Argh!
 

Hey all - super bad with all this tech stuff - so bare with me. So I caught the bug when I reluctantly bought a 1986 Chevy C 10 to get around in and be able to haul stuff to and fro in a real estate venture in MN. That truck was stolen and never recovered but needless to say I am now on my second Chevy - a C20. I love it - it has become a passion of mine and am actually going to be taking some mechanics classes at the college - which I have quickly learned that finding a private mechanic if you can’t do it yourself is about 75 percent of the game when owning one of these trucks. FYI - pep boys tried to get me for just under 4 grand for an entire brake system when all it was was a 20 dollar hard line pinhole that literally cost me 30 bucks to replace and fix. Lol. My truck was starting to act like it wanted to cut out and stall on me - I assumed carb because the carb that wa sin needed replaced badly - Anyways - I have just put in a new edlebrock carb - a new distributor kit - and new plugs - and still does the same thing - when I get on the freeway or higher speeds it begins to sputter and if I don’t pull over right away it literally shuts down. I will have to glide to the side with no power steering and tight brakes and let it sit for a while - I’m back street it will go fine but then once the engine is on a while it will do the same thing. Everything I research say coil. But I replaced all that - could it be my mechanic made an install error? It’s driving me crazy! There is nothing left in that well to replace except the radiator and all the wiring - which I plan on doing soon. I am moving from Miami to Orlando in a few days and need to figure it out and hate to have to take it to someplace like pep boys - if just assume have it towed before I go commercial. HELP!

Re: Argh!
 

Your fuel tank is over 40 years old. There's a sock over the inlet to strain large particles, but after this many years that sock tends to disintegrate and plug the fuel line. That's my bet...

Oh, and don't go to Pep Boys, find a real mechanic. Look for someone who has been in the business a while and understands older vehicles.

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If you happen to have your in-cab fuel tank, try reaching back and removing the fuel tank cap and see if that helps. If you have a plugged tank vent and a non-venting cap you might be pulling a big vacuum on the tank and starving for fuel.

Or like truckster said, you might just have a bunch of junk in the fuel system. Either way, pretty easy fixes.

J

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X2 on particles in the gas. The last time those exact symptoms occurred with my 68 it was red clay on the gas tank.

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Its solely a matter of diagnosis and nothing more. Rule of thumb is to start with the ignition, make sure everything is correct and then go to the fuel system.

Hate to turn you in the opposite direction but a bad ignition module on an HEI will do just what you are describing. So lets get on to getting you on the road, what is your set up? Give us all the details: Stock motor?? Rebuilt?? Type of Ignition?? Type of gas cap?? Some where vented others where not. Take a couple of detailed pics of the engine bay, particularly the Fuel System. Do you have a phenolic spacer on the carb?

So lets get this going you WILL find us very helpful.

Auto Parts store guys are just educated guess playing at your symptoms to sell product, nothing more. If they truly knew how to diagnose an engine just verbally they would make way more money as a Technician or Mechanic.

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What was this distributor kit you used? Is it the original points distributor, original with Petronics, or swapped to HEI (later GM electronic)? Sounds like it could be an ignition module if it's electronic (HEI or Petronics conversion). But certainly does sound fuel starved, which would be the sock in the tank since you don't have the QuadraJet with in-carb filter. This is how one of those acts when it's gunked up

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Could be fuel related as said, but also if you swapped to a HEI distributor it needs a full 12 volts to it or it will do exactly as you described. The old power feed wire to the points system has a resistor wire that only gives it about 9 volts.

As toolbox said give some details.

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What year is the C20

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Sorry is taking so long for me to respond - I will take pics and post all the parts my guy used tomorrow for sure. One thing is this started before the carb before the fistributor was all doe. - I actually replaced all those things hoping it would be the fix. But in reality (and I forgot about this) I actually said I felt it was the gas tank because when I had the truck towed to Miami from west palm - the guy forgot to give me the key to the gas cap - so I actually broke it and pushed it in. And it fell I to the tank - and now rolls around the tank - and that’s when this all kinda started because it has never done this before that. I am replacing the tank sending unit and everything else this week anyways - just because - but I will put pics up tomorrow - thanks guys -

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Oh and it’s a 1968 Chevy c 20 with a 73 bed - and a 350 engine swap out all fine before I got it - I don’t know how to post pics yet - so if someon can tell me I can post those ASAP :)

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73 was the first year square body, that does not look like a 73 bed. it looks like the correct peroid type bed but looks like it is on a Longhorn frame.

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For sure the correct 68-72 chevy bed but as said above ^^^^. Check the SPID label on the inside of the glove box door, your wheel base is 133"?

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First, use a magnet on a rope to get those metal parts out of the tank. either from the gas fill, or pulling the sending unit out of the top of the tank.

Good looking truck!

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This I have seen this before ^^^^^

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Did you replace the gas cap with the correct type? My 68 needed a vented cap where the newer ones had vented gas tanks.