Finally got the 292 fired up today. It started right up and idled smooth, no leaks, oil pressure good, plenty of oil going to both heads. set the idle to 2000 rpm to break in the cam, and after running a few minutes, it started to stumble a little. It smoothed out, and stumbled again, a little worse. smoothed out and stumbled again even more, so I shut it down. checked the valve lash, made sure its getting fuel, all good. now it will start, but won't stay running, it just sputters and dies. Pushed it back in the garage and called it a night because I was becoming mosquito food. Any ideas?

Fuel pump? Do you have a fuel pressure gauge on it? If not could be trash in the Carb or fuel filters. Good luck. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Foreign objects in the carburetor come to mind but also look at the condensor (if using stock ignition) they can break down and display similar symptoms.  Also, it seems more and more often lately that defective parts are showing up right out of the box.  Examine even new, unused parts.  Unfortunately a lot of junk is being peddled in pretty cartons.  Buyer beware. 

You might want to check your fuel.  First insure that the tank has an adequate level of fuel within it.  Next is the quality of the fuel.  If it’s over 90 days old, the fuel itself is questionable.  Take a smell of it and if it smells ‘sour’, it needs to be changed out.  As a general rule, always use premium fuel to crank a new engine as by law there is not suppose to be any alcohol in premium fuel.  I do repeated checks for alcohol in the premium fuel being used on the dyno and to date, I’ve found none.  Beyond the fuel itself, then you're back to the carburetor or ignition.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

The gas in the tank is about a month old, so I'm guessing its ok. The carb and fuel pump were running on the engine that just came out of the car, but I was barely driving it so its possible the carb could be gummed up inside. There is a fuel pressure gauge in line that was reading good pressure, and a clear filter in line that looks clean.

THe whole ignition system is new except for the distributor, but it was running well on the old engine.  I'll take a look at the carb this weekend.

well it wasn't the carb after all. It looks like the pertronix unit picked this exact moment to die. I threw the old points back in and it fired right up.

Good to hear.How does it seem otherwise?I guess you are relieved?