First of all, this looks awesome! Great find.

From looking at your pictures, it looks like the PO may have done an EGR delete and left some of the vacuum lines uncapped. I don't know much about the carbed cars but a vacuum leak is definitely going to cause problems regardless of the type of intake. This thread is a great resource: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...iagrams-i.html You might be able to cap off the vacuum lines, or you might have to do some custom routing.

Maybe some of the carb guys can tell you more based on that video.

 

Personally, unless you work with carbs a lot, I would take it to a pro... I can change injectors and I can change pieces and parts, but a carburetor to get it running just right takes some tinkering and know-how. Remember the last Carb GM put on a car was 26 years ago! So many younger mechanics really don't know how to work on them and get them to perform at their peak.

 

Taking it to a shop is one of my biggest concerns with it being such an older car...worried about these young guns not really knowing what to do with it (I'm only 31 so I know I'm not one to speak, but I'm fairly mechanically inclined and can figure out things on my own well).

PS - I'm actually getting two days off tomorrow (finally!) so I'm going to be going at it hard...unfortunately I won't get my service manual till next week so I'm trying to do as much research as I can to see if I can figure out whats going on and what needs to be done right with the carb.

 

turboguard....PM'D

 

From your photos, I can see there are a few things missing under the hood. You had mentioned that there was no catalytic converter when you were under the car. Well, you are also missing the A.I.R. (Air Injection Reaction) system and all its associated plumbing. That's really no big deal. Many on this board talk about doing away with it to try and gain some horsepower. You are also missing the E.F.E. (Early Fuel Evaporation) system due to the plug in the top of the thermostat housing. The reason you may be having problems with your fuel tank is the E.E.C.S. (Evaporative Emission Control System) is not complete. There is a CCV (Cannister Control Valve) missing. It usually sits right next to the thermostat housing. When you get your factory service manual, you will be able to read about these systems. In the meantime, you can do a search on the forum. The stalling you are having could be directly related to this.

By the way, very clean looking car. The interior and paint look great! I wish mine looked that nice when I bought it.

 

I just did a quick search and the Cannsister Purge Valve can be found at Rock Auto. They have two manufacturers, with one priced at $12.99 and the other at $32.99. So they are still available.

 

Another thing I noticed from your photos is that the carburetor appears to have been rebuilt. I say that because of the surface finish being silver, which indicates it was cleaned and the factory finish is gone. Also, it looks like all the screws have been replaced as they all have a shiny, clean look to them. Perhaps the PO had it recently done and that isn't your problem at all.

 

Thanks guys, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for!

PS - I guess I've been a bit frazzled during this week...I went to purchase the car on Tuesday and then immediately had to work 7 days in a row and foolishly tried to tinker with the engine in the short evenings after getting home. The main thing that got me upset was having the mechanical issues when I thought the engine was completely sound, but I think once I get into my nice long "weekend" I'll be able to settle down and figure out and learn more things about it!

 

If your not familiar with carbs in general, Q-jets in particular, or CCC technology, I'd look for a book like this, and just read through it once first, to begin to gain an understanding of what some of the components are, how they function, what adjustments can be made, and in what order.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rebuild-Quad...tVwMKV&vxp=mtr

 

So today I borrowed an air compressor and checked the tube connected to the charcoal canister. I disconnected everything and tested each part. First I blew air through the tubing to the tank and it seemed to flow freely (I could see gas fumes come out the tank opening when I blew air through it). I then checked the little one-way plastic valve piece and it was working fine. I also blew air through the canister itself and everything was flowing okay. However, I'm still having trouble at the pump...my tank was at 1/4 and I couldn't even fill up without having to wait between little spurts of gas! It's a total mystery to me right now.

I also did a Sea Foam spray treatment into my carb...I got a decent amount of white smoke but nothing major. I *think* I noticed a small amount coming up from the engine bay to signify an exhaust leak, but I can't be for sure since I foolishly started from downwind of my tailpipes and there was a slight breeze blowing the smoke towards me.

My engine STILL has bad hesitation during acceleration and poor idle/stalling, albeit intermittently (seems to happen more often after warming up/hot days). Something new happened today as well, I drove to the store and when I got back to start it up, I turned the key and heard a TERRIBLE screeching noise. I immediately stopped, pumped the gas a little and was able to start it up normally. I really hope nothing was damaged during that (since the distributor/wires/plugs are nearly brand new).

I have to go into town tomorrow to get it registered and get tags for it, and I think I'm going to drive up to Hawks Motorsports since its just 20 minutes from town. I think they would be the only "pros" I would be able to trust to do things right to this car since that's what they specialize in...maybe they can at least check it out and let me know whats going on with it.

PS - I'm really starting to fall in love with this car, and I want to get her running the best she can with what she's got. These older cars have so much more personality than today's modern 4-bangers!

 

the screech was definitely the starter grinding on the fly wheel, its happened to me with my trans am maybe 5 times within 3 years and it happened with my daily driver cavalier last week. since my TPI trans am is a pain in the *** to start when its cold I usually have to turn the key 5-6 times, It will sometimes grind if I dont fully back off the key before I crank again. is that what happened to you?

 

I think I woud (personally) get the carb rebuilt. Read the manual I sent ya. It's got 1800 pages of information. Good luck at Hawks. Hope they help.

 

Pretty much, it was just such a horrible noise I couldn't help but be disturbed by it!

At this point, given the fact that all the emissions stuff has been messed with and removed, would it be cheaper to get my current carb rebuilt and recalibrated and properly put together or just get a brand new carb that works better with no emissions systems?

