[Shiny]

Please help me diagnose and get this fixed efficiently (I'm wordy, so bear with me).

Since rebuilding my carb about 10 years ago, car has been run only intermittently while I worked on stuff at my slug pace. After sitting for maybe a year since last starting, it is now out of sorts.

Car is idling like caca and stinks, which it didn't do when I first put the carb in nor last few times I started it.

I guessed it was crazy rich, so after starting cold today, I noticed the tailpipes had pewed sooty water, which I think is consistent. I held the choke flap open and it ran better, another clue to me it was rich. After it warmed up I turned the idle adjusters in a half turn and got no reaction at all.

So then I looked down the primaries and it looked like the volunteer fire crew had opened the hoses. Check this:

link to video

Does this strategy make sense?

1. try to get it to idle in gear and get RPM down, check for improvement
2. remove mixture screws, blow air in

Any other obvious things to do before I open it up?

If these two things don't fix it, seems next would be:

3. check inlet seat and float level

If that doesn't yield anything obvious I guess it will be time to tear it down and set up again?



Carb is on the original 70 350, 71 manifold, Summit 2800, TH350, mechanical fuel pump.

Carb is:

69 Buick PN 29240MD 0699

Cliff kit
New shaft bushings
Threaded and glued plugs


Modified as:

Primary Jets 070
Primary Rods 041
Secondary rod CE
Drilled holes in secondary feed tubes
Drilled idle tube to 0.037”
Yellow spring

Idle mixture screws had control when I first installed, obviously not happy now.

My guess is inlet not closing.. I think I had a brass float but don't remember.

Thanks for any direction that will save me time.