383 Dies Mid-Drive

[The Horvaths]

So as some of you may know, I tried to take the Blue Moose to Carlisle. Since that road trip, everything about the car has gone to ****. It suffered two pretty massive overheats, (leading me to think cracked block or bad head gaskets). The problem started as the car having no power uphill, including it dying. Usually, it would start back up after a little while. To troubleshoot this, I changed all the spark plugs, rotor, and cap. I even changed the carb and fuel pump. This fixed the hill issue (for the most part), but it still wasn't right. Fast forward to recent times. I have tuned the carb to the best of my abilities, and the car will idle all day long no issue, but for some gosh forsaken reason, the car wont drive for more than a couple of miles! It will drive perfectly for five minutes, and then BOOM! It dies. And trying to get the thing to start after that is a joke.
I'm going to do a compression test tonight and tear into the thing if all comes back good. I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?
This is my garbage:

 

[Wollfen]

I have a similar issue and I am planning on changing out the coil and ballast resistor to see if that can cure the problem, I am sure it is an ignition issue.

 

[The Horvaths]

I have a similar issue and I am planning on changing out the coil and ballast resistor to see if that can cure the problem, I am sure it is an ignition issue.

I had a very similar issue when I first owned this car that turned out to be the battery not providing enough charge to the electronic ignition. You may want to check your charging system.
I'm not convinced that that is the problem this time for my car though. Hope you get it working.

 

[Wollfen]

New battery and new alternator etc etc. Starts strong and healthy even after sitting a couple of months. Right now I have so much on my plate I can't play with my baby, sighs.

 

[Wildaugust]

I had the sock filter in my tank clog. It would idle fine, but die after ten minutes or so on the road. Then it would take fifteen or so minutes before it would start, then the whole scenario would repeat.

 

[The Horvaths]

I had the sock filter in my tank clog. It would idle fine, but die after ten minutes or so on the road. Then it would take fifteen or so minutes before it would start, then the whole scenario would repeat.

Wouldn't that cause a lack of fuel getting to the filter? The bowl stays pretty full.

 

[Wildaugust]

Well, with mine it did take me awhile to figure it out. When the engine was first started and sitting in my driveway, it did seem to be getting fuel. When I got out on the open road, the engine couldn't get fuel fast enough to replace what it had burned. I'm not saying that this is your problem, but it could be something worth checking.

 

[The Horvaths]

I did a dry compression test and here are the results. They seem pretty average for a non-performance 383.
One thing I noticed was a few little ticks/pops soon after doing #5. Not sure what that means, if anything.

 

[69monaco]

I had the sock filter in my tank clog. It would idle fine, but die after ten minutes or so on the road. Then it would take fifteen or so minutes before it would start, then the whole scenario would repeat.

I had the same problem with a car.......
almost no gas through the sending unit filter ( dirty/rusty tank ).
5 min driving and it died.
New fueltank , sending unit , pump , hose and filter ....problem solved.

 

[detmatt]

Your compression is healthy enough, even dry.

 

[65sporty]

You need to run it, get it to quit and see what is missing. Spark? Fuel? Then fix your problem. Make sure fuel is spraying down the carb throat.

 

[66Newyorker]

You need to find out if your issue is fuel or spark. From want I have read you may have the ignition already addressed. One thing we used to do back in the day was to blow the sock filter off the pickup using compressed air. Remove the fuel line going to the fuel pump, remove the fuel tank filler cap, place a rag over the filler neck. It will help stop fuel from spraying out when the sock pops off.
Take your time use small bursts of air you'll be able to tell when the sock comes off the pickup tube or ripes open. After that take it for a ride and see if it acts up. Quick way of telling if you have a fuel supply issue. You might want to also check the fuel pump push rod to see if it worn.

 

[Zymurgy]

I was plagued with a similar problems last year. The new condensers out there are ****. I replaced the distributor with a new condenser problem solved for a short time. Started crapping out again replaced the condenser again, fine a couple of weeks. Started again, put the 30 plus year old condenser, 1 year plus later and 2,000 miles no problems.

In my opinion the overheating is a separate issue. A lot of guy have over heating issues, I still standby having the original radiator re-cored, at an old school radiator shop. I did this day one 4 years ago and never have overheating problems. Including stop and go traffic on 90 degree days. My set up is stock 383, AFB, points, electric fuel pump.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Pick up coil if electronic
Condenser if points
Knowing the health of the sending unit would not hurt. Also if sending unit is rusty it may have pin holes in it losing suction just enough to drive you insane diagnosing it.

 

[jake]

Pick up coil if electronic
Condenser if points
Knowing the health of the sending unit would not hurt. Also if sending unit is rusty it may have pin holes in it losing auction just enough to drive you insane diagnosing it.

Dave, I am always amazed at the knowledge that you have about everything and anything when it comes to drivelines, where did you obtain all of it. I wish I had a 1/10th of that knowledge.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Dave, I am always amazed at the knowledge that you have about everything and anything when it comes to drivelines, where did you obtain all of it. I wish I had a 1/10th of that knowledge.

I do a pretty Good job of baffling with BS, huh
The hot start thing with the pu coil I learned from my Cordoba in the eighties. The pin holed sending unit I learned from my Challenger over the last10 years along with other problems. Big trucks have taught me that it is usually something simple and that no system should be deemed too complicated for me to tackle fixing it myself, that does not always work out the first time. BTW what happened to your transmission?

 

[1970cat]

had the same problem with a pontiac. the rubber fuel line above the tank was cracked. idle forever but once the fuel line drained it stalled. had to crank forever the fill the line and carb before it would start again. took forever to figure that one out.

 

[patrick66]

Do you have a non-vented gas cap when ycu require a vented cap? Those very symptoms sound like the problem might well be there?

 

[MYSINBIN]

I would agree with others that you need to determine if it is fuel or ignition related.

What is the condition of the entire fuel delivery system?

Is the fuel percolating due to it running hot/overheating?

Fuel pump pushrod might be worth inspecting.

Hope the input helps.

John

 

[canuck62]

Is your fuel (line) in close contact to the heat of the exhaust causing the fuel to boil or evaporate before it can reach the fuel pump and carb?