Well the weather was sunny and 80 degrees, so I went up to a car show 30 miles away today. The vette was acting strange today. When I pulled up to a stop sign or stop light close to the show it would feel like it had trouble shifting down into 1st gear (laboring) (automatic trany) and than it would stall. Then another time I was in park but idling standing outside looking for the show entrance and she stalled. She would not start. I pulled the air cleaner and it was getting plenty of gas. The engine compartment was good and hot but my gauge showed under 200. With the air cleaner off she started. Went about a mile and next stop sign same thing. Popped the air cleaner got her started after a few minutes and parked it for about an hour. On the way home about 4 stop signs later she died again. This time she would not start at all, cleaner off or on. 5 hours later I am home after being towed. Engine is a ZZ383 less than a year old, trany rebuilt at the same time, with Mallory HEI distributor.

Sounds like you either have a carb flooding issue, or an ignition system failure.
Did it blow any black smoke out the tail when it did restart after stalling? If the float level is s little high, combining that with high underhood temps may have caused some "percolating" in the carb, which would push raw fuel into the intake, basically flooding the engine with fuel. Removing the air cleaner top may have helped cool it some, as well as allow more air into the intake.
There's nothing about a trans that would cause it to stall out, or run goofy. I'd start by checking the float level(s)...maybe pull a few plugs out and have a look-see. If all looks good there, I'd start checking for an ignition malfunction. I've seen and heard a lot of bad stuff concerning the Mallory units...don't like heat too much.


What carb are you running?Adams' Apple2008-02-16 21:06:51

Joel, thanks for the responses. That was what I was thinking at the time as well. I included the trany part since I wasn't sure if that was a contibuting factor and wanted to paint the whole picture. I am a little confused at the symptoms. At first I was thinking flooding since opening the air cleaner allowed her to start. But then when she finally died, the air cleaner did not help either. I did have a puff of smoke during one of the early attempts at starting. After that, nothing. I have had this Mallory fail before both coil and module at 125 miles, so I was carrying my original cap and coil as a backup in the car. While waiting for a tow, I changed the cap and coil to the original, she cranks solid but no pop at all... I was not able to change the ign module because the prongs are spaced wider on the malory connector. The carb is a QJet custom from Sean Murphy Induction to match the engine profile (also new with engine 1 yr ago). Leaning towards ign module? I would think that if it was only flooding, I would hear some kind of pop or something? FLA VETTE2008-02-17 09:14:20

I am using the in-line filter, not sure if it is bronze or paper?

The paper, in carb filters can break up, and lodge in the needle/seat, causing flooding. I wouldn't think one a year old would have that problem, but....anything is possible.
I'd go ahead and pull some plugs, and look for wet ones. Whether due to flooding, OR ign. failure, wet plugs won't fire. If you have wet plugs, dry them off and try starting. Alternatively, you could check to see if the plugs are getting fire to start with. You've already noted that the carb has plenty of fuel, so we could prolly rule out a failed fuel pump. Let's find out if we have any fire to the plugs. Of course, now that it has sit for a while, it may fire right up. If so, then we're prolly looking at a failed ign. module. Heat will take it's toll on them, no mater who made it. I've seen MANY HEI modules that would start failing with the same symptoms as you described. Runs like crap...stall then restart...stall then no start, start OK when cold.
First thing is to check the plugs. Like I said, if they are wet, it ain't gonna wanna run, regardless of the reason. Also, plugs that have been fuel-soaked are pretty much useless...once the insulators are soaked with fuel, they tend to act as grounds, killing any spark. So...if your plugs are still wet after sitting overnight, replace them. You can let the wet ones air-dry for a few weeks, and then have them as spares, for emergencies.

I will try to get some time today to do some checking. What is the safest way to check for spark without zapping myself. Been there, done that a long time ago, didn't feel good.

Oh, common!! Just grab ahold of the wire!!!

If you do not have a spark tester, the next best thing is a spark plug. If you have an old plug around, just plug it into one of the wires, and ground the metal part to the engine(NOT to the carb!), and crank it over. You should see a nice, blue spark jump from the center electrode to the side electrode. If the spark is yellow, or very weak, you have either a bad wire, or a failing ign, which could be the coil, or the module. The pole-piece can also cause ign problems, but they normally either work, or they don't. The pole-piece is the "trigger" part that goes around the dist. shaft, and is triggered by the "teeth" on the shaft as it spins.

So...get ya a plug from somewhere, and stick it in one of the wires on yer car. You can buy spark testers at the parts houses fairly cheap, too. Prolly under $10... It is basically the same thing as a used plug, but with a clamp to hold it to the engine, and the other end is adjustable, so you can vary the amount of gap, which is useful when determining if the coil/module is producing enough spark to jump a specific gap.

Whether you use a plug, or a tester, be sure that it is gapped correctly for your engine. .030 is a good starting point, depending on what you normally run your plug gap at.


I still say grabbing the wire is quickest...
Adams' Apple2008-02-17 09:41:09

I'm not sure myself...I'd go with a Mallory unit, or contact them and see if something else would work properly. I have seen others post here about having problems with the Mallory coils/modules...