idle, starting, power problems with my 1980 camaro

hi everybody i bought my camaro a couple months back and i went to drive it around, the first problem i noticed was i can jam the accellerator in to the floor but i get little responce it accelerates like a slug. the camaro has a 350 5.7 litre so i expect a kick. second problem i noticed was when i take my car out of my garage it will reverse then when im switching gears (its an automatic) or just idling while its sitting there or in drive it will die out on me. it will sputter first then slowly just give out, it doesnt just cut. now the THIRD and final problem i have is that now it just wont start, i took off the dist cap to put a new one on and now it just dusn start, i corrected the timing, and did all that i could and it just wont go. it has compression, spark, and should be getting fuel. but i dont know what the problem is. Can anybody help me please i have had this car sitting in my garage for the last month trying everything i possibly can.

p.s. when i try to start it, it will turn but it will make some weird noises and then slowly turn then quickly turn n then slowly n then i just shut it down, it has backfired a couple of times to.

I'd say you put the plug wires on the cap in the wrong order. SBC firing order is 1 8 4 3 6 5 7 2. Tripple check it.

i just checked the plugs there in the right order, is this more of an ignition system problem or a carburetor problem?

The way you describe the turning over as fast then show thenfast, etc. that sounds like plug wires on wrong, as if it is trying to fire while coming up on compression and making the starter work harder.
Check the color of your spark. It should be blue-white. if it isn't you may have a failing ignition module.

Thanks i think im going to go out and buy a new ignition system this one seems a bit old and frayed, ill install it and post how it goes, in the mean time are there any other suggestions anyone has?

i would check the spark color as suggested before buying a new ignition system. You won't be too happy if you buy then install it and it doesn't change anything. you should rotate the engine to #1 TDC on the compression stroke then pull the cap to see where the rotor is pointing to verify that you have the firing order correct. Don't let your pride stop you from doing this, because I made that very mistake myself.

Whats the best way to find TDV of the #1 cylinder, mind i am in a garage with basic tools, any innovative ideas?? i tried a couple times to find it but i just didnt get close enough

I would say its definatly a timing issue if youre getting slow and fast cranking with backfires.

to make sure its not a lack of fuel, try to start the engine while spraying carb cleaner into the intake. if your only problem is a lack of fuel, you can actually get the engine to run on that aerosol spray can. we used cans of gumout at the dealership.

to get the engine to TDC on the number on cylinder.... well, lets make sure were all on the same page..... to clarify, the pistons are numbered...

-----------(2)-(4)-(6)-(8)
<= front--------[88]---( ) <distributor (carb in the middle, "[88]" )
-----------(1)-(3)-(5)-(7)

oh and the distributor as seen from above should be wired....

-----------(4)---(3)
--------(8)--------(6)
<= Front-----(c)
--------(1)--------(5)
-----------(2)---(7)

where "c" is the ignition coil.

pull the number one spark plug, put your finger over the hole, and have a friend crank the engine slowly, or a better way, which if your multitalented you can do by yourself, is to put a big ratchet on the crank pully, and rotate the engine over by hand. as you rotate the engine, sooner or later, youre gonna feel the pressure build in the cylender and air will start to force its way out past your finger. when the air stops blowing, youre at TDC. or at least very close to it. check the timing mark on your harmonic balancer to be sure.

another way, is to make a piston stop, or buy one. if you make one, youll want to find a bolt about 5in long, with the same threads as a sparkplug. use a bench grinder to work down the tip to a round surface, and no sharp edges, and then wrap tape around the end in a way that it will not come off in the cylinder. now, screw the bolt into the spark plug hole on the number 1 cylinder, and start rotating the engine over until you feel it hit the piston stop. it may take a little trial and error to find out just how deep you need to screw in the stop to get the piston at exact TDC, but once you figure that out, it works every time.

when using a piston stop though, you have to start with the finger method, to feel the compression, ,to make sure youre on the compression stroke, and not the exhaust stroke. otherwise your timing will be 180 off. also, when using a piston stop, disconnect the battery because if you use the starter to crank the engine with the piston stop in there you stand a good chance of damaging the piston face. but, once youve got the #1 cylinder on the compression stroke. screw the stop in all the way and rotate by hand until you feel the contact. then slowly unscrew the stop a little at a time, and try to rotate the engine, keep doing this until you feel yourself no longer making contact with the stop, then back the engine up, screw the stop back in a few threads, and then roate the engine until it makes contact again. as i said, its a trial and error thing, but its quite accurate.

