ok i just dumped my T.B.I system. while i was in there i went ahead and slapped in the good ol lt1 cam from a 97z. not a big cam but hey it was cheap. anyways after putting it all back together and figuring out timing and that good stuff finally got the car started. but it sounds like the cam is huge! it wont idle it hesitates to start but when finally get it going it dies right away. i'm new to carbs i just wanted the cheap HP. the carb is a used one. so is it the carb?cam?valvetrain?timing?fuel pressure? etc....

 

Could be a lot of things, you shouldn't make so many changes at once, but that's not gonna help you and we've all been there before.

It would help to know a couple thigs, what carb/intake are you using? This was a 305 TBI right?

I'm gonna make a couple guesses here, it's winter time and the number one function you need in cold weather is the choke, without the choke it's hard to get a carb'd car to start. Second, the loping could be caused by a vacuum leak, check the base of the carb first to make sure it's sealing properly and then check for any uncorked vacuum ports on the carb.

One other thought, did you match the distributor to your carb? i.e. Computer controlled carb gets computer controlled timing advance and non computer controlled gets vacuum controlled advance.

 

the carb is 600cfm edelbrock w/electric choke. w/ a edelbrock performer. the choke is hooked up.i still have my tbi system so i but that back on? and see what happens?

 

There have been a couple of others here with the same type of issue. I have been there with the Edelbrock carb myself. After you check for vacuum leaks and the normal won't idle stuff try this. This is the info I gave them:

Sounds like if you are sure you don't have a vacuum leak you may need to recalibrate the power mode in the carb. The Edelbrock has stepup springs under the the pistons that attach to the metering rods. The ones you have in there may be too heavy for the vacuum you pull at idle causing the rod to open the power port basically flooding the engine at idle. Edelbrock spring kit #1464 is about 5 or 6 bucks they are color coded and you might want to try a lighter spring to allow the vacuum to hold the metering rod down at idle and dumping fuel like you had your foot in the secondaries.


http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/eps_sect2.html

Here is a Edelbrock EPS carb user and calibration guide if you don't have one. Read the section on calibrating power mode. I know it doesn't seem right that it could cause an idle problem. I had the same thing on an Olds 350 with a W31 cam that wouldn't idle till I changed to a lighter stepup spring.

 

Another thought occurred to me, what kind of fuel pump came in the TBI cars? I had a similar thing happen when I tried to temporarily hook up a high pressure pump through a pressure regulator to an edelbrock... turned out that it was still putting out 15 PSI to the carb.

 

I have no choke on my 650 holley dp, It starts just fine in the cold. Just pump the gas turn it over and hold it a 1500 for a few secs and it is good to go. My friend has an edlebrock carb and his is a pain to get started in the cold and he has the choke hooked up and everything.

PS it only gets to 30 or so degrese around here so that might be why mines starts good.

 

Try doing that in the single digits.

My IROC has a faulty choke wire that I'm fixing this weekend.

 

it pretty much came down to the carb. or so i think. timing is there. it almost seems like it's not getting fuel. cause when we use starter fluid in the carb it starts and runs for like 2 seconds then dies. so i'm not sure how to tune or adjust carbs from it being used and all. i decided to take it to the shop so they can double check the work and everything.