318 running like crap

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Badfish1

Badfish1

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Hello, 318 1967 Barracuda 4 barrel carb. Was running decent but idling a little rough. Car had sit for 11 years but i had her running pretty good. Then i put in new spark plugs and wires. Ran better. All of a sudden carb started poping. My dad said sounded like timing was off. Tried adjusting timing just by ear by turning distributor thought i had it running better but carb started to pop again. Had carb rebuilt holley now the popong is gone but car is real sluggish and idling rough. Pulled 1 plug to find tdc. Question is should the rotor be point towards 1 at tdc or can it point anywhere also where should i start to re time car from scratch. I guess get a timing gun? Any help please? Thanks
 
when i first started working on the car I drained the tank, changed fuel filter, the car was actually running pretty good until I changed spark plugs and wires. now I know that I have the timing out. need to start there I think? it sucks because I had it running pretty good but now that its cruise season its running like crap. Im not a very good mechanic just learning as I go. another think is that It will seem to idle and sound good in neutral in the garage but then when I go to drive it its real sluggish?
 
Badfish1 said:
when i first started working on the car I drained the tank, changed fuel filter, the car was actually running pretty good
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You may very well have another issue, but just draining the tank after 11 years isn't enough, IMO. When I bought mine, my wife and I dropped the tank, drained it, poured a little mineral spirits in there, threw a couple small pieces of chain in the tank along with some tumbling rocks I had and shook it for all it was worth, lol. We then repeated the process, you'd be amazed at the gunk we got of the inside. Rinsed it real good with water and let it dry for several days before putting it back under the car.

The tank was in great shape otherwise, so I elected to try that before replacing it.

I might suggest pulling the fuel filter and replacing it.

Open the old one up and see what's inside.
 
Verify plug wires are in order. 1,8,4,3,6,5,7,2 then verify timing with vacuum disconnected and plugged with a timing light. If you think your damper or timing chain may have slipped, verify TDC with a piston stop and compare marks on damper to timing tab
 
If it was running good, then all of a sudden started popping, probably not timing unless the chain went. I'd suspect the gas, electrical components and the such.
 
Absolutely for sure get a timing gun. Tuning by ear can lead to all sorts of problems. Since we don't know what you have, IMHO, re-timing from scratch is a good idea. Before you do that:

Make sure your plug wires are all well seated. What plugs did you put in and at what plug gap?

Is this the original points type distributor and ignition system? If so, check the points gap at maximum opening; the gap should measure around .017-018". If this has closed up, it will misfire like you describe. Also, a bad ignition condenser inside the distributor will do the same. (For a points system, that is.)

What ballast resistor do you have feeding the ignition coil? Do you have a volt/ohmeter?
 
One of the things almost noone ever thinks about is making sure the plugs themselves are grounded properly. I have seen the threads in the head foul up bad enough to cause a cylinder missfire. I have a tool for chasing the threads in the head,as it was a common thing on lawnmower engines,and sometimes the occasional V8 too!
 
Thanks for all the help. I timed the car and its running alot better. Gonna change fuel filter again. Its a little sluggish at start but runs pretty good down the highway. Another question i have is after driving the idle is really high. My Dad seems to think the carb needs rebuilding. Its an older Holley carb. Also he thinks i should change over electronic ignition? Will the carb make it sluggish? Also when i changed plugs they did not have enough autolights 65 so i put NGK plugs in. I think i gapped them 35 or 40
 
I flushed the tank on my 66 3 times before I started the engine the first time. I changed fuel filters 3 or 4 times a summer for 2 summers until I replaced the tank and lines. Every time i drained orange gas out of the filter. When I took the carb apart the jets were almost covered with orange sludge that made it through the filter. It sounds like you have the ignition system back in usable shape. Now it's time to work on the fuel system.
 
If I had a nickel for every time I heard about a Mopar not getting along with a Holley 2 barrel or four barrel....
 
The plug gap sounds OK and the plugs are probably OK but without a real part number from you, who knows?

Can you post pix? If so, please post a pix of the ballast resistor. This may have something to do with the sluggish running at start and other issues.

Please answer the question on whether your distributor has points or is a later electronic ignition type. The later type will have 2 wires and a connector off of the distributor. The early points type that came on your car has just 1 wire off of the distributor. We can't help much without you giving clear and complete answers to questions like this.
 
I know but... if it is the points type, then a simple gap adjustment may set it right. The answers and info have tended to be incomplete.... IMHO there is no point on guessing what advice give on an unknown.
 
Lol, that's why I posted the above. His Dad thinks he should change over to electronic ignition.

I would gather from that, that it is currently points.

And you could be correct on the points adjustment, or even replacing them.
 
check dwell with meter. Mostly your problem. if tarnished, start with new points &condensor
 
I am an electronics engineer, and greatly prefer points and condenser.
When your module fails suddenly somewhere in the boonies beyond East Overshoe, no amount of fiddling or praying will fix it.
With points, you can almost always get it going without too much fuss.
I have had exactly 1 condenser die on me since 1977. I disconnected the radio filter bypass cap from the positive side of the coil, connected it to the negative side to do the job of the failed condenser inside the distributor, and was on my way in about 5 minutes.
And when points are getting tired, they tell you about it for quite a while before they stop working entirely.
 
Darthomas said:
I am an electronics engineer, and greatly prefer points and condenser.
When your module fails suddenly somewhere in the boonies beyond East Overshoe, no amount of fiddling or praying will fix it.
With points, you can almost always get it going without too much fuss.
I have had exactly 1 condenser die on me since 1977. I disconnected the radio filter bypass cap from the positive side of the coil, connected it to the negative side to do the job of the failed condenser inside the distributor, and was on my way in about 5 minutes.
And when points are getting tired, they tell you about it for quite a while before they stop working entirely.
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I kinda agree and I kinda dont. I just made a habit of putting a spare box and ballast resistor in the glove box. What really screwed me up was switching to a multispark box. Now when that failed,I was walking...
 
Darthomas said:
And when points are getting tired, they tell you about it for quite a while before they stop working entirely.
Click to expand...
Which may be what the OP's ignition is telling him....if it's points LOL. I raced for 10+ years on points on my Opels with nary a failure. And a point files will do wonders to extend the life. But, a good HEI will sure make things run better, smoother, and with better combustion efficiency.
 
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