[uneasyrider]

How many miles on the engine?

[6969bird]

around 5500. it's brand new. it's been doing this for about a year now, but i just got back from school, so i'm just now getting around to trying to fix it.

[uneasyrider]

Well it's more than likely something simple and stupid that will just be a pain in the butt to tinker with until you find it. Check all the things everyone had said and the simple things like low battery charge, loose belts, loose wires, etc, the standard things you look at when you give your car a once over before a long trip kind'a thing. It has me wondering though so let us know what you find. It very well could be a vapor lock or something along those lines still.

Good luck,

[David Jones]

I had a Pertronix HEI distributor and it performed well for a while. Then the car developed a weird problem. For the first 15-20 minutes the car ran fine. Good idle. Good power. After it completely warmed up it wouldn't idle in gear without some help from my foot on the accelerator. Ran fine otherwise. I checked all kind of things and finally as a last resort, I bought a new module. Problem solved. I sent the bad module back to Pertronix and they warranteed it.

[6969bird]

Well, the problem is finally solved. It was indeed the ignition module. After i went through the carb a second time (checking needle and seat, metering rods and springs, floats, filters, jets, idle circuit, etc.) I finally gave up that it was fuel related. Some things just didn't fit (i.e. after it died, it would start right back up, ruling out vapor lock.) So i started to look at the ignition. I had just replaced the coil because that went bad a little while ago, but i tested that anyway. All good. Ohmed the plug wires, cold and hot, all good. Checked all the plugs for signs of getting too hot. All good. Checked the hall effect switch for output, that was good. Checked the ignition module for a grounding signal, THAT was good. However, a combination of a hunch of mine, and the fact that i could get a Delco replacement for 25 bucks, led me to replace the igniton module. VOILA!!! I drove it around for 2 hours today, and not a single cough. Just in case anyone was wondering, the GM replacement module that I bought for my Pertronix H.E.I. was made for a '76 camaro. Also, the cap and coil that i have on it right now is from a '89 chevy van, just in case anyone was wondering if Pertronix (or probably most other aftermarket H.E.I.'s out there) just copied GM's design. THEY DID. I for one am going to stick to good old GM parts from now on, since aftermarket stuff has shown me to usually be junk in comparison.

[6969bird]

p.s., sorry about the rant. just a little peeved that a module took a crap after 5000 miles.

[6969bird]

p.p.s. thank you everybody for all of the advice and ideas. you guys were a big help in figuring out what was plaguing my poor pontiac! hope this helps someone else of they ever have this strange problem!

[uneasyrider]

That's good info though! Your pain in the butt might save a bunch of guys reading this a lot of headache!