Rebuilt 302 stumbling

[shaggys_bump]

it sounds like a worn fuel pump or clogged filter to me.

[neoxman]

i have... the results were bad. I tried calling edelbrock since they have a carb technical support ... but after 20 minutes of on hold i gave up. They said they had an email for the tech support guys but it's nowhere on their site.

[BobbyFord]

Edelbrock carb is pretty basic. If you pull the lid off, anything that's wrong should be pretty visible. You can blow out the metering tubes, they usually only affect the idle circut if partially clogged.
I would start with the basics: check and/or readjust valves. Check distributor orientation, firing order, advance plate, timing, etc. Whatever is wrong is probably very simple...

[Bugsb70]

You said that you can rev the engine moderately, but if you gun it it stalls. Question. If it stalls will it restart immediately?

[neoxman]

BobbyFord i completely agree with you... it's probably starin' me in the face .

Bugsb70 actually when i do gun it i does rev with no hiccups. It will hiccup on mild revs. i'm wonder if some junk is in the ports somewhere. what's the best way to guarantee i don't have junk in the bowl to venturi passages? pipe cleaner? Compressed air? I'm about ready to rebuild the carb after i look into the easy things this weekend.

[BobbyFord]

Compressed air works well. I'm betting it's not carb related, though. The carb didn't have dirt in it before you took the motor apart. If you pull the lid off the carb and it looks clean in the float bowl, then I wouldn't waste my time rebuilding it. It's going to be, just like you said, something staring right at you.

[neoxman]

AHA! I removed the vacuum advance hose from the carb and it revved fine! I could have sworn i tested that a while back. So that kragan rebuilt distributor is bad, or just the vacuum advance. I tried the drivers side port on the carb for the vacuum advance line and it kills the motor before connecting it all the way. This makes me question how i set my timing. Do i want to remove the VA and set the base timing?

[flyboy2610]

Plug the vacuum advance hose before you set the timing.

[george worley]

You should always set your timing at idle speed with the vacuum advance plugged. Hooked back up you still shouldn't have any vacuum advance till you crackopen the throttle. Sounds to me like there is something not right with the vacuum advance or the dist.

[fordman]

they are right. but the vacuum advance line is always suppos eto be hooked to thge carb bottom holes. where was it plugged into before?

[neoxman]

Great ... thank you for all your replies. I picked up a vacuum gauge to test for any other leakage. I'll probably be breaking out the compression tester too for fun and good times :|

[QC]

The plate in distributor that the points mount on is probably worn out. It rotates when the vacuum advance pulls on it to advance the timing. It rotates on plastic bushings that wear out. When they get loose when the vacuum tries to advance the timing it pulls the points out of adjustment. It's a weak part. When it starts to get loose you will get exactly the symptoms you have. You can get a new plate for about $10.00.I would replace it instead of getting a rebuilt dist. NAPA still has them, it's called a breaker plate.
I new Ford mechanics in the '70's that replaced this every other set of points.

[neoxman]

Thanks for the tip i'll check it out... still no luck on this problem... now if it runs, after about 3 or 4 minutes it will just die... how much water out of the pipes is too much on a fresh motor?

[fordman]

water out of the exhaust? none. soemthing is wrong.

[neoxman]

it would explain stumbling ... man i'm going to be real pissed off if the head gasket is bad. I replaced the old motor because it's head gasket went bad.