Because this issue was very interesting and caused much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth, I thought I would share it with everyone. This was bar none the strangest thing I have ever experienced.
The Truck - 1971 C10 Cheyenne w/ a 350, 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, HEI, but otherwise stock.
The Conditions - Temps were in the 50's with a very strong South wind. It was blowing about 25-35 mph. Yes, this is important
The Symptoms - The truck started out running just fine. I drove for 3 miles with no issues. Then I turned East onto the highway and started having problems. The engine was cutting out at various speeds and throttle positions. It quit 3 times in one mile but would start right back up. I stopped on an approach and turned around to drive home to work on it. When I headed West the problems stopped and the truck ran fine. If I drove South or North the truck ran fine. But, if I drove East the engine would cut out again. Only when I was driving East did this happen, any other direction the truck ran fine. No, I'm not crazy
. My dad rode with me and was witness to this madness.
The Fix - I ruled out any fuel flow issues, it was not anything to do with being under load since I could put the engine under load in any direction except East and not have any problems. So, I started to look at electrical issues. I looked at wiring in the engine compartment and found that the power wire for the distributor had an exposed splice that was behind the engine. What was happening was when driving East the turbulent air flow was causing the wire to move and short against the engine, killing it. I taped up the exposed splice and then went on a 50 mile drive to the East with absolutely no problems. This was one of those deals where the weather pointed out an issue. I hope someone can get a chuckle out of this because I thought it was hilarious.
