283/230 hp single 4 barrel w/ 4 spd.
My problem started with intermittently stalling. The thought it was a fuel issue. I put new fuel in and an additive, both did nothing to solve the problem. I brought the car to a shop, who said the carb had air leaks and they suggested it be rebuilt. I also had them install the Pertronix points eliminator. When I got the car back it seemed to run worse than before and the next day it would not start. Back to the shop, where they sent the carb out again, but could never really tell me what was done. The distributor cap was also replaced. The car does not stall now but does not like to take the gas without skipping and hesitating. When I have it in neutral and give a little gas off idle, it just stumbles allot. I replaced the plugs on the recommendation of a friend, but still runs the same. The next thing I am considering is to replace the plug wires. The timing was checked and the carb tweaked by the shop and they say its do to a "heavy cam". My problem with this explanation is that the car ran well prior to this work being done except for the stalling issue.
Unfortunately I do not have any previous documentation of what was done to the car before I got it in June 2008, but the car was well taken care of.
I live in Mass and have yet to find a shop that I can feel comfortable with to work on the car. Would anyone have a recommendation in or around the route 495 belt? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Sounds like a pump issue in the carb.

 

Could be a few things but certainly not a 'heavy cam' in a base level engine.
I have the Duntov 97 cam in a solid lifter engine with two 4-bbls in my '61 and have no hesitation or stalling.

If the plug wires are old it can't hurt to replace them while CAREfully checking the firing order. Still sounds like carb issue, especially since its been dinked with by somebody who may, or man not, have known what they were doing.

 

You most likely have a carb problem.

90% of what people think are ignition problems are fuel problems. If you know your timing is correct, and you have spark, most likely you do not have an ignition problem.

Now, your problem is, not very many people under the age of 50 know how to work on carbs, and some 20 year old kid at the carb rebuild place, never had formal carb theory, diagnosis, and repair schooling like they taught me and thousands of others prior to 1980.

You start with the basics, check fuel pump pressure and fuel pump flow, then replace the fuel filter just because, then start looking at the carb.

I do not know what carb you have, but most likely the accelerator pump linkage and engagement is not adjusted properly, that is your stumbling on acceleration issue. Your misfiring during running is probably because you are too lean, though it could be too rich also, wrong jets, or dirt/gasket parts in an internal carb circuit, or internal air/fuel leak due to warpage are your possibilities.

Other possibilities for poor running and misfiring, though unlikely, are jumped timing chain and general poor engine condition, but those would not get worse with a carb rebuild.

A vacuum gauge can tell you a lot, buy one, they are cheap. Google "how to read a vacuum gauge, engine diagnosis" or something similar and you will find some good info, do the same with plug reading.

Doug

 

I have a Carter carb w/ the glass bowl fuel filter. There does not appear to be any visible contaminants in the bowl or element. I have ordered a new element just to be certain. I have not checked the fuel pump or the vacuum pressure myself.
I did not check to see if the wires are in the correct firing order, I should have when I changed the plugs. I will do this.
I would have figured that what the carb cost to rebuild, any and all internals would have been replaced or serviced at that time. Looks like new, but I don't know what was done internally.
My back up plan if I can't get it figured out, is to try a buddies '62 carb that was taken off a well running car. This will hopefully tell me if it indeed the carb and not something else.
The shop said the new gas is reeking havoc on the old cars, but my buddies '62 runs great.