Something is not quite right

[irowiki]

So I've been driving Paddle around because um, Paddle happens to be the only car I have left at the moment.

Edit: after I walked away I realized it sounded like problems Dad was having with Pokey, see this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10812&hilit=starting

Except he never had running problems after he got Pokey started.

We swapped a carb in because the previous owner thought a carb rebuild was taking the top off, cleaning it out and putting it back together... who knows what he lost but it wouldn't run... also replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor.

So she'll start right up when cold, and run fine. Most of the time will run fine when warmed up. However I think the thermostat is bad as she never quite gets up to temp.

Sometimes, when warm, and after driving for a bit (10~ minutes) she won't idle anymore unless you keep on the gas, and when she stalls, she won't start back up unless you floor it while cranking, and sometimes won't restart at all until she cools back off. I turned the idle up and it helps sometimes but will idle really rough.

IS the carb we swapped in suspect? Is the lack of a working thermostat screwing with something? Vacuum leak, bad distributor or plugs/wires? The AAP is capped.

I'll try disabling the EGR later.

[dlb]

a faulty thermostat would not cause idle or starting issues. the engine and carb components would just never get to full operating temp, which basically means running rich all the time. however, vacuum leaks are always a good first thing to rule out.

did paddle have this problem before the carb swap? do you know for a fact that the carb in question was in good working order before installing it on paddle?

if it only idles by giving it throttle when warm and needs lots of throttle to start when warm sometimes, i don't think the cause is an electrical component. i think a marginal electrical component that acts up when warm is unlikely to stop acting up because the engine is getting more fuel. more likely there is a fuel delivery issue. have you checked the float bowl level when it starts acting up? choke position? maybe the choke is getting stuck intermittently.

[irowiki]

Before the carb swap she hardly ran at all, needed starting fluid every time and wouldn't idle.

After the carb swap, starts right up, ran fine for the first 2-3 days, then the issues started. I thought maybe water in the fuel so put some HEET in, that didn't help.

The carb we swapped in came from Pokey, back then it ran rich but seemed fine otherwise. It sat for a while though which always seems to gum them up! I might try one more carb just to check. I'll bring a flashlight and check float level and choke tomorrow when I drive in.

[irowiki]

Well...

It was that carb! I think it is cursed.

In troubleshooting I noticed gas was pouring out of the top of the vents randomly. So the car was uber flooding or something.

Swapped with the carb I got from a random forum member and she starts up, idles, and drives fine, or so it seems. Will report back tomorrow.

[irowiki]

Ran like a dream this morning. Thank you David!