Dies when put into gear

[wayne scott]

I have a 1978 camaro with a edelbrock avs2 carburetor and edelbrock performer intake with stock internals and timing. Since I've swapped over to the avs2 I put it into reverse and it runs fine then I put in drive and it dies, then I start it and then it's fine till the next morning any idea what could be happening? Any help is appreciated.

Have you checked the vacuum rubber pipe at the gearbox end?

 

[78c]

Have you checked the vacuum rubber pipe at the gearbox end?

Yeah the vaccum for the th350 trans is hooked up into the manifold so I'm trying to figure out any other reason it keeps dying other than maybe spark plugs now

 

[78c]

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.

Yeah it is the electric choke model after a minute yeah it starts to open up I've checked the timing on it at idle it says 8 degrees as the stock distributor was marked even at a higher rpm it said 8 degrees but this was from 500 rpm to 1000 rpm so I'm not sure.

 

[Otto's Camaro]

My two cents; 1. Choke pull off is not operating and opening up the choke. Choke pull off is not opening the choke plate far enough. 2. Intake manifold gasket. Had this issue many years ago. When cold the gasket is "shrunk" and leaks causing a vacuum leak. As the engine warms up the gasket swells and fills the leak and the engine operates properly until it cools again. Get a spray can of oil, start it cold and use the oil around the intake gasket area an see if the engine smooths out.

 

[Billbme]

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.

What is the Bosch plug# you are using?

 

[OFLHLG]

I have a 1978 camaro with a edelbrock avs2 carburetor and edelbrock performer intake with stock internals and timing. Since I've swapped over to the avs2 I put it into reverse and it runs fine then I put in drive and it dies, then I start it and then it's fine till the next morning any idea what could be happening? Any help is appreciated.

Do you have the vacuum line hooked to the proper port? One is “timed vacuum” and I don’t think you want that.

 

[frozencaveman]

Having experienced this behavior myself with my 67 Camaro, it sure sounds like a substantial vacuum leak. Especially since you mention removing the emissions equipment. On mine, it was a leak in part of the AIR system. Would idle fine but the moment it got put it in gear, died. I had a vacuum gauge that read a bit on the low side, but I couldn't isolate the problem. Didn't matter how much I increased the idle speed or messed with the air mixture. For the life of me, could not find the issue. I tried spraying carb cleaner around the carb and intake to see if the RPM changed, checked my hoses, PCV valve, fuel delivery, plugs... Turned out I had a leak in the diverter valve, which of course you don't have, but same behavior. As an aside, I had another non-Chevy with similar behavior where it would stall because the valves were too tight, but it tended to stall more when coming to a stop. Since you didn't mess with the heads, I can't see them being part of the problem anyway. With the behavior on your car as consistent as it sounds, I'm thinking vacuum leak like many others here...

 

[leslieN]

Just back it in the garage from now on and the problem is solved.

 

[eagz28]

auto trans?

 

[78c]

Do you have the vacuum line hooked to the proper port? One is “timed vacuum” and I don’t think you want that.

It's on the left one I was told it was the constant one