I have a 1971 Cutlass with a 455 in it. Not sure what has been done to the motor... but it is pretty lumpy sounding and has headers. I think it has been tweaked a bit... but not sure.

The problems are the following:

Hard to start. Brand new battery. A few pumps of the pedal and a long turn of the key can get her going, and then feather the throttle and she'll stay alive. Let off the gas... done. Once warmed up this is better... but not solved.

After driving for five to ten minutes, she wants to stall out when stopped and in drive. Feels JUST on the verge of stalling, but if I give her a little gas she'll stay alive.

Turn on the AC... goodnight. Stalls within 10 seconds.

I DO have a small leak in the front of the intake manifold... could that be causing enough of a vacuum leak to cause this? Rest of the vacuum hoses look okay. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

 

I would fix the vacuum leak first.

 

It could simply be that the idle is to low, fast idle and hot idle.

 

Yes. Classic vacuum leak symptoms.

Also, is your choke working?

Welcome to ClassicOlds.

- Eric

 

Definitely fix the vacuum leak first. How do you know there is a leak there? One way to tell is to take a propane torch and open the valve (without it being lit). Point it around the mating surfaces of the intake to the block with the engine running. If the engine speeds up there is a vacuum leak. It does not take much of a vacuum leak to make an engine perform poorly at idle. Welcome to CO and good luck.

 

I am not SURE there is a vacuum leak... but I have a nice but not drastic oil leak coming from the front of the intake manifold... so I have to assume that is affecting my vacuum.

I am going to change the intake gasket, the plugs and wires and am converting to HEI... so I will replace all vacuum hoses when it is all off... and clean the carb while I am at it.

Any other pointers?

 

Yes. Do not make modifications to an engine that isn't running right.
Fix it first, then add geegaws.

- Eric

 

I agree... I am not planning to do anything to the motor. The HEI is simply because the old points ignition seems old and worn... and it isn't any more expensive to upgrade to a better HEI system. It can only help... right? She is plenty fast for now... this is just a cruiser, not a drag machine... so getting it running reliably and with maximum efficiency is my priority.

 

I am not super savvy on carbs, at least the q jet... how would I check to see if the choke is working?

 

With the engine cold, rotate the throttle to take the pressure off of the fast idle cam.
Look at the carb - is the choke closed?

- Eric

 

Okay... I feel like an idiot here... because I have no experience with this. Turns out the car has a manual choke. The choke was pushed all the way in... all the time. Is this right, wrong, okay? I have zero experience with manual chokes... so not sure on this one at all. When I pull the choke **** out, the flaps on the carb primaries close. Push in... they are wide open. So how do I manipulate this ancient piece of annoyance?

 

When you start the engine the choke should be pulled out, once the car warms a bit and your ready to drive off then you push the choke in and open the flap all the way. So since it was open and your having issues when the engine warms up, I would rule that out.

Set your idle speed to around 650-700 rpm in gear and see if it will stay running.

 

Well, before getting a chance to do the intake manifold gasket, was driving on the freeway the other night and smelled the lovely smell of burning oil. Got home, popped the hood and there is oil all over the engine compartment. Mostly located on the passenger side. Some pools on top of the intake manifold are the biggest areas, as well as the area directly under the front of the intake where the oil fill tube is. Can't see where it all came from since the fan did a good job of spreading the wealth!

My THEORY was that oil must've begun to leak out of the oil fill tube maybe and get blown around? I replaced the PCV valve in the passenger cover and installed a new breather on the drivers cover. Also replaced the oil cap with a breather. Haven't had a chance to drive it yet since these changes to see if they worked. But... any other ideas?

Thanks!