Hesitates like it will stall when turning on a 73 400 1400 Edelbrock

[WH23G3G]

So I decided to just to a test drive again in my 73 Charger after I replaced the heater valve that was leaking. The a/c is cool but not frigid like a new car but not uncomfortable heat like before. So today it's like 81-84 degrees outside I got in and started up the car and pulled out the garage. I let it run at the end of the driveway for literally about 1 minute then took off. It did ok taking off slowly but when I got to the end of the road and went to turn up a slight hill it seemed as if it wanted to stall but it only hesitated but kept going. Then again slowing down and taking another turn and then once more. Then when I ended up back at my driveway I turned and gave it a little more gas and it shut off. But it must no be flooded because as soon as I hit the key it started up right away. What does this indicate? I had the a/c running the whole time to see if it was going to do any better but it didn't seem to affect the engine whether it was on or off.

[John_Kunkel]

Has this problem been with the car a while or just appeared?

The 1400 is a 50-state legal carb which means to me it's on the ragged edge of being too lean right out of the box.

[WH23G3G]

It has nothing but trouble it seems to me because I'm afraid of driving it in traffic because it might cut off. The shop I get it worked on at says he's 100% sure the carb is fine. But he's saying that because he uses them on all the molars he restores. I got it because it was suggested by summit because of my 400-4bbl being all stock rebuilt but for .040 over. The only good side to it is that it has a vapor purge fitting for the charcoal canister and none others do. I'm really thinking of going back to our thermoquad if I can't find a better alternative. This 1400 seems to always need an adjustment but it always smells rich.

[BLK 68 R/T]

Does it run rich all the time or just when idling? Could be its not able to get enough fuel under load. Weak fuel pump, clogged filter or collapsed fuel sock on the sending unit pickup could all cause problems. Can you hook up an inline fuel pressure gauge and monitor it while you drive to see what the PSI is in the fuel system? Don't rule out the electrical system though as it could also be in the distributor, bad coil causing weak spark for example, there are quite a few electrical problems that can occur that get misdiagnosed as fuel/carb issues.

[68 RT]

Is the choke adjusted correctly?

[WH23G3G]

Today is the first time I've gotten around to my Charger to get it started and run for a few minutes. I've been out of town and then I got another Dodge I've been messing with. I picked up a 99 Dakota R/T. So it took a good few turns and feathering the gas pedal to get the Charger started after sitting for this long. I didn't drive it because I still don't trust it with the Edelbrock 1400 on there. It's probably idling at 700-770rpm after you let off the fast idle. It idles and doesn't choke down either with the RV2 a/c compressor kicked on and cooling. It doesn't smell like it's running rich idling. I only ran it about 5-6 minutes. The last time my mechanic came he adjusted the mixture, idle speed, and choke. We drove it around for almost an hour and it was running the best it had. Then two days later I went to drive it around my neighborhood and it wanted to cut off everytime I turned. I have an inline fuel pressure gauge and it's 5-5.5psi running. Edelbrock said their carbs don't want more than 6psi. I just replaced the fuel pump a month ago, the one I took off was the same number but it was pumping 7psi running. I'm still in the decision stage of swapping back to the old 73 Iron 4bbl intake and the 6321S oem Thermoquad and see how it does now that vacuum leaks and timing are taken care of. The mechanic I had it at before couldn't get it to run right with the remanufactured Thermoquad because the intake was leaking vacuum and he didn't realize that until after I bought a new Weiand intake and that junky Edelbrock carb. What's the least to leave you in the middle of the intersection likely carb out there for a mostly stock 400, .040 over, rebuilt 73 400-440 heads 3 angle valve job, oem 4bbl sealed power camshaft, 73hp exhaust manifolds, and Weiand Action plus intake? Go back original Thermoquad or Demon 625 Street Demon?

[Dino]

I love the thermoquads and am running one myself, but it's hard to say no to a street demon.  I'm getting one myself as the TQ is really starting to wear.

Did you check the float level on the eddy?  It may be as simple as that. 

I have a 650 and a 750 eddy here if you want to give either a shot.  I'll sell them to you cheap.  The 650 is a 1407, the 750 is a 1411 I think.  I have one electric choke and one throttle adapter bracket, both currently on the 650.  Shoot me a pm if you're interested.

