Car randomly dies won't start

[Trev]

Weird issue occurred today with my gf's 86. She broke down and her car quit running. It would crank endlessly whether your foot was on the pedal or not. She sat waiting 6+ hours for me to arrive and as soon as I got there I took off the cap, made sure it rotates (assuming its firing of course) so I know the timing belt didn't snap. Took off fuel line from fuel pump and turn the engine over and it squirted out, so its most likely getting fuel. Of course its getting air. So it was on an incline and I popped the clutch in gear several times and for some reason it started in reverse after a couple tries. Normally her car takes a good 2-3 seconds of cranking before it starts (cold/hot) and always runs. I'm thinking its probably a dreaded carb issue but what do you think?

[takza]

Would seem to be a weak ignition? Maybe the fuel filter?

[Petros]

sometimes electrical components work when cold, but cutout when hot. Will not restart until it cools down. If you can do a distributor swap as a "test" it would cover all ignition parts (igniter, coil, etc.). If it was really hot out, it could be vapor lock from overheated carb and fuel lines, vaporizing fuel in lines so carb runs out of liquid fuel. Problem goes away after engine cools off. If it happens again, dousing fuel lines and carb with cold water will usually allow it to start.

Need more information. What exactly happen when car "broke down"? Did it just die? How fast, how hot was it, other driving conditions? Did it make any noises, did it just shut off like it was turned off, or did it run weaker and weaker and than die?

[takza]

I finally pulled the dist from my wagon...had an issue where after a rain when it was sitting...it would miss and maybe stall until it was run for maybe 3-4 miles. Could find no loose wires...maybe a couple that were routed poorly. I replaced the coil and the ignitor with used ones from a spare dist...also a new o-ring on the bottom...oiled the weights and so far it starts and runs...not sure about the moisture sensitivity issue yet.

I once owned a carbed Falcon that would stall after driving for a while...would usually start after waiting a few minutes...sold it.

[takza]

Seems the wet weather issue has been fixed...guessing either the coil or igniter...no loose wires or corrosion were found.

[SynthDesign]

I'm having the same problem with my new build.
Most likely it's the coil inside the distributor.
From Toyota it's still available and around $93 and Rock auto has them from $20 to $142.
It's not to hard to replace. I'll be doing it this weekend sometime
I highly recommend against ACDelco. Absolute garbage! (It's what came in my re-manufactured Distributor from Rock Auto which I am now rebuilding with all Toyota Parts)

Also, I've never had an ignitor(ignition control module) die in any of my 3ac or 4ac powered vehicles.