Engine dies - weak spark ?

[Deleted member 1959]

Hi Bud - great to have you chipping in
The car originally had A/C. I removed it early on because A- It didn´t work B- It gave better access to the engine C- It´s not really needed in cold Denmark.
So I think the heater hose bracket you are talking about is the one on the picture that was originally mounted on the A/C compressor. Thats why I re-routed one of the heater hoses to go straight over the engine and into the firewall. Maybe this is a bad place for it to be ?

I also wondered why the choke rod was bent, so I recently replaced it with a new (straight) one from Standard/Rockauto. I had to grind a bit off the manifold inside the spring housing because the spring is mounted slightly different than the old one.

About the carb and the vacuum.
I cannot be sure the carb is the original carb fitted to the car, but I have no reason to suspect it is not. It has only done 51K Miles.
I had a lean-burn deletion done by an authorized shop that specializes in US cars; mostly Mopars, and they adjusted the carb . They also seem to be aware of the problem with the vacuum advance port. So now I´m a bit confused :
AJ says :

Lean-burn carbs are not set-up for vacuum advance; there is no spark-port on it.

The shop has put the vacuum advance hose on the front of the carb (green arrow), and you say it belongs on the side where the port is currently blocked off.
I will try moving the hose to the port you suggested, but can you understand I´m a bit confused at this point

 

[BudW]

The car originally had A/C. I removed it . . .

In your case, I can understand the A/C removal. Hopefully you saved all the old parts – in case the next owner wants to convert back.

Thats why I re-routed one of the heater hoses to go straight over the engine and into the firewall. Maybe this is a bad place for it to be ?

Any interference (or possible interference) of the throttle cable and/or kickdown linkage always ends up with bad consequences. I do agree with AJ/FormS that heater hose(s) need to be far away from where it is currently located at. Hopefully my pictures are helpful.

The shop has put the vacuum advance hose on the front of the carb (green arrow), and you say it belongs on the side where the port is currently blocked off.

I do believe your current Holley 2280 is for/from a computer-controlled spark (ignition only) system, because of an additional gold colored bracket at Passenger Front lower corner of carburetor. There was a throttle position sensor located there, that was removed (except for its bracket). I would agree with AJ/FormS that computer-controlled cars didn’t have the nipple/port for vacuum advance (only a very small percentage did, but those are RARE). That said, many of the factory replacement carburetors did have the port/nipple present so one replacement part would fit many cars. I believe your carburetor is a factory replacement carburetor (sold after ’84, after Carter carburetor went bankrupt) that was made to fit either computer-controlled or non-computer-controlled cars – but either way it is not worth arguing about.
All 318 2-bbl carburetors (that have vacuum advance) has the vacuum port at the location indicated in my picture, regardless if it was a Carter BBD, Holley 2280, Bendix/Stromberg WW3 or a Rochester 2GV (the last two were not used on FMJ’s). 4-bbls and 2-bbls used on other Chrysler engines will differ on the site of port.

Another thing to look at, Chrysler vacuum advances uses vacuum from the venturi (vacuum only when enough air flow is through the venturi). The vacuum port you have listed would be manifold vacuum (at base of carburetor) so this would have vacuum full time (except when under power).


I do not recall ever seeing a bracket that looks like this one, before (top arrow). I can’t see what the bottom arrow is pointing at to comment about it.

Normally Chrysler routes the heater hoses above the metal fuel line, but i wouldn't worry about changing it.


Chrysler used one or two aluminum tie straps to hold the heater hoses onto the fender brace. Zip ties will work as well.

If interested in getting replacement aluminum hose straps:

Fits Aluminum Heater Hose Strap Charger Roadrunner GTX Coronet Belvedere New | eBay
Bill Rolik Enterprises - N.O.S., Reproduction, and Replacement Chrysler Parts
They are helpful but not required. Zip ties has a tendency to hurt me when working in some areas of the car.
BudW

 

[Deleted member 1959]

Hi Bud
I would be most comfortable with removing the last bits of lean-burn by changing the carb to a pre-lean burn type.
I have taken up contact to a local US car club and hope to find a Mopar specialist that can help me change it.
Can you recommend a simple, trouble-free non-lean burn 2-BBL carb that will fit ? Then I can look for it on eBay in case the guys in club don´t have something lying around.

 

[BudW]

I bought a new (aftermarket) BBD, made in China – so I guess someone either snapped up Carters patents (or stole them). Sense Carter has been out of business sense ’84, I guess anything could be up with that aspect. The one I got the same as Carter 8094s (’77 BCFM-body 318 automatic 49-state) for my ’86 Fifth Ave – and this was years before I purchased my ’77 Volare wagon which also uses the model 8094s.

