Puzzle Time

[HarleyJack17]

I would do a leak down test first. Or some way to pressurize the system. The coolant deal bugs me...that is a sign of compression into the system and will cause a hot issue fast.
It would most like not show up with fluid in a cylinder or in the oil.....seen it on newer stuff a lot.
If that checked out I would do the below.....but move the checking of voltage on the ignition to the top of the list.

I would pop the valve covers if you have not and spin it over. Make sure all looks well. If nothing is of concern, button it up. If not dig deeper. Timing is timing......keep that in mind. If you are 100% on the timing chain/cam dowel then do not worry again with that. Agree 100% to check the dizzy again...put pressure on it and make sure it is all working correctly, i.e. not a broke shaft, rotor, gear. If vac advance, disconnect it on re-installation and make sure the lever is not hung or something adding too much timing...this should have showed with a light. Initial around 15 BTDC. 100% check your voltage at the dizzy and coil, and check your grounds. If any of that is off to a certain degree the pertonix will act up exactly how you stated.....which points back to your original thought of fuel or fire. If the car was fine I would not expect it to be the carb.....even if it blew the PV the symptoms are not lining up. It could be a massive vacuum leak ...you can check that as well easily. Cover all the simple stuff before pulling the intake and heads.
Just my .02. Wish you luck and keep us posted.

[Diogenes]

I finally have it running again. While I was swapping my carb out the other day, with what ultimately was a worn out carb, I noticed my Holley leaked fuel in an odd manner, and noticed the base gasket on the manifold wet on the side. I decided to disassemble, clean, and re-assemble the carb tonight. After getting it back together, it wanted to run, but I needed to adjust the timing a bit. After a couple distributor adjustments, I was up and running. I put the timing light on it and got it back to the 16 degrees I've been running.

At present, it seems it may have been a gasket issue between the main body and the base plate of the carb. This was replaced during my rebuild about a month-month and a half ago. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary with the gasket, but swapped it out for the old one I removed. I suspect this may have been the culprit, but I've not had it up and running long enough to be entirely confident in this diagnosis. The gear on the distributor still sticks in my mind, though I've not been able to get it to move outside it's normal function.

Certainly, if the carb was sucking air it could have caused all of the issues--loss of power and overheating caused by a lean mixture--still, it's sudden onset has me wondering, though. I suppose everything has a tipping point, yet I'd have thought a little more subtle indication of an issue would've shown itself prior to it's sudden and rather dramatic failure. Admittedly, the plugs showed it running a little leaner than it was prior to the carb rebuild--but it wasn't much. I chalked it up to fresh rebuild. I even bumped the jets a bit while I was in it again, just to be safe.

Well, it will have some driveway idle and close by running for a while--before I'm comfortable with a road trip again, once I re-seal these damn Cobra Le Mans valve covers--they sure are pretty, but the gaskets like to walk/deform.

I do appreciate all the thoughts and suggestions everyone offered. This website has been a great source of knowledge for the last 10 years I've had the Galaxie--with my first FE.

[RJP]

Your problem of the baseplate to main body leakage is fairly common. It leaks from the fuel transfer passage that the base plate has going from the primary to the secondary. The main body warps at the 3 side screws on each side preventing a tight seal. The base gasket will look like it is compressed normally by 'reading' the imprint but after some time it loses some of its compression. Other problems related to this is it can affect the power valve passage seal at the baseplate as well as sucking air at the idle feed and transfer slot. I had this problem on an #1850 that's on my F-250 P/U
 when I shut the engine off it would then leak raw fuel from the carb base as you described. Standard procedure on every Holley I rebuild is that main body base gets milled as well as both metering block surfaces.

[Diogenes]

Your problem of the baseplate to main body leakage is fairly common. It leaks from the fuel transfer passage that the base plate has going from the primary to the secondary. The main body warps at the 3 side screws on each side preventing a tight seal. The base gasket will look like it is compressed normally by 'reading' the imprint but after some time it loses some of its compression. Other problems related to this is it can affect the power valve passage seal at the baseplate as well as sucking air at the idle feed and transfer slot. I had this problem on an #1850 that's on my F-250 P/U
 when I shut the engine off it would then leak raw fuel from the carb base as you described. Standard procedure on every Holley I rebuild is that main body base gets milled as well as both metering block surfaces.

I did see a few comments online regarding this issue, but I didn't know this was common. I did put a straight edge on the main body to base surface, and was able to get a feeler gauge in between--it was very little, I don't remember what it was exactly, but it wasn't flat. I have worked with many Holley carbs over the years, but I've never had this happen before. Finding someone around here that can reliably mill this is the next challenge.