Please help!

[Tderuosi]

Hey guys,
I recently purchased a 1970 c10. It's mostly original besides the bad paint job it got a few years back with an original 350. It did not run well when I purchased it but it would crank up and attempt to. I put a newly rebuilt rochester quadrajet on hoping it would solve the problem but it didn't. It will now start up and idle for about 30 seconds before dieing out. If I give it any throttle at all it will bog down and basically suffocate itself. Any ideas what the problem could be? I was thinking a vacuum leak but everything there seems to be fine unless I am missing something. It is also relatively low on fuel (about 1/4 tank) and I noticed that the new fuel filter I put on when installing the new carb already has some junk in it so it could be bad gas but I'm not sure if it would make it completely die out or not. I am no mechanic but I am learning. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's driving me nuts!

Regards,

Tyler

[BMERDOC]

Have you smelled the gas to see if its fresh? A fuel pressure test and checking for a strong spark is in order. Is it H.E.I. or points?

[hamjet]

Welcome, there's alot of smart fellers here, you came to the right place. it does sound like a fuel problem, (bad gas, junk in the tank, ) first thing I'd do is get the tank empty and cleaned out plus the fuel line. others will chime up, hang in there...

[54blackhornet]

How long did it sit ? Gas tank might need to be cleaned, also filter on end of fuel sending unit in tank could be clogged. You could by pass tank fitting at fuel pump and run a small piece of fuel line to remote gas can to see if it will run. QJets are trickery to set up even for well qualified mechanics ! Keep us posted, I am sure others will chime in and offer suggestions

[Tderuosi]

It is HEI. And the gas does smell a little off. I'm not sure exactly how long it sat. I know it wasn't more then a year. How do you test fuel pressure? I think I may start by cleaning the tank, fresh gas, and new filters.

[Syndrome]

Drop your fuel line into a gas can under the truck and see if it will run out of that. This will assure you that you have fresh fuel and it will remove the pickup line which gets clogged up occasionally.

[BMERDOC]

If it sat for any lenght of time I would pull the pick up out of the tank and see what condition its in. Its condition is indicative of the condition of the inside of the tank. Its an easier way to shine a light down in there too. The idea of using a gas can is great. All these things will answer a lot of questions.

[Tderuosi]

Okay, thanks for all the help! You guys are awesome. I will try what you suggested and see what happens. I will keep you posted!

[hugger6933]

The gases we have today will go bad much quicker than it used to. You can even add some fresher gas to what is in the tank to help if it does run on the outside tank idea. Fuel pressure is low or the filter is clogged. Also since your probably gonna have to rent/borrow a vaccum/ pressure gauge[ you can test both vac and pressure with it]after you test your pump to verify its worthiness then put the gauge on the manifold side of the vaccum [down under where the throttle blades of the carb ]and test that. If it is running a little while and then smothering it could be an exhaust obstruction. Or best yet go to where the pipe comes out at and feel for exhaust before the truck dies.if you get none you have something blocking the exhaust pathand that will also smother the truck and kill the engine. Ever hear of the potato in the tailpipe gag? That is what that is for. If indeed that is the cause don't run it very long, it is very hard on the exhaust vales and such to do a motor like that. You don't like being backed up do you? Jim