305 sbc will not accelerate

[81_El_Homewrecker]

Hello, my friend has an 81 camino with a 305. When you floor the car is does not accelerate worth a crap! He got a new quadrajet thinking it would fix it but it didn't. Cruising it will kick down and go. What gives? Timing has been checked and rechecked!

 

[pontiacgp]

have you check the advance in the distributor? If the problem was the same with old carb and the new carb then it's most likely not the carb. Or it could be your setting up the spring for the air valve on the secondaries too light.

 

[Pontiac455]

Will she take her fuel when ya rev it in park?

 

[Longroof79]

What kind of miles are on the engine? I know 305's are notorious for cam wear.

 

[kustomkyle]

Too many details needed to really know where to start diagnosing.

But I had a catalytic converter clog up and caused my car not to accelerate. Wouldn't get over 54MPH. Might be a possibility if the car still has a catalytic converter, especially if it has an original one.

Otherwise:

-Mileage?
-Condition (uses oil, smokes, fouls plugs)?
-Emissions equipment intact?
-Original engine?
-What has been done to the car in the past besides carburetor and timing?
-Modifications?

 

[81_El_Homewrecker]

Not sure on miles. No other mods done but it does not have the cat on it. Does not burn an excessive amount of oil and does not have the emissions junk in it. The old carb worked the same exact way. When revved in park it will not miss a beat. You can watch the secondaries crack open a little too.

How would we check the advance on the distributor? Can it be a made module under the rotor?

 

[Longroof79]

Not sure on miles. No other mods done but it does not have the cat on it. Does not burn an excessive amount of oil and does not have the emissions junk in it. The old carb worked the same exact way. When revved in park it will not miss a beat. You can watch the secondaries crack open a little too.

How would we check the advance on the distributor? Can it be a bad module under the rotor?

You can put a timing light on it and mark the vibration damper. Run the engine and see how much the light advances. I would first check the condition of the plugs. Do a compression test of all cylinders, or a leakdown test.

 

[kustomkyle]

If the emissions equipment is gone and it's still on the computer, that can cause some problems. It all depends on what's still there and what isn't, as well as if things were plugged off like vacuum hoses or just in general done properly (if there is such a thing). The smog equipment doesn't play as vital of a role like newer cars, but it can cause some strange things to happen if it's ripped off in a haphazard fashion.

Does it now have dual exhaust? Diameter of pipe/s? General condition of exhaust parts (20 clamps w/muffler tape)? Sounds like it still has exhaust manifolds (?). Leaks and/or squashed pipes aren't good for performance.

Also sounds like the vehicle was fine at one time and it is now acting up? Or was it just purchased? This would be where finding the true mileage might be somewhat of a clue.

 

[Longroof79]

I suppose with the emissions equipment removed, it's probably still running the emissions control type distributor and carb. That could also be the cause of it not running up to par.

 

[81_El_Homewrecker]

It was purchased with the intake removed after sitting 10 years. Put the intake on and got it running. Drives great aside from this. Stock manifolds and Y pipe then goes directly into the muffler. When checking the timing, how do I find the true timing with the adjusty know on the timing light? It's confusing the sh*t out of me lol