1979 Chevy Camaro Car runs weak under load

1979 CHEVROLET CAMARO

180,000 MILES • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC

WALSH4ND89

MEMBER
1 POST
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I have a 79 camaro with a 305. After buying the car I replaced the cap, rotor, coil, plugs, and wires as a little tune up. In park and in neutral the car runs great and the secondaries on the carb open up nicely and it sounds powerful. When I put it in gear and punch it or give it gas at it seems weak and very unresponsive to the throttle. With the car on the road I have never heard the secondaries open like they do when I rev it in park or neutral. Under a load they just barely try to open. I thought it might be the vacuum advance so I replaced that piece. It seemed to run even better in park when I replaced it, but just the same under a load. The carburetor is 6 year old rebuild Quadrajet based on the remanufacting sticker from 2002. Where should I go from here? thanks

Jan 30, 2008 at 9:20 PM

JOHNYPHANTOM

MEMBER
37 POSTS

there are a few things i would try , first make sure that your timing is correct , make sure that your counterweight springs in distributor are not worn out , make sure vacuum advance vacuum hose is connected to a vacuum port on carb that only pulls vacuum under throttle . theres a few things that could cause this so it might be hit and miss to find the solution , if all else fails try putting a holley 600 cfm carb on it , anyone who has tried to rebuild a quadrajet will tell you they hardly ever work right after the rebuild

Feb 7, 2008 at 6:33 PM

WALSH4ND

MEMBER
2 POSTS

So I finally had some time this weekend to dive into the car. I checked the springs and they seem to be ok. How do I know if they are ok? Would it be best just to replace them? I put an edelbrock 600 carb on it and it still has the same problem. The vacuum advance is in the right port hole. How would I go about checking if the timing is correct? thanks

Feb 17, 2008 at 4:15 PM

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