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Major Carb Failure - Street Avenger

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Tech @ BG 
#1 ·
I put a 383 into my '68 Elky last weekend and have noticed all week a hesitaion during acceleration at all RPM's. It's a roller motor, Vortec heads, 9.5:1, Mallory HEI, Holley Street Avenger 670, Edelbrock Air Gap, headers and Flowmasters.

After reading many posts on this board about this problem I determined that the hesitation could be caused by either a faulty accelerator pump, incorrect timing or vacuum advance not functioning. Well today I'm driving home from work thinking about how I'm going to fix the hesitation problem, I step on the gas, it sputters and dies. Fuel was all over the manifold and I could not get it started again. When I turned the engine over without giving it any gas, fuel floods into the carb. AAA had to tow me home

How hard is it to rebuild this thing and is it worth it? What could be the problem?

Any help greatly appreciated.: embarrass
 
#2 ·
H'mmm

Sounds to me like maybe a stuck float or perhaps a bit of grit has gotten in and stuck on a needle seat maybe..Hard to say just what unless the carb is in hand so to speak..

Holley does have a good online tech support that can help you with the particulars..as far as rebuild or replace it is certainly woirth rebuilding that carb as the kits are not all that much..Compared to buying a whole new carb that is..

Sorry you had the problem..

OMT
 
#4 ·
Ditto OneMoreTime. It really sounds like you have got some trash stuck in the needle and seat, not shutting off fuel flow when the float is at maximum height. I like ot use a high flow filter before and after the fuel pump, just for a little extra insurance.

It sounds like you have more than one problem though, especially with the sputter. Get a holley cam kit, and test test test. As for rebuilding, get a Holley or BG kit, and the instructions are included. Just take your time.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the responses. I'm using a Holley Street pump that claims to flow 6-8 psi and a pretty good filter. I don't know my pressure as I don't have a pressure regulator or gauge.

Interesting fact that I forgot to mention earlier is that while I was stuck on the side of the road, I noticed that there was no fule visible in the fuel windows and when I looked into the carb, there was easily a quarter inch of fuel sitting on top of the butterfles.

Wildman, you mentioned a cam kit. Is this part of the rebuild kit and is rebuilding this thing really hard to do? I've never done it. Also, arent ther differrent cam sizes? Which size would you recommend?

Thanks....
 
#6 ·
Holley site

I checked out the Holley site and there is some good online docs on your carb..need to have the model # tho..

also there is an online tech support area where you can ask about your issue..

Hope you get it fixed

OMT
 
#7 ·
Interesting fact that I forgot to mention earlier is that while I was stuck on the side of the road, I noticed that there was no fule visible in the fuel windows and when I looked into the carb, there was easily a quarter inch of fuel sitting on top of the butterfles.
That could either be too much fuel as these guys have already said(caused by trash in the neddle&seat or a fuel logged float).

Or there really wasn't enough fuel in the bowl. This happens when the carb overheats and the fuel boils. Pretty unlikely in the winter, but something to note.


If you try to restart your car now, how does it act?
 
#9 ·
The heck with the tech lines. Anyone that owns a Holley needs to know how they work, and how to work on them. Get SA Design's Holley book. It will tell you what you need to know about Holleys.

There are too many things that can go wrong with Holleys that will all share the same symptoms. You can talk all day long about it, but the only way to find out for sure is to check for yourself.

Dirt in the floats could cause your problem.

Your airbleeds could be dirty.

There could be a piece of gasket stuck in a passage way.

Start by verifying that the carb is in fact flooding. You will see the gas dripping from the boosters after you shut the engine down.
 
#10 ·
If this problem has been getting worse, til the point of finally shutting off you'll most likely fix the problem by cleaning out the carburetor, and installing new gaskets.

The quickest simplest thing to do would be to remove the carburetor from the vehicle, remove the float bowls, and N&S assemblies. Clean out the N&S, spray out all of the holes in the main body, and metering blocks with some carburetor cleaner, and reinstall with fresh bowl and metering block gaskets. Re-install, and reset your float levels. This should get you back to a starting point where you can begin to tune.
 
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