The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks New Holley Carb but issues.

Hello fellow Chevy owners. I just put a Holley 4brl 650 on my 65' C20 'MadDog' because i had a edelbrock that was trash. I have a SBC 350 with turbo 400at. I am now getting a misfire sounding like its right in the dash close to the distributor. Im running a distributor with points still and have been told that I need to go MSD. Anyways it is missing and almost sounds like it running on 7 cylinders instead of 8. Any help would be appreciated. MadDog

It doesn't sound like a condition with the carb. Make sure you dont have plug wire pulled off or 2 wires crossed. A bad vacuum leak can act like a missfire. Check the vacuum connections at the outlet in the manifold behind the carb.

Holley VS Edelbrock- - - - - -that's like getting beaten to death with a stick or a rock. Anything other than the original equipment Quadrajet is a big step backwards. Was the engine missing before you swapped carbs? Try using the gas from an unlit Propane torch to check for vacuum leaks. Turn the gas on and move the nozzle around all the gasket sealing surfaces. If it gets picked up by a vacuum leak the engine will smooth out or speed up. It's also easy to swap plug wires between cylinders 5 and 7. They're side by side on the distributor cap.
Jerry

Thanks for your reply. I checked all plugs and wires and they are good. I also haven't found any vacuum leeks either. Still scratchin my head!

Thanks for the reply. It was not missing this bad before the swap but yes when I laid into the gass it would usually backfire and miss along with massive power loss. It would almost feel like it was starving for fuel type of feeling. Now if i step on it either from a stop or in any gear it misses and not responding like a V8 should at all. I will have to try the propane thing but I have sprayed carb cleaner with it running all over and didnt see any leaks when I did that.

Check your vacuum advance to see if it’s working properly.🛠

Thanks for the reply. I have checked the Advance. I took the distributor cap off and disconnected the vac line into carb and sucked on it and it moved the mechanisms inside the distributor just fine and had a strong suction. This is a mechanic trick that the original owner that is 92 told me to do. He was a mechanic his whole life and was the one i bought the truck from. So I have been looking at the MSD Ready to Run distributors and may just have to go with new school meets old school!

Dose anybody have recommendation on HEI ready to run distributors? And what is your opinion on them compared to original points distributor?

MadDog, start a new thread. HEI has nothing to do with a Holley Carb issue. By keeping topics separate it makes for easier searching for those who follow along behind us. Thanks🛠

Thanks

So its been over a month since I have even touched good old MadDog. It sucks but been super busy off getting married and stuff. Anyways really want to get him running right and am at a loss. Are any of you Chevy owners close by in southern California? If so let me know and I would love some help getting him back out and screaming down the streets. Thanks!