59 navy

My car will sometimes sputter or cough when I take off quickly or when I am at 65 and above. This happens seldom but enough to make me want to fix the problem, I have put in a new fuel pump, gas lines from the pump to the 2x4's, new glass fuel filter, replaced all plug wires and plugs and set the carbs with a vacuum gauge. I have the 283 245 hp engine. Could it be the number 3 and 5 plug wires crossing too closely? The butterfly valve seems to work and I have gas out of the jets. Any advice on what I could do to troubleshoot. Thanks, 59 navy

5thvet

Have you checked your timing?

tach drive 61

I just spoke with bob kunz on a rebuild on my afb ! and had same trouble with my car ,the motor in my 61 is a 350 with a 0.60 over bore,he told me that running the original 3269 AFB on the 350 would cause the exact trouble you are having! he described it as driving into a head wind between 50/65 and also sputtering when you get on it ! I would say your carb is the trouble on your 59 but just my opinion ! check it out may just be dirt in one of the jets ! good luck

Frankie the Fink

Sounds like carb issues to me (as noted above)...maybe float level(s) or the leather cup on the WCFB equivalent of an accelerator pump(s) is wearing out.

Another thought -- when you stab the gas or the accelerator linkage is over 1/2 way engaged (65 and up maybe?) you are kicking in the front carb. I would be tempted to disconnect the linkage on the front carb and then run the car on just the back carb to see if the condition is gone....if so, you know you have a front carb issue.

You can check for arcing between plug wires in a dark garage by running the motor and observing carefully for flashes (in a WELL ventilated garage that is)!

HighTimes61

Great advise Frankie! Run the engine at night and if you have bad plug wires you can watch the light show! Usually a fuel starvation problem will cause a bogging condition [thats how the quadrajet got the nickname QUADRABOG] and an ignition problem will cause a more violent reaction e.g. backfire through the carb. Unlike modern electronics a points style ignition barely has enough energy to fire a plug under ideal conditions. Start with the points and condensor. If the point gap closed up [worn rubbing block, burnt blue and/or pitted] it would definately cause problems. Next I would check the plugs but remember spark plugs are like women, you can't allways tell a good one by looking at 'em. They can look fine and not be any good at all. Anyway:... Pay close attention to the gap. If all else fails I would start with a compression test and then adjust carbs with a vacuum gauge to get highest vacuum. Also when using dual quads there are a lot of places for unmetered air to get through the carbs.
Good Luck