Help Please

[timbosch89]

i have a 1983 mustang 5.0.... i traded for the car a few weeks ago, the kid who had it blew the head. he bought a reconditioned head from autozone and tried to replace it without removing the manifold. so i pulled the motor out and replaced every gasket on the motor including the oil pump becuase it was siezed. i got the motor back in, put it on tdc dropped the distributor in and it fired right up. now when you rev the motor it backfires thru the intake manifold, and if i dont hold it over 2000rpms when engaging in 1st gear it stalls and wont fire until the next day. today when it did the same thing but after it stalled it would fire over a littlebut stop turning as soon as it fires. im out of ideas if anyone has any tips or advice of how or where i could find the problem i would greatly appreciate it, thanks, tim.

[Otlaw80]

Make sure the timing is right. Make sure the firing order is right. Check all vacuum lines. Did you rebuild the carb if the car was sitting a while without running? Did you remove any of the mechanical parts besides the heads?(pistons, cam, etc.)

[bloodyspirit058]

otlaw80 beat me to it, i would say firing order... buddy had a 5.0 fox and put the wires back on wrong, he said it ran, but horrible...

[Otlaw80]

I've done that, had the distributor out 180*. Thats how i singed the hair on the front of my head Leaning over after dumping gas in the carb. running throttle by hand while my dad was cranking. POOF!!!!! backfired out the carb

[timbosch89]

i know the firing order is right. but if the egr is eliminated does it matter if the wires are hooked up? also the distributor could be off a few degrees but i thought the vacuum advance would take care of that. somebody told me if i loosen the bolt holding the distributor and drive the car down the road it will eventually move to the best spot then stop and retighten it. does that work?? also the car hadnt ran for a little over a year, it has a edelbrock carb, do i need to get a rebuild kit from edelbrock or will a stock one work?? again thanks for any tips or advice this is the first carburated v8 ive done exstensive work to

[Otlaw80]

do not loosen the distributor and drive it. it will not fix itself. You can adjust the timing by the distributor though. start the car and let it idle to normal temp. then while the car is idling, you can loosen up the bolt and move it to adjust the timing. Use a timing light to set it right. And yes, i would rebuild the carb if its been sitting for a year. Figure out wich model edlebrock it is and get a kit for it. They are fairly simple to rebuild if you pay attention when you tear it a part. The carb will also need to be adjusted after you rebuild

[timbosch89]

ok thanks for the help