this morning i went to start my 68 chevelle and it seems the battery was dead. after rolling my car into my drive way i jump started it with my moms car. the engine turned over a bit and began to idle for about 5 seconds and a big 8" high orange flame came out the carb and the engine stalled (this happened twice). anyone have any ideas what it could be? ive been told it could be timing issues but im not sure. thanks

I just went through the same thing with my 68, of course it had been sitting for 10 years and I was just getting it going. Anyway, sounds like an ignition problem, I would start by checking your timing, cap, rotor, wires and plugs. Once all of that is determined to be correct, then your backfiring problem should go away. However, if examining the ignition system does not remedy the problem, then it is possible that the timing chain may have jumped a tooth and thrown off your cam timing....most likely this is not the case, but I have seen it happen. Start with the cap and rotor and timing.