74 Maverick 250 auto The car was in the shop previously and had carb rebuilt amongst other things to make the car roadworthy. The car was driven about 300 miles before the car started coughing and running rough, really rough. I went through it - put a reman RBS carb on it with a new filter plus cap, rotor, wires and plugs. The car ran decent, put about 10 miles on it to get it inspected and what-not. Put a tank of gas in it and it started running like it had previously. Got it back to the garage, pulled the tank thinking the tank was trashed but it wasn't - actually looks to have been replaced within the last 5-10 years. blew out the fuel line just to be safe. Replaced the carb under warranty and that carb had choke issues so I replaced that carb. I replaced the coil, points and condensor and gapped the points to proper setting. NO CHANGE. Knowing the possibility of faulty ignition parts, I changed the points and condensor with another set I bought for backup. NO CHANGE AGAIN. Tried to start it today and it ran rough for about 10 seconds, smoothed out for another 10 seconds and died. I looked down the throat of the carb and saw raw fuel sitting in the intake........ugggh. I don't know if this carb is junk too or if I flooded the car trying to get it started.
Mine acted like that with a really dirty fuel filter letting crap get into the needle valve. Didn't just plug the filter but kind of blew out a part of it. Tank had two scratches in the plating that had rusted, rest of it looked good.
Here's where I'd go next. I have a '75 250. So far, it sounds like you addressed the most obvious culprits. I'd look at the fuel pump and then the distributor next as already mentioned. Mechanical fuel pumps do go bad also. I've found out that aftermarket carbs are not necessarily great. I bought one, can't remember the brand, and ended up rebuilding the original Carter. Hated the way it ran on the new one. I will recommend ditching the points and going with a Pertronix system, either substituting the system for the points or a total distributor swap. They make both. You'll thank me in the long run.
1. Did you just bought this car? If so, how long was it parked in someones back yard? Cars usually gets parked for a good reason. Bad motor, trans, carb, Ignition or whatever. From siting for so long. Other things adds up to repair package. 2. If you,ve had this car and its been running perfectly fine and it started acting up. You,ll have some hints for us. 3. You mentioned putting car in a shop to rebuild carb and to make it roadworthy. What type of shop did this work?
That's not necessarily true, Ike. Many old cars just get parked because nobody wants to drive them anymore or a spouse won't part with it. It does happen. Mine sat for 21 years because the owner died and nobody else wanted to buy or use the car or the widow didn't want it to be used by anyone else. I know of a '68 Shelby that sat in a widow's garage for years after her husband died and while she would let people look at it, she refused to sell it and it sat under blankets as a shrine. These scenarios happen more often than you think. Sure, some are due to mechanical issues that aren't or can't be dealt with but my examples do happen as well.
Thanks. I've verified the tank is clean, and I 've got a clear filter to see the condition of fuel coming into the carb.
Is the breaker plate assembly inside dist that mounts points secure? It moves(rotates slightly) when vacuum advance activates. Can be two problems. First if pivot is worn(common), that allows point gap setting to vary. Second should be a small ground strap from breaker plate to dist housing(at least there is on V8). If strap is missing/broken, points will not ground properly, causing everything from misfire to total loss of ign. Plugging vacuum to dist can be a big aid in troubleshooting above issue(s). If pivot bushing is worn, eliminating vac advance can add some stability to breaker plate. As far as general drivability/poor running, carbs are at fault far more often than ign. Checking fuel pressure is a good idea, if it's maintaining around 5psi, all's well with fuel delivery. Low will cause lean, sluggish condition while much over 7/8 psi, can cause flooding & probably rough running issues EDIT... I pulled out the shop manual & yes there should be a ground strap from breaker plate to housing.
I have verified the ground strap, both visually and with continuity. I'll double check the play in the pivot tomorrow.
I agree many reason people stop driving. But let your car sit too long and you,ll chase problems just as this guy is now.
To insure your ignition is good. Check each wire for a good spark. Should be blue. Orange spark is weak.
You're quite right there. No car likes to sit too long or too frequently. Especially our older ones. I'm banking on his issue being fuel related ultimately. Just something tells me that. After my experience with an aftermarket replacement for my YFA, it sounds like that's where I'd concentrate my efforts.
