My car in some manners seems to have a mind of it's own. This is fine, until I brake a little to hard into a corner and my car shuts off, leaving me without power steering which results into a car cussing good time. I'm afraid that someday this may happen on a busy road and result in a scramble for dear life. My car has got a few new things which are:

Carb(refurbished Holley 1 bbl)
Alternator(I don't think that could cause it anyway)
Battery(first one snapped)
spark plugs(splitfires)
Cables(my dad changed these, don't no specifics)
Airfilter changed at needed time
Oil changed at needed time
radiator(old one, just non leaky)
Many other parts, just not engine related

Generally, I find that it seems to me like it would be either a carb or fuel sending type problem, but there was something on this forum which made me think. It sounds like the 1 bbl carb just sorta sucks in general, so if this is the problem, what do I need to change to a 2 bbl(other than the 2bbl car)? If I did this, what would be the drop in fuel economy? I was looking around and was suprised to see you can stick computers on the slant six, wish I could take the time to learn that, but unfortuneately my Dart has served me well but is not what I want in my life. I'm saving up for a sportier, more fuel efficient vehichle and mainly I'm trying to get my Dart saleable at a somewhat good price, and make it somewhat fun to drive during the year I own it. Basically I want to do minimal on engine to make it seem safe to me so that I can focus in on the stuff I can make(redoing door panels, minor electrical, and other interior and body stuff). So, along with asking about the engine problem if anyone could suggest any cheap fixes or mods to boost drieveability(emphasis on MPG and not shutting of on you randomaly). Anything cheap that brings up speed would also be welcome.

Thanks,
Eric(73' Dodge Dart 4 door, originally $300)

P.S.: When I brake a little too hard into the corner it doesn't mean I'm speeding, just want to clear that up.

perhaps a carb problem, like float level set too low. a low level of fuel in the carb will slosh in a corner causing a lean condition.

-james

_________________

I had a similar problem after I installed a rebuilt Holley 1920.

It ended up being fixed by adjusting the fuel mixture.

Also, a lot of my carb problems were solved after I replace the fuel pump. I had the original pump on and was not getting enough fuel.

Changing the pump was the best $11 I have spent on the car.

John Killin

This sure sounds like a mis-adjust carb to me. Rebuilt and even new carbs need some "fine tuning" to get them to work well.

Other things to do would be a complete tune-up including a valve adjustment. Make sure the distributor advance is working well and give the engine a little more initial advance, that should help power and MPG.
DD

I think the fuel pump sounds likely. My engine's been tune-up recentely, so if they did mess it up I won't have a clue. It runs, that's about all I know. Initially when we got it we had to adjust the carb by ear, it sorta worked, sorta didn't in certain weather. I'll try the fuel pump, probably should be replaced even if it isn't the problem. If mixture is the problem I don't have any equipment or the guessing know how to fix it. It seems like getting a tune-up is about $50 and the last time I did it the car was down for two days. I find it scary when me (a definite amateur) can go into the engine and do a whole lot of fix-up and not screw it up, and a well-trained mechanic goes in and right away manages to screw up about a series of what sounds like 10 different parts. Not too angry about it in general, because the parts were replaced for free and I'm a skateboarder that needed the practise anyway.

Tune-up was about six months ago, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. Not anything over 10 months ago. I know this well, it's been wihin the year that I could legally drive the car without a parent escort.