[WH23G3G]

I know it might be asking for a lot or maybe not. But I'm looking for ease of driving and reliability. Not wanting to get stuck trying to start up the car somewhere or worst of all just having cut off while driving. I've already got a stash of new ballast resistors and control modules in a box in my trunk because I know they're prone to go without notice. I've read reviews on the Street Demon and seen a few comments that it's as close as you can get to fuel injection without having fuel injection. I don't want to have to wait 5-10 minutes before I put it in drive and go and the vapor lock was the worst thing I've ever experienced. I was totally helpless. I added the insulator gasket and re-routed the fuel line a little more so hopefully it will stop. It was summer 95 degrees out 5:30pm peak traffic time sitting at one of the busiest intersections in town and the car just quit without warning with about 20 people behind me. It took a few seconds to get started and sputtered across the intersection and I pulled into a gas station and came back at night to drive it home. Not too many country roads left around here, it's all busy all the time.

[Dino]

Yeah that sucks.  I used to have to crank like hell after shutting it off for two minutes, very annoying.  A blocked crossover did the job for me.  I can now sit idling in traffic in 90 degree weather with the a/c blowing and the car never objects.  Try your TQ again, the resin body really helps keeping the temp down.  The street demon with resin body looks real nice and I may just go for one myself.

[myk]

Damn that Edelbrock 1411!!!

[Dino]

LOL

Yeah that one I'll leat go REAL cheap.  Damn paperweight...   

They seem to be doing well on a bunch of engines but the 440 isn't one of them.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's just a bad design but I sure didn't have any of those bog or stumbling issues with the 1406 or 1407, I forget now what it is.

I have to focus on the noise in the trans first but once everything's fixed I think it's time to let the TQ go, it has done its job, and go for a street demon.   

[scratchinfotraction]

sounds like a lean off idle stumble

have a look at the accel pump shot and make sure it is squirting fuel when the throttle moves or if it has a gap causing it to go lean.

what kind of vac reading does it have in gear? does it keep the needles down in the jets? open the covers and see if they are jumping around any or down solid like they are supposed to be at idle.  

could be as simple as a step up spring change.

and yes, the new street demons are getting great reviews.

[myk]

There's not much you can do with the Performer 'carbs.  I've moved the accel pump rod closest to the body, put in the softest springs and richened the jets quite a bit; that's all you can do.  I had heard about drilling small holes in the butterflys or something to help with the off-idle stumble but to me that's drastic and shouldn't be necessary.  The car ran well with two Holley's I used to have; I should've left one of them on there...

[Dino]

I was unable to get that off idle stumble resolved with the 750 as well.  No such issues with the 650 though.

[WH23G3G]

We re-test drove my 73 today. It did totally fine. No stalling or hesitating. The mechanic came over and tweaked the mixture one more time and we drove around probably 20 miles in 90+ degree heat with A/C on. I told him I noticed the vacuum hose for the vacuum advance wasn't hooked up and wondered if that was why it may have run bad. He told me unplugged it last time he was over checking it and that he always leaves them unplugged. It made a world of difference in the performance even with a/c on, it attempted to spin the tires until the sure-grip kicked in. He says I'm going to need a new driveshaft as there is some vibration in the rear. I figured that was true because when I had u-joints installed the driveshaft guy said there was a small ding in the tube and he wouldn't work on it. Then I took it to another guy and he said he didn't see any ding in it, so I reinstalled it. I've got the bypass vacuum valve hooked up, and the osac valve, and the mechanic said that stuff never worked the way it should even back then and recommends plugging it all. He said he may have to adjust the total timing a little because he said the temp gauge shouldn't reach the middle unless it's idling in traffic and he likes a little below. I never did ask him, what does leaving the vacuum advance unplugged do?

[myk]

You get only mechanical advance on the distributor as opposed to engine vacuum dictating the advance curve...

[WH23G3G]

I know it ran so much stronger and it actually spun both tires at a standstill. Getting to 80mph was nothing. Should I leave the advance unplugged or upgrade distributor?

[Dino]

If it runs good and you're happy with it then leave it as is and enjoy it!

[WH23G3G]

Does anyone even know how well the OSAC valve and vacuum operated bypass valve worked on these 73-74 Chargers? The osac I know stand for orifice spark advance control. The bypass valve I know is suppose to change the vacuum to the vacuum advance when the engine reaches a certain temperature. But the mechanic helping me said that stuff never worked that great even back when it was new. Any truth to it? While I'm on here too, any source for a bolt in replacement driveshaft? He said I'm going to need a new driveshaft. There is some vibration felt in it when you get up to around 80mph.

[scratchinfotraction]

find a local drive shaft shop and have then re-tube it with your yokes if they pass inspection.

shop should be able to make up a shft with new yokes/tube as well if needed.

my last shaft that had vibs was due to worn yokes letting the u-joint cups spin in the holes while the c-lips held them in.

I have had the spred open from BFH changing joints also.

be sure to have them checked before any $ spent on a tube, small ding will make it out of balance but it can be re-balanced if yoke are good.  golfball size dent = no  road stone ding = yes