351 Cleveland bogs/stall when in drive and foot on brake

[JonathanG]

Good afternoon everyone, I have a 1973 Mustang convertible with a 351 Cleveland, two barrel, automatic transmission.

Unfortunately, the distributor is seized. In the block, so it cannot be turned to adjust the timing. I’ve been soaking it with penetrating oil for a while, but I am afraid the unit is going to have to be broken in order to get it out. But that’s not the main reason I’m writing.

The car will idle just fine in neutral or in Park. When I put it in gear, however, and have my foot on the brake, the car starts to sputter and pull a little bit against the brake, and sometimes will stall out.

When I’m underway, it goes just fine.

The only thing that I changed before this happened, were some spark plug wires, the spark plugs, the cap and rotor. That is when I learned that the distributor was stuck.

What do you all think is the issue?

 

[Bentworker]

Maybe try disconnecting your vacuum brake booster for troubleshooting and block off the vacuum port? Keep it in mind that you WILL NOT have power brakes and it isn’t safe to drive.

 

[Sheriff41]

+1 what @Bentworker said.

 

[giantpune]

+1 on ruling out the brake booster. Thats an easy enough thing to do.

What is your timing currently?
What is your idle speed? Automatic cars naturally idle lower when you shift them from P or N into any gear. If you're idling at 500 rpm in P, then you shift it into gear, the load from the transmission and torque converter may be making it idle so low it stumbles and stalls.

As far as your stuck distributor, I recently went through that.
Option A was a slide hammer and a CV axle puller. That may get it out.
Unfortunately for me, my distributor was so seized, I broke the distributor housing trying to get it out.

Option B, I welded a fat chain to the top of the distributor shaft and jacked up on it with a cherry picker. I lifted the front of the car up a couple inches. Then I started beating the tar out of the part of the distributor that was still in the engine. The tension and the shock was enough to break it loose.

 

[JonathanG]

My idle speed was at 600 RPM, but when it started this bogging business, I upped the idle speed a bit. I don’t have a tachometer on the car.

When I checked the timing before, it was retarded, and I have it in my head that it was at 0° top dead center. Keep in mind, this was last year, and by the time I was able to get the hold down clamp on the distributor off, I actually saw that the distributor was stuck at that time, but I didn’t really give it the old college Try to get it turning. I decided for my purposes, I was going to leave it alone, and enjoy the rest of the summer.

This year, I really worked at it, and I got nowhere.

 

[steves73]

Did the distributor change include new points?

 

[Don C]

+1 on new points. As the rubbing block on the points wear the timing will retard. New points, properly adjusted, may give you back some of the lost advance.