spit, spat, sputter, when accelerating (help)

[Guest]

i have a 58 buick 364 v8. installed a new electronic ignition system and had the carb rebuilt.<BR>still have a ongoing problem while i accelerate. when i take off from a stop the engine acts like it is missing and then smooths out and runs good at a higher rpm. it even tries to do out sometimes. can anyone out there help me with this problem?<BR>i have also installed new plugs, plug wires and a new cap<BR>thanks<BR>camman.8<BR>58 buick century model 66r

[NTX5467]

With all of the ignition items apparently new and sorted out, my suspicion is that it's the accelerator pump in the carb not functioning for some reason. Hopefully, as Pete Phillips previous driveability issue with his '58, you don't have a wire in the distributor bleeding off voltage that would otherwise go to fire the ignition.<P>I also suspect you have set the idle speed and mixture as they should be (max vacuum at the specified rpm in Park) as that can sometimes affect off-idle response.<P>I would contact the people who rebuilt your carb and see if they reused the existing leather accelerator pump item or replaced it with the more modern rubberized version of the pump cup. Might even be a blocked fuel circuit to the pump discharge nozzles or wear in the pump cavity.<P>Also, the accelerator pump linkage needs to be functioning in the first place and adjusted to specs (which it should have been before it was rebuilt anyway).<P>Just some thoughts . . .<BR>NTX5467

[Guest]

hey, thanks ntx, i never thought about checking for bleedoff of the ignition or checking the accelerator pump and i will call the co company that rebuilt it, even though i have the utmost confidence them.<BR>thanks: i will check it out as soon as possible and let you know how it tuns out.<BR>camman.8<BR>1958 buick century 66r

[old-tank]

What carburetor do you have? When does it sputter?....just off idle when accelerating slowly or during hard acceleration.<BR>Willie

[Guest]

i have a rochester 4bbl and it does it when i accelerate slow or fast although it may be a touch worse when i accelerate fast becasce sometimes it will almost die out and then take off. at idle and after it smooths out she runs like a dream.<BR>do you have any suggestions for me also? at this point i need all the help i can get!!!!<BR>thanks:<BR>camman.8<BR>58 buick century 66r

[old-tank]

The most likely possibility is the accelerator pump is not functioning or adjusted properly.<P>With the air cleaner off and the choke open (engine off) look into the front barrels below the choke plate and work the accelerator to be sure you have a good squirt of gas on each pump...should be TWO..one on each side. No squirts then the pump is not operational. If you see gas try adjusting the linkage...there should be 3 choices. Always check for vacuum leaks...if it idles smoothly with the idle mixture screws out no more than 3 turns you probably have no vacuum leaks.<P>I have a 55 Century with that same carb and I had an off idle stumble that I did not solve until I replaced the primay venturi cluster with one from another carb..you might check to see if this cluster is tight, has a gasket and that it is properly installed.<P>Remove the carb from the car even though some of these checks can be done on the car..gives you a chance to check other gaskets and that everything is/was tight.<P>As a last resort install a known good carb.<P>Good luck<BR>Willie

[brad54]

I had a never-ending nightmare with my '54.<BR>Are your fuel lines and gas tank original? Install a glass fuel filter ahead of the carb and check to see if any debris is in the fuel line. If there is ANY, you should go through the carb again, because there will be debris in the needle/seat area, and other places.<BR>I also had a problem with my fuel pump slowly dieing. What would happen is the vacuum from the engine was enough to keep the fuel flowing while it ran, but when more fuel was required (take off, passing, etc.), the flow of fuel wasn't enough and the car would stumble. A new pump cured it.<BR>If you need new fuel lines, Inline Tube in the Detroit area has them pre-bent and ready to go on (though there tough to install with the body on the frame. I had to cut mine and ad a fitting, but no big deal).<BR>Good luck!<BR>-Brad

[Guest]

what heat range of plugs does it have.???? if they r ACDelco plugs heat range 43 or lower then they r probably too cold. Try a set of 44's or maybe even 45's.

[Guest]

I had a flat spot when comming off idle with my 54 Special. I tried a new pump in the carb, checked the timing, and the advance didn't look right. It turned out to be the mechanical advance in the distributor had broken springs and bent weights. I replaced the distributor and the flat spot was gone.

