Car died for 20 min after a few bouts of hard acceleration

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Mattbearpig

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Okay team,

BLUF: car died and wouldn’t start for about half an hour after a few pulls.

I have a new to me 273 Commando in my ‘67 Barracuda… today I was driving around trying to waste gas (prior owner did not warn me of gas leak when above 3/4 tank). In an attempt to waste as much gas in as short a time as possible, I was doing some hard acceleration while rolling (between 30-45 mph). After doing so about 5 times, I heard a pop and thought it might be something sinister (I think it was a backfire ). Upon looking under the car, nothing was leaking besides the aforementioned gas… while looking under the car died and wouldn’t start back up for 30 min or so.

I’m wondering if potentially I flooded the carb doing those hard pulls and that’s why it didn’t start? It cranked just fine but didn’t seem to be getting gas or spark. About 30 min after sitting on the side of the road (and looking over every facet of the car) she randomly started and drove fine all the way home.

Pic for attention.

IMG_4114.jpeg
 
The distributor is tight and I checked all of those connections. I reckoned if it were timing it would have started up soon after it cut off and wouldn’t have ran fine after the 30 min or so wait time. I could be wrong though.
 
yup sounds like ignition or Id say electric fuel pump? either way check for spark, fuel, timing , internal mechanical damage any of these 4 things cause a engine to not run.
 
I see it's a 67 barracuda
You say it has a 273 commando engine

But we need more info...

What modifications to the wiring?
What ignition system?
Mechanical or electronic fuel pump?
What carb?


It has been my experience that delayed restart is due to overheated electronics

Once they cool they are fine for a while.

Mid 70s Ford electronic ignition boxes were notorious for it.

If it's points check that the ballast is wired correctly so after starting it is getting less than battery voltage.


So based only on your description,

Point ignition...
  1. Look at ballast for correct wiring.
  2. Swap in a known good coil
  3. Swap out the condenser

Electronic ignition...
  1. Look at ballast for correct wiring
  2. Swap out a known working ignition module
 
yeah but why not just check for spark...then check for fuel then...da dit da dit da de...I tell ya the worst is when it dies ya get it towed then it cools down and starts up like nothing ever happened... :lol: :poke: :thumbsup:
 
Professor Fate said:
Actually, that isn't a bad thought- Although I'd consider bad tank venting instead of vapor lock.
Click to expand...
Yeah I had it happen 20 + years ago on my 318 in my dart. It was a 600 Holley with headers. The fix ended up being I had to pull the fuel line 1/4 inch from the exhaust and it never happened again. But I would put gas in it get going hard on the highway and it would shut down like out of gas...I put up with it for a while stopping on the side of the road waiting for 15 minutes then it would start up etc. it would do it alot in the summer in summer also. I figure gas was boiling in the lines good ol vapor lock. I will also say this that was my first experience with vapor lock before that I thought it was a myth but it really happens especially with todays gas.
 
Probably not a tank vent issue, it is leaking fuel. It would suck in air if it was under vacuum. It might be vapor lock and it lean popped. Where is it leaking from?
 
Start under the hood, check for spark if theres spark spray carb cleaner down the throat see if it fires over if it does and runs a few seconds it isnt getting gas, then go from there...but if its getting both pull plugs see if fouled then check timing. Alot can be figured out right under the hood...it could bee anything but ya want it to be something stupid quick and easy to fix...
 
Dartswinger70 said:
yeah but why not just check for spark...then check for fuel then...da dit da dit da de...I tell ya the worst is when it dies ya get it towed then it cools down and starts up like nothing ever happened... :lol: :poke: :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
THIS!! Your CW, tho, is QLF LOL
 
The fastest way to see if it's the coil going bad is to look at the bottom of the coil and if it's cup shaped rather than flat, and if you pull the coil wire our and oil is present those are signs that the coil is going bad and it won't be long until it's completely gone and yes this is from personal experience
 
Well, if your 67 was converted to hydraulic lifters, my guess would be that the lifters pumped up, and the engine lost compression. Then, after some time went by, some of the lifters bled down enough to make compression and she started right up.
But, your 67 should have solids in it, in which case, I have nothing to say, except, check the fuel-tank vent, and the shape of the tank; the pop could have been an imploding tank wall ..
 
Matt,
Your car looks very nice in white!

Thoughts on the problem:
- carb flooded
- water/dirt in carb especially if using E fuel.
 
Hey, @Mattbearpig, have you tried any of the ideas in the other posts yet. I am very curious what the problem is. That happened to me in a 65 Corvette I restored. I stopped to get some gas, and it wouldn't start. It was running great, and everything in and on the motor was new, so I knew it wasn't anything drastic. The first thing I looked at was the distributor. It was loose. I got it started and tightened the base nut with a borrowed wrench. I am hoping that your problem is likewise simple. One other thing to check, and this happened to me also, is the points. I had the little tab that rides against the cam lobe in the distributor and opens the points break off. So the points were not opening.
 
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