350 starting problems

Bought my son a 65 chevy p/u last year and it was running great after we put a new holley 650 carb on it. ( Has a 350 in it - around 1973 I think). Recently has been giving him probs with staying running. Will run for about 30 secs after he starts then dies and will not restart until later. ( May start in an hour or may not). Any ideas? Also can anyone verify the firing order? Thanks.

order 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 it's stamped on your intake in front of carb Starting check for gas in carb or battery ,starter connections clean and tight or just a weak battery

It doesn't sound like an electrical problem. More like a fuel delivery problem. Check your fuel pump & make sure it is working. Change all fuel filters. Make sure you don't have a leak in the fuel line coming from the tank. My first guess would be a clogged fuel filter. If you didn't install an inline filter, make sure you check the filter in the carb. There is small porous filter where your gas line attaches to the carb. Jon

order 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 it's stamped on your intake in front of carb Starting check for gas in carb or battery ,starter connections clean and tight or just a weak battery

Thanks for the firing order. Unfortunatly it has an edelbrock intake so the order isn't stamped on it. Will be checking carb today. Also replaced the starter cable couple of weeks ago - no help. Problem is intermittent. Truck may work fine for a few days and then start acting up again.

It doesn't sound like an electrical problem. More like a fuel delivery problem. Check your fuel pump & make sure it is working. Change all fuel filters. Make sure you don't have a leak in the fuel line coming from the tank. My first guess would be a clogged fuel filter. If you didn't install an inline filter, make sure you check the filter in the carb. There is small porous filter where your gas line attaches to the carb. Jon

It does have an inline filter. Will check the one at the carb and probably going to replace the fuel pump today just as a precaution.. Thanks

Now that I know that it is an intermitant problem, it may indeed be electrical. Is this an HEI ignition or points & condensor? If points & condensor, change condensor & check all wiring from coil to dist. Make sure contacts are tight & that there are no bare wires that may be touching intake or underside of Dist. Jon

One tricky little thing thats usually overlooked is the main bolt on starter solinod it will loosen in solineod and pos cable will seem tight and is any movement inside makes starting hard sometimes pull your pos cable off see if you have any movement or just tighten secondary nut that holds bolt tight The problem sounds more like a coil dropping out or a weak fuel pump[or choke] the soliniod thing is for no start sometimes not dieing out

Now that I know that it is an intermitant problem, it may indeed be electrical. Is this an HEI ignition or points & condensor? If points & condensor, change condensor & check all wiring from coil to dist. Make sure contacts are tight & that there are no bare wires that may be touching intake or underside of Dist. Jon


Has magnetic points? distributor. We replaced the fuel filter which looked dirty and also changed out the fuel pump just to be sure we covered the fuel system. No help. Son started truck six times and ran fine. Tried again tonight and same thing. Starts up, runs ~ 30 seconds or so and dies then will not restart.

The next time it won't start, pull a plug wire & put a metal wire in the boot. Turn the engine over & place the wire close to something metalic ( non fuel related) under the hood. If it doesn't spark or arc, It is electrical. If it does spark, the problem is elsewhere. This will at least let you know where the problem is or isn't. I would change the points, condensor, Distributor cap & rotor. As stated before, make sure all wiring to & from the dist is secure. I don't know if it could be the coil or not, I have not heard of a coil working & then all of a sudden not working. Jon

Don't overlook your Igniction switch 65 can't be still orginal?

The next time it won't start, pull a plug wire & put a metal wire in the boot. Turn the engine over & place the wire close to something metalic ( non fuel related) under the hood. If it doesn't spark or arc, It is electrical. If it does spark, the problem is elsewhere. This will at least let you know where the problem is or isn't. I would change the points, condensor, Distributor cap & rotor. As stated before, make sure all wiring to & from the dist is secure. I don't know if it could be the coil or not, I have not heard of a coil working & then all of a sudden not working. Jon


Has magnetic distributor. Can this go bad? If so, what- and can it be replaced without replacing the whole distributor. Have changed the cap and rotor already. Does this distributor have a condensor? Starting to think it has a ghost.

Don't overlook your Igniction switch 65 can't be still orginal?

Believe it or not it still has the original ignition switch. Thought I had replaced it last year but son says no. His baby so I guess he would know for sure.

Another thing but it wouldn't be that easy? is a clogged up PCV or hose blockage where it enters carb [pipe cleaners work well] NAAA you checked that

If your talking about a magneto type distributor, I have no knowledge of how they work. It may be time to take it to a shop that can do some testing of your ignition components. It almost seems that something is heating up & then breaking contact. (ie. multiple starts without incident) & then suddenly not getting spark to the plugs. (ie. not starting & waiting thru a cool down period , in which you start the process again.) It is obvious that this procedure will eventually worsen over time & will reveal the culprit. In the meantime you have a vehicle that cannot be trusted & will leave you stranded on occasion. This is why I suggest you get some expert help for your problem. Jon

It might be the coil is failing when it heats up, try swapping one out and if it has an exterior resister, you might replace it also.