[Guest]

wow, it is good to know that i am not alone with my problem.<BR>i put new plugs in and they are r44,s and rebuilt the dist. and everything there works fine. i even put new plug wires on two years ago, but that was before i switched over to electronic ignition. could it be that i need different wires because of the electronic ignition? although this has been on ongoing problem even before all this. i have checked the vacume and it stays steady and not erractic, but i replaced all the vacume lines anyway, but i could have vacume leakage though my wipers, because i used my wiper vacume line to hook the vacume gauge to. also i had my gas tank renewed and put a new gas filter on.<BR>so is it safe to assume that i have a carb problem? i wish i had a spare known good carb about now! i think i WILL start looking now. oh yeh, i even replaced the fuel pump.<P>a more accurate discription of my problem is it seems like it only fires on a few cyl. and then takes off. sometimes it will try to die out, then takes off. it runs great at idle and after i get by my acceleration problem.<BR>anyway keep up the good idias and with all the help i am getting maybe after 4 years of this problem i can finally get rid of it. i will be checking out the carb AGAIN (from top to bottom) next week. will keep posting an update and please let me know anyone out there, if my wipers could be causeing a vacume leak?<BR>thanks again:<BR>camman.8 (ed)<BR>58 buick century 66r

[The Old Guy]

I live just down the road in Swartz Creek and if you give me an E-mail address ,I will send you my phone number,and maybe between the two of us we can solve your problem. <P>Joe Taubitz<BR> BCA 1308<BR> BDE 001<p>[ 06-11-2002: Message edited by: The Old Guy ]

[brad54]

Are you running solid core wires with that electronic ignition? What kind of electronic ignition do you have? I swapped in a Pertronix, and was very pleased with it. But I had to run the new style wires--with a solid core on, it wouldn't fire. Pertronix said it shouldn't matter, but it did.<BR>Also, are you dead positive the distributor isn't off a tooth? I had that problem, too. The car would run okay, but not great. I put it in a little off, and then tuned the car by ear (no timing light). It ran, but it wasn't optimal. I forgot about that--had a lot of the same problems you described. Especially the start-up. When the advance kicked in, the timing was closer to being where it needed to be, but then as I went faster there was nor more advance to be had.<BR>The easiest way to check it is turn the motor over with a really big socket on the crank until the timing marker is right at Zero, then check the rotor in the distributor cap.<BR>Keep us posted!<BR>-Brad

[old-tank]

Brad54 is right...ignition problems can mimic as carb problems. I use solid core wire in all my nailheads..one has Petronix and works well. NAPA will sell you a set "for off road use only". The last time I tried to buy a set of AC44 plugs...no longer available...substituted AC43R which fowled and barely ran after 25 miles...using a set of Autolite 303 in the same car with no problems in 8,000 miles.<BR>Also be sure your gas is fresh...just because it will start on stale gas doen't mean it will run well and can cause your carb to gum up, valves to stick, and plugs to foul. I had losts of drivability problems on my last rebuild that I started on 2 year old 'stabilized' gas...found lots of flufffy carbon buildup on the back side of the intake valves...this will soak up your gas needed for acceleration and release it during cruising...there are additives made to fix this...I used one made by Chevron. Always fix or adjust one thing at a time so if your problem is solved you know what did it and can tell us!...and always look at the last thing you did to it before a problem started...hard to do on a rebuild.<BR>Good luck<BR>Willie

[Guest]

old guy, (YOU DA MAN!!) very nice article in the flint journal on you, your family and the monster truck. i will call you next week on this #**%%! problem of mine and i am printing out all the great idias so i can refer back to them and check and/or re-check them. <BR>thanks to all i will keep updating as we get this problem resolved and i am sure that it will be a small problem that is right in front of my face.<BR>joe, if you are going to the sloan show this year call me at (810)564-0119 and maybe we can discuss things there too.<BR>thanks<BR>camman.8 (ed)<BR>58 buick century 66r<BR>

[Guest Straight eight]

The West Michigan Chapter BCA put out a book of all kinds of helps, just for Buicks. They are a collection of tips and hints from 25 years in the Buick Bugle. Page 131, emailed to you separately shows some interesting Quadra-Jet info. Might help you.