This eBay ad is for a similar new carburetor (Carter knockoff). I don’t know this vender, nor do I remember who I bought my Carter knockoff from – but I have been happy with it. It does “appear” to use the same parts (including rebuild kit) – but not done an exact side by side comparison to confirm that (yet).

Of the Carter BBD’s, there are two different sizes and two different versions.
The size we use is the smaller one (1¼”). The bigger BBD (1½”) is about 50% larger overall and won’t even bolt up to a 318 intake manifold (used for 360, 383 and 400 2-bbl engines).

Of the 1¼” size, there is the older low-top version and the newer high-top version

Low-top (1966-73)

High-top (which is the one you are looking for – 1974-’84).

Of the high-top version, the ‘80’s versions were mostly computer controlled. If you see any electrical wiring or connectors in pictures – stay away from it. All the non-computer controlled high-top versions will work fine for your car. The low-top versions will work as well but look funny and there is no provision for fuel vapor recovery (which is needed in some emission control states, cities or country’s).

Here is a high-top version I found on eBay (and there is a ton more out there to chose from).
2 Barrel Carter BBD Carburetor Carb For Dodge Chrysler 318 Engine 5.2L 603894987695 | eBay
There are even some NOS new Carters available there for sale as well, but they are $$$. I don’t think you can go wrong with an aftermarket new carburetor (in my opinion).

If you find one and have questions, post a link here and I can (or others) can comment.
BudW

 

[Deleted member 1959]

Hi Bud
Thanks for the info on the carbs. Suppose I also wanted to get rid of the vapor canister, can I use a earlier version of the BBD befor they put the canister on ?

 

[BudW]

You can. I firmly believe the '74-80 BBD (high top) is a much better (street) driving carburetor than the '66-73 (low top) version from how it is made – but there is nothing wrong with the low tops. Just make sure the low top has a PVC port on it (which I think all BBD's made for small blocks did have) which is a large vacuum port on base.

The only disadvantage the high tops have is a few more parts involved for an overhaul.


As far as the charcoal canister port. There is nothing wrong with leaving the port open, especially in a cooler climate you live in. If you lived closer to the equator, I would have a different opinion.

Now with that said, I would recommend leaving the charcoal canister in place as well as the small metal line going to fuel tank (fuel tank vent). Other than taking up space and looking a tad unsightly, the charcoal canister system doesn't cause any performance problems and in warmer climates, it can also help with fuel mileage (gasoline evaporates when hot, which charcoal canister collects and saves).
BudW

 

[Deleted member 1959]

Hi again
I took it out for a test drive today since the problem (engine dying in D/R when trying to accelerate) has been very much on/off and appers to have come out of nowhere since the car worked fine all last season.
Ran fine for the first 10 miles. Then I stopped for gas, but the stations pumps did not work, so I drove on for 2 mi to the next gas station. During those 2 mi there were some cut-outs while driving steadily at 50 mph. After filling up it got much worse and think I was lucky to make it home (4 mi). It could only accelerate very slowly with a lot of cut-outs during acceleration.
Now I doubt that the problem is fuel-related; the cut-outs are sharp and feel more like a an ignition problem.
I went on youtube and found a test method for the coil - It seems to be ok.
Then I wanted to test the ICM, but could not find a usable test online. I have heard these modules can go bad, but this is only a year old.
I also tried jiggling the wiring harness while the engine was running, but no result.
All I can see is that the problem seems to appear when the engine becomes warm all the way through
I am very close to giving the car up entirely - so f..ing tired of it.

 

[Camtron]

Recently, I have a seen a few people on social media and even a Tv show have faulty aftermarket ECUs that caused the ignition to break up pretty bad under acceleration as well as, poorly manufactured aftermarket components in distributors with bad continuity. Maybe your carb just needs a good cleaning and rebuild.

Don’t give up

 

[Deleted member 1959]

Hi Camtron
I´m not giving up - I still like the car
I will change the carb to a new one; BudW has helped me find a suitable match on eBay.
Then I will change the coil to an MSD blaster 2; I am just waiting for an answer from MSD whether I need their ballast resistor or I can keep the standard one.
If that doesn´t help I will have to change the ECU module, but I need to find one from a quality manufacturer.

 

[Camtron]

REV-N-NATOR I.C.U, and Matched Coil
I’ve been interested in this, has a few pre set rev limiter setting. Can hear it installed on a beast of a 69, 440 Charger.


...because race LeBaron lol