it but what is weird is before I removed the emissions stuff and stock intake and quadrajet it ran pretty good but always a little rich I might pull the 1 plug and see that would be nice if it were I'll check them out thankyou!
What is the part number for those spark plugs for a 1978 350?
Patstuff28
Veteran Member
- Aug 23, 2020
- 839
I know what you mean about spark plug wars, almost as fierce as oil filter wars. I use Bosch platinum spark plugs in all of my cars. I put them in Camaro mostly because of the long service life. Headers and changing plugs is not one of my favourite jobs.
fbody_mike
Veteran Member
That is really rich, so much so that the plug is carbon fouled. might be too much soot to tell, but it also looks like you do not have any advance in your timing.
The soot..... I now wonder if your choke is opening? Have you verified it opens up after a couple of minutes with the key on? Assuming it is electric.
I would also throw a timing light on it and check to see if it advances when you rev the engine up.
Many people perceive that as long as the spark plug sparks, all is well. BUT it is not necessarily that the spark happens, it is the quality of the spark. I first used NGK V-Power plugs in my '77 305, after some Motorcraft plugs replaced the OEM ACs. Never did get good durability out of the ACs, but the Motorcrafts lasted MUCH better. This was before platinum plugs became popular. The V-Power plugs put the spark out on the edge of the ground electrode rather than "in the middle", for more exposure of the spark to the mixture. I ended up with NGK Iridiums (fine wire electrodes for more POW in the spark) and never looked back. Your results might vary.
I suspect the AVS2 has an electric choke? You CAN tweak it a bit, if necessary to get the choke open a bit sooner, if desired. In the base adjustment, with an ambient temp (plus engine, carb, etc.) of about 70 degrees F, the choke plate should just close easily. Try that setting and see how things go. I like the choke to be mostly open after about two blocks of driving, which puts it at hot base idle.
If the engine wants to falter, then tweak things a slight bit richer and see how that goes. But getting the choke open sooner is usually best.
The load on the engine would be the same whether in "D" or "R", so it is more the run-time from initial start that matters, in this case.
Also, try adjusting the fast idle speed screw such that it barely increases the hot base idle speed on the lowest step of the fast idle cam.
The way I have my 350 adjusted, it starts with just one tap of the throttle when cold. If it starts to falter a bit in "R" after that initial start, I just tap the throttle and that extra bit of pump shot is just enough to keep things going. I back out, put it in "D", drive to the corner, turn the corner and drive a few more blocks to the stop sign and stop. Engine at hot base idle speed then. No issues after that first block or so. At this time, the carb on it is a Holley 4175 9895 OEM-spec 1979 L-82 carb (with electric choke). Works great, but it took some tweaking to get it there . . . spark plugs included. With the L98 aluminum heads, no heat crossover for the intake manifold, it is a bit more cold-natured than it was with the cast iron heads and exhaust heat to the intake manifold. But with the aluminum heads, the heater works much quicker!
FWIW, when the aluminum heads came, so did a 355 under them. 210 @ .050 / .440 lift cam in both the prior 305 and the current 355. The 9895 Holley sits atop a Holley 28-Z 4bbl intake, which was also on the 305.
Just my experiences,
FS87LT
I suspect the AVS2 has an electric choke? You CAN tweak it a bit, if necessary to get the choke open a bit sooner, if desired. In the base adjustment, with an ambient temp (plus engine, carb, etc.) of about 70 degrees F, the choke plate should just close easily. Try that setting and see how things go. I like the choke to be mostly open after about two blocks of driving, which puts it at hot base idle.
If the engine wants to falter, then tweak things a slight bit richer and see how that goes. But getting the choke open sooner is usually best.
The load on the engine would be the same whether in "D" or "R", so it is more the run-time from initial start that matters, in this case.
Also, try adjusting the fast idle speed screw such that it barely increases the hot base idle speed on the lowest step of the fast idle cam.
The way I have my 350 adjusted, it starts with just one tap of the throttle when cold. If it starts to falter a bit in "R" after that initial start, I just tap the throttle and that extra bit of pump shot is just enough to keep things going. I back out, put it in "D", drive to the corner, turn the corner and drive a few more blocks to the stop sign and stop. Engine at hot base idle speed then. No issues after that first block or so. At this time, the carb on it is a Holley 4175 9895 OEM-spec 1979 L-82 carb (with electric choke). Works great, but it took some tweaking to get it there . . . spark plugs included. With the L98 aluminum heads, no heat crossover for the intake manifold, it is a bit more cold-natured than it was with the cast iron heads and exhaust heat to the intake manifold. But with the aluminum heads, the heater works much quicker!
FWIW, when the aluminum heads came, so did a 355 under them. 210 @ .050 / .440 lift cam in both the prior 305 and the current 355. The 9895 Holley sits atop a Holley 28-Z 4bbl intake, which was also on the 305.
Just my experiences,
FS87LT
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