TK-421
Member
Hello all. I recently picked up a Satellite Sebring that was turned into a Roadrunner clone. It's a 318 car with a column-shift 3 speed auto, nothing special. It used to be a blue on blue car but the exterior is black with a black 3/4 vinyl top, a good look I think. The 318 is lightly modded. One of the previous owners installed long-tubes, a mild cam (unknown grind), and a 4-barrel dual-plane Summit intake upon which sits a 600cfm Eddie carb (a 1405 I think). The car has largely been sitting in a barn for the last few years or so and taken out to drive maybe once a month. It was running when I received it. This is where the issues start.
The car was brought over on a trailer. It drove itself up the trailer then back off and parked over next to my Cougar. It was backfiring quite a bit at idle and off-throttle but it was otherwise running ok and sounded healthy. The owner mentioned the backfire before and I figured maybe the initial timing was off. I noticed it was backfiring only on the right bank so I checked out the plug wiring from the distributor and it turns out the wires for cylinders 2 and 4 had been swapped. I put that right and started her up. Backfire gone. The car was running but was stumbling a little so I adjusted the carb idle for best vacuum (only managed 7 in, seems low) then leaned it out a bit and it was idling nicely. It sounded good and returned to idle after revs without stumbling or stalling. This is when things went kinda pear-shaped.
I let the car sit and idle until warm, about 160 degrees according to the aftermarket temp gauge. At this point, the engine shut itself off. It was like someone just cut off the ignition. No stumbling at all, it simply shut off and wouldn't start again. After about ten minutes, I got it going again but only if I kept the RPMs up. Once I let it idle again it died. Since then I can't get it to start. Checked the carb and, despite the dirt, it seemed functional, accel pump and all. Threw a spark tester between plug and wire. Sure enough, no spark. Checked another cylinder on the opposite bank, same story. So, I'm thinking the issue is either the distributor, coil, or ballast. Though I haven't figured out how to test those so there's more research to do. I hear that Mopar ignition systems tend to have issues working when warm once they age some.
But there's more. The previous owner and I had replaced the spark plugs some days prior as they were horribly fouled. The engine had definitely been running rich for quite some time. Or perhaps poor spark had kept the fuel from burning properly. In any case, the new plugs are now fouled as well. The one I pulled was also still a little wet. Presumably from my unsuccessful efforts to start the engine. Is the carb or jetting too big maybe? I've read that a 600cfm suits a lightly built 318 just fine. And Eddies are usually fairly plug and play. The way the throttle linkage is set up doesn't quite look right to me, though. As I understand it, certain linkage kits and some creativity may be needed for proper mounting of a 4 barrel Eddie. Or maybe it is set up alright. I'm sure you'll know better.
Also, the carb is square bore but the intake is designed for a thermo-quad. This is certainly less than ideal. The cost for a new carb or intake is roughly the same so I'm thinking maybe to pick up an Eddie Air Gap intake. The ports will be a bit large but I intend to swap heads at some point. Should be ok in the meantime, I think.
So, yeah. That's what I've got going on. Sorry for the long first post. If you've got any advice to impart or pertinent threads to point to I'm happy to hear it.
The car was brought over on a trailer. It drove itself up the trailer then back off and parked over next to my Cougar. It was backfiring quite a bit at idle and off-throttle but it was otherwise running ok and sounded healthy. The owner mentioned the backfire before and I figured maybe the initial timing was off. I noticed it was backfiring only on the right bank so I checked out the plug wiring from the distributor and it turns out the wires for cylinders 2 and 4 had been swapped. I put that right and started her up. Backfire gone. The car was running but was stumbling a little so I adjusted the carb idle for best vacuum (only managed 7 in, seems low) then leaned it out a bit and it was idling nicely. It sounded good and returned to idle after revs without stumbling or stalling. This is when things went kinda pear-shaped.
I let the car sit and idle until warm, about 160 degrees according to the aftermarket temp gauge. At this point, the engine shut itself off. It was like someone just cut off the ignition. No stumbling at all, it simply shut off and wouldn't start again. After about ten minutes, I got it going again but only if I kept the RPMs up. Once I let it idle again it died. Since then I can't get it to start. Checked the carb and, despite the dirt, it seemed functional, accel pump and all. Threw a spark tester between plug and wire. Sure enough, no spark. Checked another cylinder on the opposite bank, same story. So, I'm thinking the issue is either the distributor, coil, or ballast. Though I haven't figured out how to test those so there's more research to do. I hear that Mopar ignition systems tend to have issues working when warm once they age some.
But there's more. The previous owner and I had replaced the spark plugs some days prior as they were horribly fouled. The engine had definitely been running rich for quite some time. Or perhaps poor spark had kept the fuel from burning properly. In any case, the new plugs are now fouled as well. The one I pulled was also still a little wet. Presumably from my unsuccessful efforts to start the engine. Is the carb or jetting too big maybe? I've read that a 600cfm suits a lightly built 318 just fine. And Eddies are usually fairly plug and play. The way the throttle linkage is set up doesn't quite look right to me, though. As I understand it, certain linkage kits and some creativity may be needed for proper mounting of a 4 barrel Eddie. Or maybe it is set up alright. I'm sure you'll know better.
Also, the carb is square bore but the intake is designed for a thermo-quad. This is certainly less than ideal. The cost for a new carb or intake is roughly the same so I'm thinking maybe to pick up an Eddie Air Gap intake. The ports will be a bit large but I intend to swap heads at some point. Should be ok in the meantime, I think.
So, yeah. That's what I've got going on. Sorry for the long first post. If you've got any advice to impart or pertinent threads to point to I'm happy to hear it.
