Insanity aside, the subject line was what I was told by the last shop to look at my car. I don't know if any of you remember the posts 89rocs put up about this car, but it's been quite awhile.

Here's the deal: approx. 1/3 of the time the car runs great, idles fine, has power. 1/3 it will not start at all(hear starter but will not catch). The other 1/3 of the time it will start but run very choppily, sputter and do other rude things to the point that it can't be driven. Completely random as to which one you get.

The last mechanic shop to look at it, who happened to have it since March, has rebuilt the carb, replaced the distributor, swapped out sensors, replaced fuel filters, ad nauseum. This is one of the top engine rebuild shops in the state...

Their last word on the subject was it's either the computer or the harness. Plus the "ghost" comment, which I didn't find funny at the time. The car is now sitting in my side yard. Any ideas whatsoever? How difficult is it to replace the computer? The harness? The motor has less that 20k miles on it.(rebuilt)

I really don't want to get rid of it, but it's been broken down and in and out of the shop since oh, I'd say, March or April of last year. According to everyone who's looked at it, everything checks out normally, all the volts are right and going to the right places, 2/3 of the parts are new. It gets fuel, air flow is fine. It passed state inspection without a problem last February. Problem did start out small and gradually develop into what's happening now. At first, it would sputter like it was running out of gas while driving at a steady speed. If I kept my foot steady on the gas it would smooth out and be fine.

I apologize for the long post, but I'm at the end of my rope with this vehicle lol. Thank you in advance for any advice, including to sell it...

 

Why are you having a engine rebuild place diagnose and fix your car? Doesn't seem like the best idea to me.

 

They do repairs as well as rebuilds...you would not believe the number of shops who don't even have diag equipment for a V8...at least these guys know the difference between a 305 and a 350...

 

Well it sounds like there saying it coudl be a bad computor. Possibly would explain the off and on glitches. There not that hard to change out.

 

When all else fails...take it to the dealership.

 

Wow, thats a horrible damned idea. Take a 15+ year old CARBURETED car into a dealership for diagnosis.

What you need to do is to work on diagnosing the car when it has its no-start condition.

I would also look to purchasing a new ECM. DO NOT TURN IN YOUR OLD ONE FOR CORE! Just swap the old for new (remembering to swap proms as well) and run the car with the new ECM lying in the passenger side footwell.

If that doesn't fix the problem, return the ECM and get your money back.

But I would bet ecm, ignition system, or wiring between the two.