1959 & 1966 Impala question

[John_Maine]

This is something that has been bugging me for 40+ years and I just thought to ask on here - when I learned to drive, my parents had a '59 Impala Sport Sedan with a 283 and powerglide. It was purchased used from a friend of the family in 1962 with about 27K on it. At about 40K, it started cutting out on the road. Driving along at 50 or so, it would start to buck and slow down. Pushing the accelerator did nothing. The engine wouldn't stall out but would just drop to an idle. The only solution was to coast to the side of the road, shut the car off and restart it. We could then drive off like nothing happened. Sometimes, it wouldn't happen for weeks, other times, it would happen twice on one trip. I don't recall that it ever happened around town, just on secondary roads or on the highway. No mechanic could ever figure it out and like the proverbial rattle, it never happened when a mechanic was driving it. In '66, my folks traded it for a new Impala Sport Sedan, also 283 and powerglide. Low and behold, at about 30K, it started doing the exact same thing. We could drive it for months and it wouldn't happen. I took my grandfather home to PEI, about 500 miles and it drove perfectly. I put a couple hundred miles on it during the week, and then on the return trip, got within a 100 miles of home and it acted up twice. We were never marooned as it always restarted but it was annoying. After my father passed away, my mother traded the car with 82K on it in 1974. I came home from school on a Friday night and she told me she'd had it because it acted up on her that day. We went car shopping the next day.

I've always found it interesting that two cars with the same engine and transmission, 7 years apart, had the same problem. Any thoughts as to what would cause this?

[Guest marlin65]

John,could have been many things. Bad electrical connection somewhere,shorted coil when hot,shorted distributor plate etc etc.Also some trash in the fuel system.I had a 56 chevy that would do the same thing but more often.After searching all over we found a piece of the fuel pump diaphram blocking the line to the carb!!!!

[jpage]

Had a similar problem with a '70 Maverick . It would run along fine then start to sputter and lurch then shut off. After letting it set a minute or so.it would start up and idle but when you started out again, it would soon stop again. Found out it was a clogged fuel filter. The flow of fuel forced dirt particles against the screen and blocked the fuel flow. Shutting the car off reduced the fuel pressure and as the gas flowed backward it took the loose particles with it thus clearing some of the screen. When you restarted the engine the faster fuel flow would push the dirt back against the screen and clog it up again shutting down the engine. Wouldn't do it all the time(seemed just when you were in heavy traffic) so we had to start carrying extra filters for the "along the highway pit stops". Soon got rid of it and bought a new Vega! Some people never learn!!!

[NTX5467]

I have a '68 LeSabre that would run fine, but if it was idling, the speed would start to drop until it died. Usually, a restart was easy, but many times NOT. Eventually, I was taking it back to my shadetree shop for storage when it acted up. I got on the access road and on the side before it died. Even pumping the accel pedal furiously didn't help! Eventually, I'd get it started, but I couldn't let it return to base idle, so I aimed for "fast idle" instead. One reason for getting 1/2 way off of the pavement was to save the drivetrain when I put it in D at the slightly elevated engine rpm . . . that THM400 had one positive shift that way. I eventually made it back to the shop and parked it. Later, I got a new fuel pump and put it on. IMMEDIATELY, it ran better than it ever had. End of problem!

Curiously, the fuel line was sectioned 1/2 between the fuel pump and carb, as if the prior owner had been checking fuel pressure. He sold it as he didn't want his daughter to take it to college with her. Obviously, these driving issues had been there for a while. But it also had some other maintenance issues too.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[John_Maine]

Thans, guys, but none of the situations you describe seem similar to what I remember. I know my father had his regular mechanic work on both cars and of course, the '66 was out of warranty before it started happening. I remember he had both cars tuned up several times, fuel filter replaced, etc., but nothing made the problem go away. I just find it ironic that both cars had the same issue. With all the 283 powerglide cars out there, others must have had the same problem. And again, when the cars were in the garage, no one could duplicate it.

[roadfossil]

A friend of mine had a very similar problem many years ago. Turned out to be water in the gas tank plugging up the sock filter in the tank. When you stop, the water drains back off the sock. When you start up again, the water builds back up, and there you go again. He cut the sock off and that ended the problem.