Starts then stalls. Stumped.

@RaiderL, Thank you, for your advise and suggestion. It sure seems to be mimicking a massive vacuum leak, but after sitting for a bit or hours it’ll start right up, now that the battery is recharged, but slowly choke out like it’s starved for fuel as soon as foot placed on brake then put in gear or removing my foot from the accelerator but will stall out a little slower. I plan on dropping the battery to get tested, but my morning got sidetracked with a client. I want to rule out if it’s a combination of fuel and fire being it stalled twice when an additional load from the radio coming on blaring. Could’ve been a coincidence, but want to rule it out. I’ll Google fuel bowl inspection/disassembly for the 1406 and see if that’s the culprit. Not sure what I’m doing with the carburetor, but 1406’s look pretty direct. Again, thank you for all your input and taking time out of your day to help me.

Vbb199 said:

This whole thread took a weird turn.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the internet.

Rusty Nail said:

Welcome to the Rusty Nail.

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Fixed it

I don't know if this is fixed yet but you can completely block the fuel supply on that rig by pulling the rubber line at the carb with a bolt in the line fill the carb with a dish soap bottle there are 2 spots 1 on the left 1 on the right in the air horn where you can fill the bowl,it should idle a couple of minutes on a full bowl.Now we can verify or eliminate bad fuel, fuel delivery etc. Because it starts backup after sitting, I don't suspect fuel.I suspect the coil the pickup or the module. I hate to admit this but the fastest easiest way to check the module is just replace it.They"re cheap if it fixes it good, if not just leave it in throw the old one in your tool box as a spare,coils, modules, and pickups will fail then run briefly and then fail completely.

@Ricko1966, Just had the battery tested and it held 12.64, but was warranties out for a dead cell. I replaced the module with a spare. I’ll try eliminating the fuel and filling the bowls with a separate source. If that doesn’t work I think I have a spare coil to try, before removing the top to look at the floats. Thank you.

Update: The battery isn’t the issue. Replaced it, fired right up, rough idled at about 20seconds then stalled around 30 seconds. Checking the coil ohms and if good removing and disassembling the carburetor to check the float valves measurements and needles for any funk.

Well, if it's not the brakes...it most certainly is that Everbroke 1406...they're like a plague around here.
Now youre gonna tell me that aint it either...

Only way to fix em?
Buy a Holley.

@RustyNail, I only did the Edelbrock because of my daughter’s bf insistence. I had a Holley on my 1972 and sure seemed easier. Hell, using HPTuners on the vette is super easy compared to figuring out whatever is reeking havoc with the 1981. It’s just fuel and fire, but it’s aggravating me to no end.

Dude. You said "edelbrock" twice in the first three sentences of this fine thread.
Then is was followed up with enough Rad Bromance to make even Lady Gaga hurl chunks!
I had to step in.
Everytime somebody starts asking about their "mystery running problem" and follows that up with "1406"? -it's a done deal dude. You answered your own question again.
All the rest of that **** is mere conjecture. See I used to always call out the everbroke carburetors but then everybody started cryin gettin butthurt over my alleged mastery of the obvious and I laid off for a while.

Squirrely Brother said:

The truck kept stalling last night and I ended up having it towed home. It will run for 20-30 seconds, then rough idle then stall. The truck has a 350, Edelbrock intake, Edelbrock 1406 carburetor,

Click to expand...

Three sentences bro.

conjecture
[ kuhn-jek-cher ]
noun
the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof.
an opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation.
Obsolete. the interpretation of signs or omens.
verb (used with object), con·jec·tured, con·jec·tur·ing.
to conclude or suppose from grounds or evidence insufficient to ensure reliability.
verb (used without object), con·jec·tured, con·jec·tur·ing.
to form conjectures.

That word is close however there is plenty of evidence. Especially here - in this very MSB.
They're super shiny and cheaper than a Holley...on the shelf at Autozone..squarebody drivers think that's a WAY BETTER DEAL than rebuilding their Quadrabog p.o.s. that's all complicated and ****. You ain't got a flathead or what?
Bolt on the spanky fresh chrome deal and it runs way better right?
Plus it's shiny and they get to go shopping!

VBB is a convert. Axe him...he saw the light or maybe you're a true believer? Your kind is extinct.


Way better to throw parts at **** instead of fixin it, right.. How's that workin out for ya old boy? I hope that Quadrajet found a loving home.. I'd do whatever @Ricko1966 says for certain.
Sure as hell don't pay me any mind! I'm just funnin with ya noob.. You want quoted in the club or what? Im your welcome committee
Reckon youre not so squirrelly now are ya?



Thought i'd change it up and blame the brakes this time. Seemed obvious to me cuz it's always the booster...no? Oh yeah..it's always that 1406 but sayin THAT is too f*ckin easy for most ppl.

Still no pix either...you'll never get in that way.

This I do know.

@RustyNail, Here’s a picture with brake booster. I repeated the part manufacturer, because when I had an issue several months back some wankstain got all wadded up panties on me for not having the manufacture detail of a part in my most current reply. Never knew appreciation was to be mocked, but whatever helps you drive on to your objective.

I BOUGHT A TRUCK ONCE THAT WOULD FIRE UP EASY,,,,BUT WOULD DIE AS I LET THE CLUTCH OUT......I WAS STUMPED TOO......BUT ALL I DID WAS HOOK JUMPER CABLE FROM MOTOR TO BODY.....AND DROVE AWAY.......GO FIGURE .....JUST BAD GROUNDING ....THE MOST POPULAR ELECTRIC PROBLEM....PETER

Compression, fuel, spark, thats all it need to theoritically run.

like mentioned earlier, fill the float bowls with fuel and see how it runs, it either runs better or it doesnt. if it doesnt run better it would be safe to assume you are dealing with a fuel delivery issue.

after motor dies out, test it for spark, if its got a nice bolt of lightening than its probably not spark.

I would pop the distrubutor cap and see what it looks in there, maybe try to twist the distrubutor and make sure it hasnt loosend up and moved.

your symptoms do sould like a classic ignition module issue.

possibly the fuel tank isnt venting or a fuel line is too close to a header/manifold

when it dies try to manually feed it gas to keep it running, a litttle water bottle with a hole poked in the top is good for filling float bowls, sometimes a lil love with a rubber mallet can go along way with gettting a stuck float to free up.

Its all about trial and error, but you need to isolate the issue to either spark, fuel, or compression before spending money on parts

one more thing, I had a truck do the same exact thing, and it took me weeks to figure out, somehow the tach was either grounding out or someshit, I unpluged the tachometer lead from the hei distrubutor cap, and it ran perfect

@RustyNail I owe you a thanks. It ended up being a faulty grommet on the brake booster and a carburetor issue. The passenger float was out of spec, way too high, causing fuel to dump out the venturi. Replaced the grommet, took apart and sprayed down the carb and seems good to go now. It should’ve been fixed a month ago, but frustrated me enough that I needed to walk away from it for a bit.