also, this should have an HEI distributor. just to cover the bases here, youve swapped.....

coil, cap, rotor, plugs, wires, adjusted the timing, new air filter, new fuel filter, etc. your basic tune up really.

something alot of people dont think to do is the HEI control module. kinda the "brain" of the distributor itself. they can cause problems if they go bad, or are replaced and not installed correctly (USE THE DIELECTRIC GREASE!!!!). they arent expensive, and might be worth doing if you havent yet.

(USE THE DIELECTRIC GREASE!!!!).

Not dielectric grease. That is a special thermal grease. You could also use heatsink compound like you use on your computer's processor.

Not dielectric grease. That is a special thermal grease. You could also use heatsink compound like you use on your computer's processor.

acckkk!! good catch morley.

-----------(2)-(4)-(6)-(8)
<= front--------[88]---( ) <distributor (carb in the middle, "[88]" )
-----------(1)-(3)-(5)-(7)

oh, oh, draw a TPI, draw a TPI!!!! :lol: (thats good)


I had a fuel pump going out on a 305 that had similar symptoms to the original complaint....

oh, oh, draw a TPI, draw a TPI!!!!

-(2)-(4)-(6)-(8)
---_\\\_///_
-[[________](@)
------///-\\\
-(1)-(3)-(5)-(7)

thats about the best i can do on here :grinyes:

-(2)-(4)-(6)-(8)
---_\\\_///_
-[[________](@)
------///-\\\
-(1)-(3)-(5)-(7)

thats about the best i can do on here :grinyes:
:worshippy I need to find a smiley thats got a tear of joy in his eye.....:thumbsup:



:cwm27:

:worshippy I need to find a smiley thats got a tear of joy in his eye.....:thumbsup:



:cwm27:


lol, i officially have way to much spare time on my hands......

Ok i pulled a spark plug and cranked the engine, firstly the plug doesnt spark on its own when i put it near something metal itll spark and the color will br an orangish red. Second i put it to tdc (how close i could get it to tdc in my garage) and its not doing the slow and fast turning anymore it turns at a fixed speed but doesnt start. help?

p.s. does the way the coil is pointing and the placement of the plugs have any relation, or can i put the fireing order of the plugs in order on the distributor without regards to where the coil points. ?

Coil placement (distributor) dosen't matter as long as you have the #1 plug wire on the terminal that the rotor points to when #1 is at TDC. Providing you then follow the firing order around the cap after that..1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2

, firstly the plug doesnt spark on its own when i put it near something metal itll spark
It needs to touch metal, perferably a clean spot where it has good contact to ground. Then see what color the spark is......were you holding the plug with something?

checking the sparkplug, pull it out of the head, connect the plug wire, put on a work glove, hold the parkplug, and hold it up against the exhaust manifold so that the threadded part is touching the manifold, then have someone crank it. you have to have a solid ground for proper ground. which the exhaust manifolds SHOULD be, but you could always do a quick check of your engine ground strap ;)

as morley said, coil direction dosnt really matter. the way i showed in my previous post of wiring up the dizzy is the most universally accepted and easiest, but you need to make sure that the rotor is pointing to the terminal with the number one spark plug on it when the number one cylender is at TDC, this is done by removing the dizzy clamp, pulling the dizzy out, and rotating it and dropping it back in. this takes some trial and error but its not that difficult.

at this point put the dizzy clamp back on, but dont tighten it all the way down, have someone start cranking the engine, and then gently rotate the dizzy back and forth until you find a spot that the engine likes and it fires up. once you have it running, use a timing light, or my personal preference, a vacuum guage, to zone in on the perfect timing. if using the vacuum guage, you want to set it to the highest vacuum reading. turn the dizzy until the needle maxes out, then tighten down the clamp.

pulling the dizzy out, and rotating it and dropping it back in. this takes some trial and error but its not that difficult.

Note: you will need a LONG screwdriver to turn the oil pump shaft so it lines up with the distributor's drive tang, otherwise the distributor won't seat fully.