Head scratcher

[Arnulfo]

For the past couple of months I have been dealing with the ole “ dies out when put in drive or reverse.” Read everything I could find on web but there was no consensus that could pinpoint the problem. Some said fuel related others said timing, I thought transmission. Truck is a 1970 C20 350ci 350TH .Had factory iggy converted to electronic ignition , rebuilt transmission,new coil,plugs,plug wires. After all that problem got worse.Before I did all the work it only did it when it got to full operating temperature.After all the work it did it all the time even after initial start up. Did not know what else to try so I pulled the electronic iggy and went back to points. This is a spare iggy I had laying around that DAVID RAY rebuilt for me a few years ago. It now runs perfect! I have it at a 750 rpm idle in PARK and the truck no longer dies out when put in drive or reverse. I have a D.U.I. distributor coming . Will let you all know how that goes.Dont want to run points permanently.

[franken]

Vacuum leak. Spray flammable brake clean around the top of the engine, carb and dist to see if the idle speed changes.
Having dozens of people offer opinions and you throwing parts at it is foolish and a waste of money.
Stop throwing parts at it and troubleshoot.

[jumpsoffrock]

When I was a kid I had a Firebird that would randomly die and typically not restart for hours or days.

Many months later I found out a tiny red wire that went to the alternator was poorly connected and replacing the connectors and such fixed the entire problem. It was my very first foray into automotive electronics, and it left a terrible taste in my mouth. I couldn't believe how random and seemingly unrelated some issues were to their causes(before solving the mystery, of course).

I love science in general, I am a curious person and I feel greatly rewarded when properly doing auto-electronics by myself, but few things have made me feel so darn stupid....I'll never give up.

[Arnulfo]

Originally Posted by franken

Vacuum leak. Spray flammable brake clean around the top of the engine, carb and dist to see if the idle speed changes.
Having dozens of people offer opinions and you throwing parts at it is foolish and a waste of money.
Stop throwing parts at it and troubleshoot.

Problem solved.