Diagnosing an Engine Cutting Out

[454Man]

Or better yet what are the carb #s on the side (170...)

[Grim 82]

I would check the previously mentioned things before adding to your problem with possibly incompatible parts. Did you perform a tune-up or check the wires? Spray the wires like suggested, and another free check is to let it run in the dark and watch for lightning under the hood.

[454Man]

Also id check the oil pressure, choke operation( make sure its opening), ignition timing, do you here any tapping or sound like a coffee pot ( detonation) from under the hood when it cuts out?

[Irish_Alley]

i think Cadillac carbs have the fuel line out the side

[alfreema]

The truck is a 76 Camper Special with a 454 and the original carburetor.

[Irish_Alley]

does it look like that

[alfreema]

Sorry I missed some of the earlier posts when I responded earlier.

OK I see the sense in not swapping the carbs until I run the other quick tests, so I will try that this week. 

I could not find any carb numbers on the side.  I only see "Rochester QuadraJet" as you would expect.  Where are the numbers I am looking for?

The new carburetor somewhat similar to that one, at least the fuel filter coming out at a 90 degree angle from the front is the same. 

Here is a photo of mine:

[454Man]

The #s should be behind the throttle linkage on the body of the carb going vertical. Looks like it maybe a buick, pontiac, or olds carb as the fuel inlet is straight out front

[Irish_Alley]

the pic i posted is a cadilac/olds

[VileZambonie]

The truck is a 76 Camper Special with a 454 and the original carburetor.

Doesn't look it from the pic

[klaussk]

sounds like a loose battery ground to me.  try cleaning the ground and making sure its tight.

[travisr1988]

my carb on my 79 is a side inlet also, the original carb was and the one we replaced it with is also...also at the junkyard every truck i saw had the side inlet from 1976ish up

[alfreema]

The truck is a 76 Camper Special with a 454 and the original carburetor.

Doesn't look it from the pic

Interesting, maybe I am completely wrong, but what makes you think it's not original?  My great uncle bought the truck brand new and passed it to my grandfather, where it sat on his farm for a very long time (due to him not being able to drive).  It only has 64kmiles on it (my great uncle pulled a camper and traveled a lot in the summers, but also became ill and couldn't drive it much).  I can't imagine there was a need to swap he carburetor in that time frame, but it certainly may have happened.

One other side note, I think this may have been a late model 1975 that was just tagged as a '76 for VIN purposes.  I can't remember why, but something lead me to believe that.  Is that even possible?  Would it make a difference in the carburetor?

Side note: A guy I had do some body work on it did an awful job spray-painting the engine block and put a crappy coat of some rubber-looking stuff on the valve covers (both of which really torqued me).  He didn't charge me for it, but I'd rather he didn't touch it at all.

And lastly -- you guys all rock!!  I gave up and took this sucker to a guy with Chevy experience and he swapped out the HEI distributor after testing/inspecting it.

[454Man]

My condolences. Well the fuel inlet coming straight out the front instead of a90 degree elbow is a give away. The card isn't a 75 or 76 .the#s are behind the throttle linkage on the drivers side.clean it up and post the#s here.then we can tell you what carb you have.not saying the carb won't run great...

[454Man]

Also if its a pontiac rochester carb keep it those were known to be some of the best for power:)