I went to look at a 85 Trans Am today which is in pretty great shape except for the throttle which gets stuck. It happened around when I shifted into 4th, or if I revved high when accelerating. The gas pedal would be stuck in place and the tach would be stuck at around 4000. The only way to release it would be to turn the car off and restart it.

I was told by the guy selling in that it needed carb work, but he didn't mention this! He said they've checked out basically everything besides the carb, and they assume the throttle plate is getting stuck halfway open. Basically, I'm wondering what I can expect to pay for a rebuild, assuming that's the problem?

Thanks

When the throttle stuck, were you at WOT?

No, but it was pretty far open. The tach read in the same spot around 4000 each time and I would smell the exhaust in the cabin (no pipes). It didn't smell like it was burning rich or anything, though.

Check the carburetor linkage and throttle cable for binding, crud, etc.

A cheap carb mount gasket can stick into the holes where the butterfly valves are supposed to be moving and cause the throttle to hang open.