Truck dies when put in gear

[Beastdude32]

Hi guys again with my 74 Pickup its got a 350 in her with a edlebrock performer cam, stock Rochester carburetor which was rebuilt not long ago and a edlebrock performer intake. i rebuilt the motor and after 2 weeks of head ache and busted knuckles i got her in the truck and the engine runs great in park. put as soon as i put her in gear she dies or bogs down and dies shes bipolar like that. if i keep the rpms up i can get her moving and driving but just sitting there she dies. Ive gone through and done the timing by ear because my timing mark Doesn't line up with the tab and i got the air fuel mixture screws tuned right and there are no vacuum leaks. what could be my problem? people are telling me its the torque converter but it drove fine before the old motor died. could it have gone bad sitting there?

[LTZ C20]

I'm gonna ask the obvious here but what is your curb idle speed? What does it idle at in park and in gear?

[Beastdude32]

Normally its supposed to be around 700-800 but i have to have it at about 1200-1300 for it to stay running in gear and even then the idle drops to about 600

[CDog86]

I don't know if this is the case for you, but I live in Alaska and my '86 Scottsdale does this if I don't let it get warmed up enough before I try to put it in gear. (every single time I've tried before it's warm it dies)

[Ben_Greenberg]

Is this pretty typical? My 78 will die in gear if I only let it sit for a few seconds. If so I will keep this in mind haha. I'm used to my later model vehicles and my 78 is a little new to me.

[LTZ C20]

700 is idle in park and 500 is idle in gear. UNLESS, you have a crazy cam and require special tuning and adjustments. I doubt that's the case. What type of carburetor do you have?

[Beastdude32]

I have a stock Rochester Quadrajet which was rebuilt only a few months ago and stored in a box as i built this new motor. and i do have a bigger cam in it but i dont think the cam would make this much of a problem (and before you ask i dont know how much of a bigger cam, it cam with the motor i bought with no papers. i just know its an edlebrock brand preformer cam) and when its warm is stays alive barely but once i get it rolling and it moves before dying it drives great. this is just so frusterating

[FlatBlack77]

700 is idle in park and 500 is idle in gear. UNLESS, you have a crazy cam and require special tuning and adjustments. I doubt that's the case. What type of carburetor do you have?

this is exactly what i have the idle set to in both my trucks.

both trucks start and run just fine but one will be fine without really warming up just pop it in drive and go.

the other will pretty much die as soon as it goes into drive unless it gets a chance to warm up for a few minutes. other wise i gotta tap tap tap the gas as i put it in drive and kinda tap tap tap untill it gets moving once its moving its fine and once its warmed up the problem goes away. ive just learned to live with it

once it is warm does it stay running? just barley isnt very specific. you gotta keep on the gas? rpms drop way down?

after i did the intake manifold, carb, and tunup on my 77 i had trouble getting it to idle and stay running and it turned out to be all in the timing. timing wasnt right therefore the idle was impossible to get perfect and therefore it wouldnt stay running well at all.

sorry for the long post guess i dont need to write a book

[LTZ C20]

What kinda of heads does the engine have? Do they have a heat cross over built in?

[Beastdude32]

They are just regular stock cast iron heads. im ppretty sure the torque converter is my problem its the only thing thats makes sense right now

[LTZ C20]

What transmission do you have? Is it built up or stock?  What is the recommendation for the converter for your cam? The cam should have come with a piece of paper that's called a cam card, it has the specifications for the cam on it. It will tell you if there is a suggested stall speed or a required stall speed or if no special converter is required.  If you don't know then you need to find out. Figure out the model number for your cam, go in the manufacture site or a place like summit racing. If your converter doesn't match your cam there your going to have issues.

[Beastdude32]

its a stock TH350 trans and i have no idea what cam it is i just know its an edlebrock performer the cam came in the motor whan i got it and it has less that 1000 miles on it and i didnt get paper work,

[LTZ C20]

Well that's going to be an issue. Your gonna have to do some research and see if you can figure it out. Maybe contact the person you bought it from and see if they know or can point you in the right direction. It's gonna be required information so that we can determine whether or not it's a hard part, cam to converter issue, or something more along the lines of tuning and adjustments.

[Beastdude32]

Well i ordered myself a 1500RPM Stall converter which is a bit stronger than a stock converter so i think that will fix her. i pulled the tranny out today and fired up the engine and it purred like a kitten without the tranny hooked up so im sure the new converter will be my solution ill reinstall the tranny tomorrow and let you know how it goes

[LTZ C20]

Sounds good. Yes let us know, hope it works.