problems with my "new" carb

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It sounds like you will need to adjust the electric choke. I usually do it while the engine is cold and the wire is disconnected. That way, I can set it to the right spot where it places it on the fast idle spot, but only barely. Then I set the fast idle speed with the engine cold. It is important to do this with a cold engine and not to let it run for long or you will not set it right. Let it run for a few seconds and turn it off as soon as possible. If you need to return to baseline on the idle mixture screws, just remember that most carbs will run with the screws set to 1.5 or 3 turns out. I think that 1.5 is the correct baseline on an Edelbrock. Then you fine tune it from there. If it is putting black smoke out the tailpipe during "transition" from part to full throttle, you need a weaker step up spring so that vacuum can keep the power piston down in the bore longer. I wound up needing to do this to optimize my Edelbrock 600 with my mild 355. My idle vacuum is, I think, 18 in.Hg. What cam are you running? If it is a stock one from a standard performance engine, it should be higher than 18in.Hg. (Only a solid cam engine from the 60's or 70's from a Z-28 should be significantly lower stock). What is your vacuum reading? Also, has your balancer's inertia ring slipped relative to the hub? If it has, your timing mark will no longer be accurate and you will need to re-establish TDC on the balancer in order for your timing light to give you an accurate reading. This is a common problem on older engines as the rubber elastometer tends to dry out over time and loose it's grip on the 2 pieces. When this happens it is not uncommon for the two pieces to slip relative to each other, or even to come apart in severe cases.

 

[Chillin014]

im not sure how to set the fast idle speed. is that which step you place that screw on the fast idle cam? my vacuum was varying but kinda hanging around between 15 to 20. I have a stock cam as far as I know. basic bolt on motor.
i have no idea how to check if my inertia ring has slipped

It sounds like you will need to adjust the electric choke. I usually do it while the engine is cold and the wire is disconnected. That way, I can set it to the right spot where it places it on the fast idle spot, but only barely. Then I set the fast idle speed with the engine cold. It is important to do this with a cold engine and not to let it run for long or you will not set it right. Let it run for a few seconds and turn it off as soon as possible. If you need to return to baseline on the idle mixture screws, just remember that most carbs will run with the screws set to 1.5 or 3 turns out. I think that 1.5 is the correct baseline on an Edelbrock. Then you fine tune it from there. If it is putting black smoke out the tailpipe during "transition" from part to full throttle, you need a weaker step up spring so that vacuum can keep the power piston down in the bore longer. I wound up needing to do this to optimize my Edelbrock 600 with my mild 355. My idle vacuum is, I think, 18 in.Hg. What cam are you running? If it is a stock one from a standard performance engine, it should be higher than 18in.Hg. (Only a solid cam engine from the 60's or 70's from a Z-28 should be significantly lower stock). What is your vacuum reading? Also, has your balancer's inertia ring slipped relative to the hub? If it has, your timing mark will no longer be accurate and you will need to re-establish TDC on the balancer in order for your timing light to give you an accurate reading. This is a common problem on older engines as the rubber elastometer tends to dry out over time and loose it's grip on the 2 pieces. When this happens it is not uncommon for the two pieces to slip relative to each other, or even to come apart in severe cases.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Turning the choke coil housing by loosening the 3 screws that hold the black Bakelite housing adjusts the duration of the choke. The screw that hits the fast idle cam adjusts the actual speed of the fast idle. You want it to be the slowest it can be when on the fastest ramp of the cam while still allowing a dead cold engine to run without stalling. I set mine up over a series of nights at around 3am when it was in the 40's outside. Now, my car will start without even pumping the gas so long as the choke is closed. It took some time, but that's also the advantage of not needing the car and being able to walk away.

To tell if the ring has slipped, you need to put the number one piston at TDC on the compression stroke and see where the line on the inertial ring is relative to the timing mark. Or, just set it where it will run. Not the best method, but it will get you by.

 

[Chillin014]

Turning the choke coil housing by loosening the 3 screws that hold the black Bakelite housing adjusts the duration of the choke. The screw that hits the fast idle cam adjusts the actual speed of the fast idle. You want it to be the slowest it can be when on the fastest ramp of the cam while still allowing a dead cold engine to run without stalling. I set mine up over a series of nights at around 3am when it was in the 40's outside. Now, my car will start without even pumping the gas so long as the choke is closed. It took some time, but that's also the advantage of not needing the car and being able to walk away.

To tell if the ring has slipped, you need to put the number one piston at TDC on the compression stroke and see where the line on the inertial ring is relative to the timing mark. Or, just set it where it will run. Not the best method, but it will get you by.

i'll check that out later. oh okay the duration of the choke...gotcha. Yeah cause i dont seem to see a difference when i turn the housing. I dont think the choke cam thing is working for some reason though. It will stay in its fast mode until I remove it and it idles at what sounds like a normal speed and the choke is staying fully open. so the fast idle ends up staying on most of the time 🙁 until i remove it...

 

[Chillin014]

oh my god...what is it gonna take to make the linkage work? I bought a new bracket from autozone which holds the tv cable and throttle cable perfect...but the tv cable even fully extended is not long enough to reach anything on the edelbrock linkage ....

looks like i'll be getting rid of the Cruise Control which never worked in the first place because theres just not gonna be room to hook that up also...oh well...maybe it'll contribute to a much cleaner engine bay.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Sounds like you got the wrong bracket. The TCI bracket I got was specifically designed for the Edelbrock carb and looks like it relocates the cable well enough to make it work. Mine is part number 376300 from TCI. It is important to note that the Edelbrock does not have the same bellcrank geometry as the Quadrajet for the stud mount. I think that even the motion ratio may be different. It's part of the reason I run a Quadrajet as it is much easier to get everything hooked up right as it is a factory application.

Here's a picture of it:

 

[Chillin014]

thanks but I dont see how that bracket pushes the TV cable any closer to the linkage? thats raelly the only current problem.

i thought the part i needed would be more like this

this is the bracket i bought.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

First off, that's the bracket I was afraid you bought. I had one and it was worthless as it will never stay tight and will rotate towards the carb under pressure due to pushing the gas pedal and also the throttle return spring. A good throttle bracket will bolt to at least two points to keep it stable. As for how it helps, as compared to the original GM bracket, the TV cable is pushed outboard of the original position and is a little closer to the carb as it is inline with the position of the throttle cable instead of behind it by an inch as it is on the original bracket. It bolts to the two rearmost carb studs and appears quite sturdy. All of those adjustments on that cheap Spectre bracket spell disaster as they will never stay put.

One more thing: It needs to be placed outboard of the original bracket's position because the cable will not be inline with it's mounting position on the outside of the bellcrank otherwise. With the factory bracket, I had to mount it on the inside of the bellcrank in order to be able to get it to attach. This was not good as the cable caught on a bolt when it was at WOT. That was why I needed a bracket to move it outboard. You probably also want the geometry correction bracket like you pictured in the first pic you posted too.

 

[Chillin014]

yeah....but it doesnt matter at the moment because I dont even have anywhere to hook up my TV cable.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Damnit, now I gotta take another pic of how I hooked it up without the bracket. It's not perfect, but it works sorta ok. Why didn't you reuse the Quadrajet? I think you told me once but I forgot. It just seems it would have been cheaper (and easier) to have it gone through for about $100-150 by a local carb shop than to have to go through all of this.