I got my car running after an intake install and some monkeying with timing to get it to idle properly. While the intake was out, I took the carb off because it was acting sticky and the throttle stuck against the secondaries. I took it off and headed to a machinist to have a look. I kept it level the entire time, then when I handed it to him, he flipped it over and in every direction - I though this was a big no-no with carbs? Anyway, the car idles fine, but when I give it gas under load (hard acceleration) it feels like its choked and has absolutely no power. Did something happen inside the carb?

 

Any suggestions?

 

Probably not. Assuming this is a QJET:

Most likely cause is the secondaries: either not opening or not adjusted properly. 1) Make sure your choke is opening completely and the choke lock out tang is not preventing the secondary air valves from opening. 2) Make sure your choke pull off is good-press in the plunger and hold your finger over the vacuum nipple. The plunger should stay in until you release your finger. 3) Check tech article on adjusting air valve tension.

 

It was a Carter AFB, just tried an Edelbrock 600cfm and it does the same thing, secondaries seem to open just fine. Not enough fuel/pressure (no fuel squirts out when hose is disconnected)? When I get up to about 3500-4000 rpm's, the A/F seems to lean out all at once. Timing off perhaps? We adjusted the timing to about 6* BTDC, so I figured that would be alright. Any ideas?

 

Replaced the original dist with a vacuum/mech advance dist? Verified mech advance with timing light?

 

Thanks naf, you're the best.

Fixed the problem. Turns out the mechanical advance wasn't working properly. When I installed a new ignition module, one of the arms was caught on itself and wasn't operating fully, so the advance was not working at higher rpm's. Thanks for the help.