I'm very new to these forums so I hope I'm posting in the right area to begin with.

The problem: Cranks up (normally) ASAP. If you make it out of the driveway and the car seems to be running fine, you start to apply the gas and get going then it starts to stall out and if you try to press the gas in it sputters and stops. That's it the best I can describe.

Some history of the car:
I bought the car around a week ago from a local dealers uncle. His uncle was the second owner of the car and had driven it only a little bit, it's never been wrecked and as for as I know has mostly original parts under the hood and exterior wise.

With that said, his uncle let it sit in the dealership parking lot for 8 years only being moved 2 to 4 times in that 8 years.

When I purchased the car they filled up the gas tank and off I went. It drove fine for the first couple of days and then when it got down to a quarter tank of gas it begin to shut off in the middle of driving it. It was though it wasn't getting enough gas or something or another. So I started to slowly replace things and here is the list so far:

Spark plugs
Spark plug wires
Dist. Cap
Rotor button
Brand new starter ( Starter had given out after trying to crank it so much after dying out in mid drive)
Air filter
Battery

Today I used Seafoam in it and just a small amount of white smoke came out. But again I'm not able to drive it as it stalls out and is getting worse.

I've been told by a couple of friends of mine to drop the gas tank and clean it out VERY GOOD, since it sat with all that crap in it for so long.

Another thing to point out is when I push in the choke on the carb and have my friend crank it, it starts up fine, when I release the choke it starts to die off.

Anything you can add and help get this baby running is much appreciated and I'm sorry for the big block of text you have to read.

Garrett

 

Hmmmmmm... Thats a good one..

 

It sounds like a clogged fuel filter or fuel tank filter sock.

 

Awesome I'll have to change the Filter I haven't really thought about that to be honest.

Now where exactly would the Fuel Tank Filter Sock be?

 

The filter sock is in the tank and part of the sending unit assy. Your best bet would to drop the tank and pressure wash the inside with HOT water if at possible. Eight years is a long time to have been sitting and just started up to move it around the car lot. As stated above also replace the fuel filter at the carb inlet.

 

Alright by what I have seen, to drop the tank I'll pretty much have to do undo most of the stuff in the back such as the sway bar etc.?

 

To drop the tank you need to lower the rear suspension and exhaust. To drop the suspension enough to clear the tank without a huge battle, youll need to detach the shocks from the axle. I dont generally have to detach the sway bar or torque arm but it will make the job easier, especially if youre working on the ground. The exhaust can be lowered by disconnecting it at the rear of the cat, detaching it from the body and letting it lay on the rear axle.

 

Alright then, I should be able to do that as soon as I get the filter next week. I have brand new shocks that I bought a week ago and never got around to putting them on, so I might as well do that while I'm underneath it.

I appreciate the help you have given me with your advice and I will post back as soon as I've cleaned out the tank and replaced the filter and see if that resolved the issue.

Here is to hoping it does lol.

 

Its okay by the way to flush the tank if its really cruddy inside. Use hot water, a spray nozzle and slosh a mixture of Simple Green and hot water around in the tank for a bit. Then rinse it throroughly with hot water. Be sure to dry the tank thorougly after clreaning. On a hot day just lay it in the driveway. The heat from the sun will dry it pretty quick, If its cool out you may need to set it in front of a heater for a few hours. A bottle of HEAT after reinstallation will insure that any water residue is removed.

 

Sounds good, my friend and I will be doing this tomorrow, I got the filter today and have shocks to replace anyways so we will be dropping the tank tomorrow night. I'm now having a problem getting it to turn over though =/ It seems to me as though the starter has gone bad again? Not sure though. Battery is charged great and keeping a charge. So no idea what it could be.

 

Check cables and connections between batt+ and starter, batt- and engine block.

 

Battery was dead for some reason.

Hooked it up to my friends camaro for about 5 minutes and it started right up.

Had a mechanic next door look at it and he told me that I needed a new Carb, so I'll be getting an Edelbrock 500CFM 4barrel quad.

Hopefully this fixes it.

 

Edelbrock, bah! Go Qjet!!

 

I agree. Q-jet or Holley.

 

yea is it still the computer controlled carb set up??? i got rid of mine because it cought on fire.... now if so u will have to get a diffrent carb,and distributer..

i would put a holley on it. and find a hei distributer then u will have it made.. another thing is that motor should have the z28 intake which is a spred boar, u might be better off just finding a used intake for ur new carb. craigslist/ebay is ur friend

and for the battery, check connections, check for drains? usually the alt drains the battery

 

To be honest I'm not sure if it's Computer controlled setup still. I believe it is but I could be wrong.

Craigslist, gotta love it =]

And I was actually thinking it might be the alternator, if it is then I have a question about this,

My friend has a 92 camaro that has a 305 in it that still has a good alternator in it, do you think it would be fine to put that alternator in my 84? Or would I need to buy a new alternator all together?


EDIT/New info: So my friend just got it to start up and drove it around the block staying in second gear, as he started to accelerate and go into third gear it stalled out, so it seems it stalls out going into third gear? Could that still be something with the fuel system?

 

The 92 uses a serpentine accessory drive. The alternator from the 92 will not fit your 84. Check it out to be sure. The stall going into 3rd is your fuel system. The increased load of the higher gear is causing an increased demand for fuel. Thus the stall.

 

Excellent reply Ase. This has helped me out a lot.

So I have 3 possibilities, Fuel Pump, Gas Tank, and Carb.

I'll definitely have my friend bring the alternator over, wouldn't hurt to check to be sure.