My 1st Gen Camaro Won't Stay Idle and is Backfiring
#1
11-14-2022, 10:56 PM
My 1st Gen Camaro Won't Stay Idle and is Backfiring
Hi All,
I'm having problems with my (1969 Camaro SS, 350 Small Block, 5.7L V8)
In the Spring I pulled my late father's 69 SS for a ride and broke down in the driveway. It turned out that after troubleshooting it turned out to be an ignition problem and I was not getting spark. I pulled out the MSD box and changed the distributor to a Pertronix Ready-to-Run. The problem was, I knew nothing about the router marking that pointed to the #1 cylinder. After months of trying to time it myself, I broke down and called a mobile mechanic out to the house, who was sufficient in working on classics (he runs a 1974 El Camino with a similar setup to mine) He was able to get the timing on track, but the end result was it needed a new starter and a new carburetor. I went with a Proform starter and an Edelbrock AVS Carb with an electric choke (1906). I called my dad's mechanic, the guy who helped my dad put this car together. He told me not to worry about running performance parts because my dad had other intentions on how he was going to run the car. Now it's just a cruiser. He said what I haven't accounted for is the cam. This car has a really big cam that's throwing off the timing. This car has run well (for the past 8 years that my dad has been deceased). Now that it's getting cold in GA, I've got to get my daily car back in the garage and get this one back into my spare garage out back. I just can't start it to move it out of there. I called the mobile mechanic back out, but he has stood me up and is not answering my calls. Today it seems like my problems are beyond my scope of understanding. With the holidays around the corner, I can't spend any more money with this guy. My dilemmas are listed below:
1. I put the carb on myself, thinking it was plug-and-play, but my vacuum lines were fit for a Holley. I've plugged off all the valves except the master brake cylinder.
2. I wired the electric choke and I called Edlebrcok ( they told me to open it up and adjust it and that it should be ready to fire up.
3. I found out from the mechanic that the timing he set matched the old carb (Holley) and possibly needs to be reset for the new car (Edelbrock).
4. The car starts when I slightly adjust the distributor and spay a little starter fluid into the bowl.
5. When it does start, it won't idle to stay on and at times I get a backfire. I'm sure that must mean that I'm timed to the exhaust stroke and not the compression. When I advance or adjust the timing it seems to want to start again, but I know being just a hair off means everything when comes to timing the spark and the cam stroke.
6. Battery was new in July, but I keep it on a maintainer. Now fully charged, I only get about 5-10 minutes to try to crank it before it goes dead again. I had it tested today and it passed in every category. 700 cold cranks with 13.4V at the reading.
7. I adjusted the fuel/air mixture screws prematurely of getting it started (bad thing, I know, but I wasn't told until Edelbrock confirmed it).
Guys, I'm way out of my league, but I know I won't learn unless I try. My best friend runs a 65' Mustang that his dad gave to him and the only thing he knows about his car is where to put the gas nozzle. My dad left me 3 cars, all classics and I just want to maintain them so that they hold their value.
Can someone please help? If you know a friendly supporting person, living in the Atlanta, GA area that would be a huge blessing!
Thank you in advance!
Ryan
I'm having problems with my (1969 Camaro SS, 350 Small Block, 5.7L V8)
In the Spring I pulled my late father's 69 SS for a ride and broke down in the driveway. It turned out that after troubleshooting it turned out to be an ignition problem and I was not getting spark. I pulled out the MSD box and changed the distributor to a Pertronix Ready-to-Run. The problem was, I knew nothing about the router marking that pointed to the #1 cylinder. After months of trying to time it myself, I broke down and called a mobile mechanic out to the house, who was sufficient in working on classics (he runs a 1974 El Camino with a similar setup to mine) He was able to get the timing on track, but the end result was it needed a new starter and a new carburetor. I went with a Proform starter and an Edelbrock AVS Carb with an electric choke (1906). I called my dad's mechanic, the guy who helped my dad put this car together. He told me not to worry about running performance parts because my dad had other intentions on how he was going to run the car. Now it's just a cruiser. He said what I haven't accounted for is the cam. This car has a really big cam that's throwing off the timing. This car has run well (for the past 8 years that my dad has been deceased). Now that it's getting cold in GA, I've got to get my daily car back in the garage and get this one back into my spare garage out back. I just can't start it to move it out of there. I called the mobile mechanic back out, but he has stood me up and is not answering my calls. Today it seems like my problems are beyond my scope of understanding. With the holidays around the corner, I can't spend any more money with this guy. My dilemmas are listed below:
1. I put the carb on myself, thinking it was plug-and-play, but my vacuum lines were fit for a Holley. I've plugged off all the valves except the master brake cylinder.
2. I wired the electric choke and I called Edlebrcok ( they told me to open it up and adjust it and that it should be ready to fire up.
3. I found out from the mechanic that the timing he set matched the old carb (Holley) and possibly needs to be reset for the new car (Edelbrock).
4. The car starts when I slightly adjust the distributor and spay a little starter fluid into the bowl.
5. When it does start, it won't idle to stay on and at times I get a backfire. I'm sure that must mean that I'm timed to the exhaust stroke and not the compression. When I advance or adjust the timing it seems to want to start again, but I know being just a hair off means everything when comes to timing the spark and the cam stroke.
6. Battery was new in July, but I keep it on a maintainer. Now fully charged, I only get about 5-10 minutes to try to crank it before it goes dead again. I had it tested today and it passed in every category. 700 cold cranks with 13.4V at the reading.
7. I adjusted the fuel/air mixture screws prematurely of getting it started (bad thing, I know, but I wasn't told until Edelbrock confirmed it).
Guys, I'm way out of my league, but I know I won't learn unless I try. My best friend runs a 65' Mustang that his dad gave to him and the only thing he knows about his car is where to put the gas nozzle. My dad left me 3 cars, all classics and I just want to maintain them so that they hold their value.
Can someone please help? If you know a friendly supporting person, living in the Atlanta, GA area that would be a huge blessing!
Thank you in advance!
Ryan
#2
11-18-2022, 02:27 AM
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