Car stalls and I'm getting frustrated

Here's the deal...My '66 Coronet 500 has the original 361, but with a Carter AFB, MP aluminum dual plane intake, MP ignition with a black Mopar ECU, '70 440 exhaust manifolds, and a stock coil. I also have a set of Mallory 8mm wires and a coil, of which I forget the brand. The fuel tank, sending unit, tank filter, rubber lines, filter, hard lines going in and out of the pump, and fuel pump have all been replaced over the past year. The carb has a new accelerator pump. The cap and rotor are new. The reluctor gap has been checked twice and it is dead-on. The battery is fully-charged and the voltmeter reads 14.2VDC at idle. Timing is set at the point where I don't get any pinging on acceleration, and I run real gas (91 octane mid-range grade)

It still stalls as I hit the gas, especially in gear!

Most of what I replaced above has been a part of my ongoing restoration and simply replacing things as I can afford to. I nearly always need to prime the carb to get the car to start, especially from a cold start. Once I'm going down the road, it acts like it's not getting enough fuel. At about 55, it runs great. Over 70 is when it feels like there is not enough fuel. Like I said before, the car will stall at idle and be a real PITA to restart without priming the carb...

Keep in mind, I've driven the car maybe 500 miles in the past year. It has sat from mid-October until today, and the same conditions existed the last time I drove the car. Today, I replaced the fuel pump, because that is what it felt like the car was doing was not getting enough fuel. It IS running a bit better, but not to where it should be.

Anyone have a possible solution? I'm just a bit pissed at the moment about the whole thing and need a fresh perspective. All of the adjustments are things I have done one at a time. Nothing I've done has worsened the condition, and it is modestly better than when I started.

Float level?

Right on the money. Checked that when I did the accelerator pump.

Sounds like you have the basics covered and then some.
Maybe use a guage to check fuel pressure. Also check manifold vacuum.

Did this just start all of a sudden or did it come on gradually?

Check for water in the fuel too.

I would get a fuel pressure guage on it. Is your gas tank or fuel cap vented? Do you have a return line ?

I would suggest checking your fuel pump push rod for wear. Especially if it's the original rod and has never been replaced. an easy $ 35 fix.

twecomm said:

I would suggest checking your fuel pump push rod for wear. Especially if it's the original rod and has never been replaced. an easy $ 35 fix.

Click to expand...

X2. I had the same symptoms and after replacing the fuel pump it turned out to be the dang fuel pump push rod.

khryslerkid said:

Sounds like you have the basics covered and then some.
Maybe use a guage to check fuel pressure. Also check manifold vacuum.

Did this just start all of a sudden or did it come on gradually?

Check for water in the fuel too.

Click to expand...

2X on checking for a vacuum leak.

I had the same problem had to replace fuel pump rod it was wore badly

I pull the plug and drop the rod with every pump replacement. Stick a little grease on it a push it back in place. Holds it right were it should be for pump replacement. You will know the rods condition that way at pump replacement.

What is the number on the carb? It sounds really lean and in need of a composite carb spacer to help with fuel percolation in the fuel bowl. Don't ask me how I know!

These are all really good points. Now that I think about it - my car would stall when I get on it - fuel pump push rod fixed it.

Then I noticed a hard warm start issue - fuel boiling, 1" phenolic spacer fixed that.

Then one day the damn thing wouldn't stay running without my foot on the throttle - the rear vacuum port cap (Holley 750) had blown off. It backfired a couple of times through the carb while I was tuning it and I'm guessing a backfire blew it off. But who knows?

Clogged fuel filter? That too might be worth a look.