First time posting so looking for some help on my 83 TA with the CCC qjet. I had rebuild my carb but could never get it to run clean so was advised by a local mechanic to just get a complete carb that had already been rebuilt. So I purchased a matching complete carb. After install it would run at idle but when you would give it throttle it would fall on its face and sputter and die. Then would take a little work to get started again. I ended up replacing the fuel pump and rubber fuel lines but it still will not run even having trouble now just keeping it running at an idle. I am at a loss so any advice would be appreciated.

 

Which fuel pump? I was having an issue similar to this with a new Carter fuel pump. The pressure was too high though and it was flooding the carb, causing a bog. I found a NOS fuel pump and that solved my problem. Check your oil on the dipstick and see if smells like gas. If so, I'd bet your pump is too strong for the stock carb. You'll need a different pump or a pressure regulator.

 

It is just a stock mechanical fuel pump.

 

Is the engine getting too much fuel? Or not enough fuel? This can be ascertained by removing the air filter lid and looking down the carb barrels.

 

Check/Replace your fuel filter.....it's under the larger fiting where the fuel line enters the carb.
Had the same kind of issue with my '82, the car would run then start to sputtering and die out at anything over a idle. It was a new filter from when I replaced a failed fuel pump a month earlier, never would have thought a filter would be bad out of the box but it was (it kinda disintegrated and got squishy). Not saying it is the problem but that $3 part caused me a lot of grief.

 

A bad pump can commonly deliver, but at too low a pressure. Go over your flex and steel lines under the car and check if they hold vaccuum. 83 may have feed + return if not modified.

If idling, air cleaner lid off, you should see a fuel pump shot when you crank the throttle bellcrank. If you don't, and all lines check out, new pump time. I never had a low pressure fuel pressure gauge for years, and even when I did, that was what I did before replacing my last L69 pump.

 

^Those are good guesses. Now, you need to go out to your car, and determine if:

 

A parts store rebuilt Q-jet carburetor is a mix and match of the 15,836 different calibration Q-jets that GM put on their cars since they started using the Q-jet carburetor. They take all the Q-jet carbs they get as cores tear them down and dump all the parts together in a parts cleaner. Then stick them back together with whichever parts they grab first. Rebuilt by idiots that have no idea what a carburetor even is.

Aftermarket mechanical fuel pumps are just whatever fuel pressure they happen to be with no regard to the actual application.

We live in a New World and it sucks.

 

Step 1: take the parts store carb off of your car. Set it aside and forget it exists.

Step 2: rebuild your original carb, including replacing the fuel filter in the big inlet nut. Make sure you put the filter in right: spring behind it against the flat metal surface pushing it outward, rubber valve thing facing out toward the nut, screw the nut on.

Step 3: set up the carb with the idle mixture screws about 6 turns out, the lean stop such that the tapered portion of the rods is just barely all the way into the jets when all the way down. Measure how far the tips below the taper are below that point, and after the air horn is on, adjust the rich stop to set the solenoid plunger stroke to that exact amount (you can push on it through one of the vent holes in the top of the carb). Set the idle air bleed such that its tip is still just barely engaged with the top of the solenoid when in the full lean position.

Step 4: before putting it on your car, verify that the fuel pump can move plenty of fuel: put about a 4' piece of 3./8" hose on its output (might be easiest to get an adapter for 3/8" inverted flare to hose barb), put a gas can well outside of the engine compartment, run the hose over to it, turn the car over with the starter, make sure it can move at least 4 oz of fuel a second while cranking

Step 5: install; once the carb is on the car and the engine is running, adjust the IAB for highest idle vacuum. If you have a dwell meter, set it for 30° of dwell as read on the 6-cyl scale (50% duty cycle) If you don't, chances are it will need to be part of a turn clockwise from the above point, butt that will get it running well enough to road-tune

 

That is great advice, but if it were me, the FIRST thing I'd do is....
Easy, free, quick....conclusive.