ok heres the deal, i have an 86 firebird 305. the problem started when the carb keeps flooding in about 1 minute after starting the car. gas starts pouring out from all ports, and even the butterflies on top. i took the carb back to the shop and had it cleaned cuz they said it had a lil bit of trash in it. put it back on, and the exact same thing happened. carb shop is blaiming it on my gas tank, but i have 2 diff fuel filters before the gas gets to the carb, one of which is a clear glass filter that i can see is free of trash, so im not really believing that. has anybody had this problem before, or know whats going on? id really appreciate the help. thanks

Assuming you have a 4-barrel carb, you may have one or two fuel bowls. Normally, there's one, but if you have a double-pump carb, then you have a second fuel bowl for your secondaries.

The fuel is pumped into the bowl(s), and the floats inside rise until they close the needle and seat assembly. This prevents overfilling the bowls and the flooding that you describe.

So this means that your needle and seat assembly is not stopping the flow of fuel. Assuming that your carb is correctly assembled, there are 4 possible causes:

• debris preventing the needle and seat from closing
• worn needle and seat that no longer seal properly
• leaky or porous floats that fill with fuel and do not rise to close the needle and seat
• excessive fuel pressure that overcomes float pressure to keep needle and seat closed

If you have an electric fuel pump with a regulator, you may have to adjust the fuel pressure down. Otherwise, you are looking at repairing or replacing the carb. I have seen metal floats with pinholes in them that fill up with fuel, and produce the condition that you describe. A lot of people overlook this possibility.