Camarokid82

so I was moving dad's vette around the yard yesterday and it lost all its power. I stalled it almost 5 times just trying to get it out of its parking spot. and no its not my first time driving a clutch or even dealing with a mechanical clutch. it won't rev above 2500 rpm. at first I thought there was an issue with the secondaries on the carb but after some research I know thats not the case. even with some fresh gas it did run a little better but still can't hit that 2500 rpm mark.

here's the specs.
stock L-48 shortblock
307 heads
rv cam
stock q-jet with stock intake manifold.
everything else is stock to my knowledge.

MCVDiesel

...could it be out of gas?...sometimes the most ridiculously simple things are the answer! good luck!
Diesel

TedH

Perhaps a failing/failed ignition advance in the distributor? I'd pop the distributor cap and see if the advance weights/springs pivot freely. If no spark advance, it would probably be straining to run well above 2500rpm.

thom powers

lol, I learned that lesson a long time ago. My dad is an ex heavy equipment mechanic.
So anyway I had this pick up truck i was about 17." I thought i was a mechanic" worked on the truck all time and always had issues with the wire going from the coil to the starter leaning up against the headers and it getting hot and cutting out.
For 2 weeks I was convinced it was that dam wire i replaced it and a few other things. still couldn't get it to run.
Finally I put my tail between my legs and asked my dad for help. he comes out and tells me to crank it. First question he asks me does it have gas?" Yep just put 2 dollars in last week".. 2 seconds later he tells me its out of gas. I go get a gas can fill her up with 5 bucks of gas and she runs fine. I let the dam thing sit for two weeks because it was out of gas.
oh the memories!!

Camarokid82

I dumped 2 gallons of 91 octane from the only place in town that doesn't mix their gas with water so its definitely not out of gas. before I did the car wouldn't even stay running. it could be the vacuum advance. what about the coil? could that be giving me some grief?

7T1vette

You said you "moved it around in the yard", so I'm guessing that it sits outside. If so, it's possible that there is water in the fuel; and adding a couple of gallons wouldn't solve that problem.

Buy a bottle of HEET at the local quik-mart and put it in the tank. Give it a few minutes to mix well and try it again. If water settled in the tank it would sink to the bottom. HEET [alcohol] will allow the water to mix with the fuel and dilute it enough so that it will run OK.

If that doesn't work, it could be a bad/corroded battery wire/terminal causing a low voltage condition; or it could be a carb problem. But, try the HEET, first. It's easy to do and will likely solve your problem.

Jud Chapin

If the car is not taken out for a drive and fully warmed up periodically, moving it around in the yard is one of the worst things you can do. In doing this, the engine runs with the choke engaged dumping a lot of fuel into the cylinders and fouling out the plugs. Just a thought.

Easy Mike

2500 rpm is way more than you need to move the car around the yard. How long has it been sitting? When was the last time it saw 2500 rpm on the street?

If it moves at all, move it into the drive way and tune it.

Camarokid82

that poor car is so underpowered with the sh*tty cam and cr*p 307 heads I had to hold it at 2k and feathered the clutch just to get the car to start rocking so I could get it out of it's spot. its been sitting in the same spot for a good 4 years and its been about 3-4 months since its been run and there was definitely not any water in the gas because there was barely anything in the tank when I tried to fire it up the first time. but yes it does sit outside because we don't have a garage.

DBez93

Gas decomposes over time and turns into sludge that can line the bottom of a tank and plug up fuel lines/carb jets... I'd try a FULL tank of gas with some seafoam or Lucas Oil fuel system cleaner, a car that's sat for 4 years will never be a happy camper... After you get it running right add some fuel stabilizer to the tank... I'm only 20 but I grew up tinkering with old cars, first time i rebuilt a motor (old vw boxer) i was 12...and 4 year old gas will never burn right...

Una4dbl55

[QUOTE=Camarokid82;1586743301]that poor car is so underpowered with the sh*tty cam and cr*p 307 heads I had to hold it at 2k and feathered the clutch just to get the car to start rockingQUOTE]


just a thought, but, maybe thats why it's been sitting this long in the first place,
possibly never got tuned right to begin with?

stumpshot

After sitting that long I'd pull the carb and clean it, check the choke system, adjust the floats, check the jets and put in a new fuel filter. More than likely the carb is nothing but varnish and rust after that amount of time. You may also have a plugged fuel line or a bad pump. Overall though, it sounds like a fuel problem but what do I know?
Good luck!

Camarokid82

[QUOTE=Una4dbl55;1586744890]no its been tuned for here. its been sitting because my parents were changing jobs a lot from the economy and we couldn't afford to keep everything insured and it just happened to be one of the few cars that lost its insurance. it also got parked because the snap ring on the driver side half shaft broke.