I just finished getting my 350 swapped into my 87 camaro. It starts right up and purrs like a kitten everytime...for about 30 sec. I used the summit intake manifold which interferes with my throttle linkage bracket so the engine reves up to 2500 RPM right away. I will modify that today. I figured that my ignition timing was to blame but I don't have a timing light to set it. I set the timing by ear the best I could. The engine purrs pretty well when it is running and I can keep it going by goosing the throttle.
Can anyone give me some ideas of where to look for the problem? I'm thinking vacuum but I don't know how to chjeck that.

A little info:
1987 camaro with 4bbl carb
kept the stock carb
1994 350 from a van; casting 14093638
hedman headers no mufflers currently
took out AC (didn't work)
took out smog pump
summit spreadbore intake

 

when you set the timing are you disconnecting the bypass connector?

 

yes. I got the timing set right now. It still won't stay running. If I put my hand over the choke plates at just the right height it will run perfectly at 2000 RPM. Is that due to idle mixture? Am I not getting enough fuel from the pump? Where do i start?

 

I got the engine running OK now. The choke doesn't work very well. The choke never fully closes or fully opens. The big problem that I'm having now is that the radiator fan never turns on (it's plugged in) and after about 5 min of running the coolant all boils over into the over flow. What's going on?
The reason that the engine wasn't running well was an air leak at the carb gasket.