1983 Chevrolet Truck Won't stay running.

POLY00

MEMBER
1983 CHEVROLET TRUCK
144,000 MILES

I have a 1983 C-10 pick up I bought off a guy he said he had an issue with the fuel pump but he purchased a new one. Upon driving home I noticed it slightly overheating then it stopped on me. It didn't want to restart until I let it cool off it did this continuously till I made it home. It is a 305 with a 4 barrel quadrajet which I swapped out for a holley 4160. I have replaced the water pump, thermostat, fuel pump and radiator please help me

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

First you have to figure out if you're losing fuel or spark. If you can't get any squirt from the nozzles in the carburetor when you work the throttle by hand, suspect a plugged pickup screen in the gas tank. Sometimes you can remove the inlet hose at the fuel pump and use compressed air in that hose to blow the sock off the pipe. Be sure to remove the gas cap first. Typically that will cause spitting and sputtering for a few seconds before it quits completely.

If you're losing spark, probably the most likely cause would be the pickup coil inside the distributor. The module or ignition coil could be intermittent too but those usually fail completely and don't work again when they cool down;... Usually.