440 melt down

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Foomaster

Foomaster

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I have a 440 I am kinda unfamiliar with as far as parts. Told it had the 600cfm edelbrock. Issue I am having is on my hot starts the motor has a hard time started and I have to push the throttle down to get it going. Even if there a 5 second interval between shutdown and startup. Was told that I have fuel boiling in the carb and to invest in a spacer. When the engine is cold, 2 pumps of the throttle and she starts easily and even if I stop the motor in adequate time before it warms up, I can stop the engine and start up without pumping the throttle.
Question for this setup is what spacer to go with. I want to stay at the 1/2" thick because of my air filter height. Should I do the Phenolic plastic, open spacer or 4 bored. There's even a divided one. I have seen that the bore spacer adds torque and the open adds HP. Don't know if any truth to that but if so what do you recommend for that 440. Told the motor was out of a mid 70's truck/van and was a mild build. The guy had no info really to share but I believe this motor runs strong.

Thanks
 
"Was told this was told that"

That all sounds really stupid to me. Have you verified any of it? Very simple to do. Check the number on the carburetor. It is located on the right front corner of the base plate. Should be 1406 or some such. The engine casting number is located on the side of the block above the starter. It will have the engine size cast right in as part of the casting number. Very simple.

Lastly, what type base plate gasket are you running? These require a really thick insulator gasket. I recommend the thickest you can find, which is over .250" thick. Usually in the .315" range. This helps insulate the carburetor from manifold engine heat, which quite honestly should not be a problem on a big block because of the space between the intake and the intake valley.

Your questions regarding the spacers would be better answered with more information from you. What intake are you running? How is the engine built? Does it sound stock or does it have a thump to it? Whether you know what's in it or not, certainly you have enough brains to tell if it sounds close to stock or not. That information is important. Pictures would be a big help too.
 
This sounds like an electrical issue to me. Primary side. Between ignition sw and dizzy/ECU. Maybe a coil, or a B-resistor, or a high-resistance connection somewhere.These components will need to be tested in their hot condition.And,as always, clean your grounds.
Could also be a starter going bad.

Quick test.
Next time the engine is cold, start it up as you normally do. Let it run for about a half a minute, and shut it off. Turn the key to run, and go have a coffee. About 20 minutes later, come back and attempt a restart. All your ignition electrical components will be fully warmed up. If one of them is/are the cause, it should show up immediately, as a hard start or no start. If it starts right up, its time to check out the starter.
 
Haven't performed AJs test yet due to work but did have time to take some snap shots for Rusty before making my early morning commute. Sorry I didn't get good snaps of the block number but I think it can be verified a 73 440. Correct me if I am wrong. The carb is 1407, 750cfm not 600cfm.
 

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Should show this pic. I seen black spots on intake both sides of carb.
 

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the black spots appear to be the normal heat of the exhaust crossover. remove carb and I believe the stock intake will have 4 holes. use 1 or 2 of the 1/4"-5/16" thick 4 hole gaskets, if useing 2 use some sealant between the 2
 
I will try the 5/16" gasket first. The one that is on there now looks thin anyway.
 
It may be worth checking your float levels too. For what it's worth, my Edelbrocks/AFBs hot start a little hard on hot days with a hot engine too. With oxygenated gas, I've gotten used to cranking it for a second, then slowly pushing the throttle to the floor and cranking it until it catches. It's usually a couple of seconds. Unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast these days. A nice insulator will help. Obviously, make sure your timing is on target too. These engines seem to like a lot of initial timing these days, and that means reducing your total timing to avoid detonation, etc. Good luck!
 
check your ignition timing, the vacuum advance is hooked up to manifold. Normally this is only done with pretty big cams.....

Michael
 
Yes this ^^^^^^.

If this is a street car, big cam or not, it would benefit you to run the vacuum advance can off the ported vacuum outlet, located on the passenger's side, just to the right of where you have the PVC valve hooked up. You will likely need to recheck the timing.
 
I would block the heat crossover in the manifold also. You definitely need the thick insulator gasket. They were factory on just about everything. Last one I got at Autozone I told them it was for a 71 Chrysler and they had one in stock.
 
Does anybody have a part number for the .320 gasket
I'm running the 2806178 intake to the 1407 edelbrock. Called Jegs and they couldn't help. Guess I can call Mopar tomorrow when they are open.
 
Just going thru the watch threads I had and seen I had not put a solution to this problem. I did replace the carb gasket with a thicker one and problem solved. I know some car guys but they're Chevy/ford guys that have the eldelbrock carbs. They had same issues and pointed me in the gasket direction. I also have a buddy running the same carb with same problem, his problem is now fixed too.
 
Foomaster said:
Just going thru the watch threads I had and seen I had not put a solution to this problem. I did replace the carb gasket with a thicker one and problem solved. I know some car guys but they're Chevy/ford guys that have the eldelbrock carbs. They had same issues and pointed me in the gasket direction. I also have a buddy running the same carb with same problem, his problem is now fixed too.
Click to expand...
 
Foomaster said:
Just going thru the watch threads I had and seen I had not put a solution to this problem. I did replace the carb gasket with a thicker one and problem solved. I know some car guys but they're Chevy/ford guys that have the eldelbrock carbs. They had same issues and pointed me in the gasket direction. I also have a buddy running the same carb with same problem, his problem is now fixed too.
Click to expand...
Glad you reported back! My son's 340 had lots of vapor coming up out of the carb vents after a hot shutdown, indicating that it was nearing boiling, so we put in the Holley composite spacer and that fixed the vapor. That spacer is pretty thin, maybe 1/4" to 3/8", and that was good for his setup with already low hood-to-air cleaner spacing.
 
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