Hey guys, maybe you can help me on this, I'm getting close to selling my car, and I really dont want that option.

Here's the symptom. Occasionally, I'll go to start it, it'll turn and turn and turn, nothing. I'll try it again... Nothing.. then it's flooded. I've had to leave it at my girlfriends, I've had to leave it at work, I've had to drive a jeep for Christ sakes.. I need my car working.

It seems to happen if I drive it somewhere and leave it from anywhere from half an hour to 6 hours.. and I find that it becomes harder to start after half an hour (more turns before starting)

Here's what I've replaced in the attempt to reattain reliability:

-brand new carburetor (holley street avenger 670cfm -- wasnt cheap)(figured if it was flooding, it might've been the carb)
EDIT: originally had a quadrajet on it, then an edelbrock which caught fire- two choke wires melted on chrome rocker cover.. etc.. at a chevron no less.. no actual damage, could post pics if anyone was interested), then I put a quadrajet which turns out leaked fuel, fixed that.. but only recently has this non-starting issue started.
-brand new plugs (figured maybe dirty plugs)
-it has a new distributor on it with maybe 10,000km on it, I have a new coil in a box next to it.

I've timed it several times. I've tuned the carb. I've tried everything.

My car stats:
1985 IROC-Z
305 HO bone stock (with the exception of the carb, plugs, aircleaner, and valve covers)
clutch fan removed for electric fan
fresh battery
700R4 with T tops
open diff.. etc..


Please, I beg the gods of thirdbody, help me get my car reliable again, I just had a baby boy, I need him to learn to drive on this thing.

 

Is your distributor still computer controlled? If you swapped to a holley you need a vacuum advance distributor

 

is the return line for the fule pump hooked up?
sound like vapor lock.

Also i will agree with the previous post, if the original dizzy was CC and you removed the CC quadrajet, there will be an issue there as well. You will need a non computer controlled dizzy.

 

X3 on the distributer issue... the stock distributer is computer controlled for timing, i didnt even think a motor would run without a mechanical distributer when your running a carbed setup. if you have changed over to the correct distributer and you still are having this problem, i would check anything in the ignition system, considering you ovbiously have fuel and air... coil, igniter, dist. cap, plug wires etc.

 

Ok I had two mechanics rip apart everything I've done.. I'll fault my own idiocy first.

I removed the clutch fan for an electric fan. It's on a switch, and sometimes, I forget to turn the switch on, which cooks the engine bay.. I turn the engine off and leave the fan running or something, but still it overheats..

its usually at those times when I come back to my car and it doesnt start.. I never put 1 and 1 together, and we figured out (thankfully I still had the clear float plugs in the holley for tuning) that the fuel in the primary bowls had vaporized, and thats why my car wasnt starting..

I thank you all for your quick replies.. I signed up here a while ago so I could learn as much as I could about this car.. I love driving it, and now that it's reliable again, I plan to enjoy it for many miles (or km) to come.

Thanks all

 

Get a seperate fan controller from any auto parts store - they can be had for as little as $35. They have a probe that sticks inbetween the fins of the radiator to sense temp, and turn the fan on for you.

You keep forgetting and letting it overheat like that, and the fuel isn't the only thing that's gonna vaporize!

 

Or alternatively... (Forgive me for being old school and refusing to embrace technology ) you can go back to a mechanical setup, and not have to worry about it.