ok,this is going to be lengthy and i apologise in advance.so, i recently removed the stock intake manifold and 2 barrel rochester from my 58's stock 283,and put an edelbrock performer intake and 600 cfm carb on it.i did everything correctly:cleaned the manifold and manifold mounting surfaces,new gaskets,carb base gasket,everythings,torqued up,and the like.only problem is,the new air intake's air passages are taller than stock,and the distributor would not sit in the original position.my solution was to move it to the left,where is sits down perfectly with plenty of adjustment.i retimed it according to the original manuals specs by finding tdc and such,redid and rechecked the firing order and plug wire placement,and all that good stuff.problem is:when i crank it and pump the gas,it will fire.but,when i does,it runs awfully as it revs to 3-4 grand automatically,pops and crackles,backfires,and dies abruptly.if i give it gas,it pops a flame out the carb and continues to try to die.HELP!ive run out of knowledge and ideas!any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!
Check your firing order, sounds like you might have crossed two plug wires. 18436572 is the correct order. If that doesn't work then make sure that when you dropped the dist. in at TDC that you were on the compression stroke with both valves closed or you will be 180 degrees out of time...Big Tim
Sounds to me like its 180 out. It may be top dead center but it may me on the wrong stroke. Give it a full 180 spine and redrop the distributer. Good luck
Need help You might look for a vacuum leak while you are searching for the problem. Did you know you can insert a long flat blabe screw driver in the distributer hole all the way into the oil pump and turn it, turning it to the right place will let your distributor go all the way down at the place you want your timing, this way you won't have to turn the distributor to the left like you did. When you turned it, you most likely moved it out of time. I have an Edelbrock Performer on my 350. I did some porting and polishing on my heads for better airflow, you said you noticed a difference in height of the ports, makes you wonder if the old 283 has very small port sizes on the heads. I do know that holes that don't line up will cause problems with the air flow which causes less than desirable performance. You might email the Edlebrock tech department for more information. Good luck to you, hope you resolve your trouble soon. Please keep us informed of your progress. Gerald
