lack of power
 

i have a 1968 impala 4 door its got a 350 in it pretty much stock i have a nice intake and a 650 edelbrock carb but other then that its stock the problem i have is its slow i realize its a big car but i cant even spin the tires am i just expecting to much or is there something wrong any suggestions would be nice thanks

Hi matthewstephenp,

Welcome to the Chevy forums.

I'm just going to assume a tune up with plugs, points, rotor, cap, a gas and air filter has been done.

The condenser gets ignored. It should be replaced with the points every time, but many people assume that because it has no moving parts it lasts forever. As it gets older, it starts to degrade as the dielectric media inside(much like a tightly wrapped waxy paper) starts to deteriorate. Then your dwell, which gives you a crisp, blue spark across your points goes to a yellow spark which will barely support ignition. Be sure to re-gap your points and reset your tune-up specs. You can get away with advancing your timing a scoche.(means a degree or two, not 22)

How's that transmission filter coming along? Should see a change every 35 or 40 K, so let's just figure you got your moneys worth out of the old one, and change it before the vehicle refuses to move at all.

The ignition wires also tend to get ignored. 7mm wires are OK, since it's still a points type ignition. If you bend a wire over your finger and see cracks in the rubber, it's time to replace them.

Now we're going to get out of the box a little. Take the air filter, unscrew the wing nut on the top of the cover, flip the cover over(just the lid) and screw it back down. You should have a 1/2" to 3/4" air gap, literally you should be able to see your air filter. This increased air flow might agree with your carburetor.

Please message back if any of these suggestions worked, and do be careful, once you unchain the beast, you may start axle-hopping the leaf-springs right off the rear of the car.

i did all the plugs and everything and im putting a new distributor in i got nice accel one ill change that transmission filter and see if that helps thanks for your suggestion hopefully ill get it running good soon

what gears does it have? if you have the 3.08 or 2.90s you will be slow off the line. i have owned a bunch of 65 impala's, and there about the same weight, i had 3.43s and a worked over 283, and could not brake the tires louse..what I'm trying to get at is you may need to re gear, if all mechanical issue are fixed.
also, what size rear tires are you running? to tall with a 3.00 something rear and you will have issues.

also check for your rear breaks could be hanging up a little

good luck..

Headers and numerically higher gear ratio would help. That is one HEAVY car. 3,650 lbs plus. Try advancing the timing 2 degrees at a time. Like 6 or 8 BTDC. Stock is probably 4 degrees.