 

I would definitely stick with what you have. You already know what it is doing. Getting a new Quadrajet just opens up a new can of worms. Luckily, I have a shop nearby that specializes in carbs, so I got lucky. My rebuild was approximately $275.

 

There's always an old timer carb shop around every town, might have to drive a couple towns over but getting the carb rebuilt is a smart move.

 

Agree! Smart move! Just gotta look for the shop!

 

So I went to Hawks...great place, knowledgeable people, but they said it would be at least 2 weeks out for them to take my car in for service.

Are there any in-depth guides out there for properly deleting the emissions systems from my carb/engine? I think if I have something to go by I could definitely tinker with it and get everything working properly.

 

Legally speaking you probably should not remove the emissions equipment, I am not sure how much they would technically care, BUT you are not supposed to. With that said, I am not sure if there are any books out there, but the beautiful thing about a 4 bbl, is they ran cars for 70 years without emissions. However some things are beneficial for fuel economy so you may not want to just start taking things off. IIRC the EGR is actually a good thing and it is either a no loss thing or it is a slight gain in mpg, I forget which.

One of the things you might try is to simply redo all of your vacuum tubes, check them out and chase them around to see if any of them are leaking and replace or fix them. A broken vacuum line will cause a rough idle, just unplug the tube going to your brake booster and you will immediately feel the engine get rough on some cars. If there are any loose ends that were remnants of a previous shade tree mechanic from something being removed, put a screw in them, plug them up or replace the missing component.

 

Well the problem is I'm pretty much missing all my emissions components already! Personally I don't care one way or the other, but if it wasn't removed and reconfigured properly I would certainly assume that would be causing some of my engine troubles (my check engine light still comes on after warming up).

 

Nice car turboguard. You did well!

 

the deleted emissions should have little affect, except for the lack of EGR which may cause some pinging at light cruise tip in.

ALL of the vacuum lines plug into the carb or the manifold fitting behind it. You can disconnect each one from the carb and check the integrity of the line by connecting a mityvac vacuum tester to the hose. the tester is a 'loan' item at AZ and the like.

most carb problems turn out to be ignition related. how do you know the dist and its related components are new?

 

I can tell the distributor and lines are new just from looking at them...not sure if the plugs are since I haven't pulled them yet (though they are supposed to be). Would it be possible that the new ignition components weren't set up properly? I wouldn't put it past whatever garage worked on it before to not have screwed it up. Last week when I was checking under the car I noticed one of the bolts that was holding the driveshaft to the transmission was about an INCH out, so...yeah. Not much faith in the previous garage work, lol.

 

Alright so I figured out where that little line coming from the back of the carb was supposed to go:



I missed it at first because according to my vac diagram it was supposed to be going to the drivers side sensor thing, which was ready occupied by another line going to a different place in the carb. I stuck it back in and I could immediately tell my idle was much better than before. I'll drive around a while tomorrow in the heat and see if I'm still getting the acceleration stumbling.

I also noticed a strange noise coming from the drivers side of the engine:


Any clues what this could be??

 

nope. that vac line does not plug into the baro sensor on the right. although it looks identical to the vac sensor, it provides a reference signal for atmospheric pressure to the ecm. The vac sensor should connect to the right/rear port on the carb through a hard plactic tube within the ECM wiring harness.

 

that dist is certainly not 'new' nor are the wires or cap.

 

How can you tell? The person I bought it from said it was a new MSD distributor and it certainly looks like one...

 

It was likely new at some point in time but the corrosion around the base and build up of dust/dirt on the cap is evidence of some amount of time since it was installed.

I would also suspect it is not an 'MSD' distributor. Maybe an 'MSD' cap.

 

were it mine I would replace all of the 'tune up' items: cap, rotor, plugs and wires. then change all of the fluids, including the rear diff. normal stuff done to a 'new to me' car. then you'll KNOW where you're starting from.

 

Definitely some good points, I definitely need to check the plugs anyway and take a look at the cylinders if possible.

Can anyone recommend a good, safe brand of jacks I could pick up at your typical big box/chain stores in town?

 

I would just go to Sears and get craftsman jack stands and a floor jack. It's the jack stands that will save your life, not the floor jack

 

So I think most of my remaining engine issues are due to the chopshop job it had of removing the emissions systems. I want to at least get my charcoal canister side of things hooked up properly again, since I've read its a separate system from the smog pump/cat. Is there a comprehensive guide anywhere to properly fixing the charcoal canister system back up without the AIR system in place? If I knew all the proper parts I need and what lines need to go where I'm sure I could fix it up myself, and maybe even fix my check engine light from coming on.

 

love it!

 

So I did my first ever oil change today even though the PO said it had been only 250 miles since the last one when I bought it (I estimate a total of 750 miles on the "fresh" oil when I changed it). I also did a Sea Foam treatment in my crankcase about 200 miles before I changed it. When the old oil came out...it was BLACK...like dark chocolate milk black. So either the PO lied/was lied to about the previous oil change, or the Sea Foam actually did some work!

I put in Mobil 1 full synthetic 5w30 high mileage and a WIX filter, and started her up and everything sounded really good. Seems to start a little easier as well. It really is a good feeling working on your car yourself and seeing results! I think my next project will be a complete coolant flush since the coolant in my reservoir is looking pretty dirty.

 

So I think I just fixed my engine problems. After doing some more research and looking at carb a little more carefully I discovered my vac sensor hose wasn't even going anywhere and the hose from my carb was going into the baro sensor. So I got that mix up fixed, and then I noticed one of the vac holes on the front of my carb wasn't even plugged! I'm shocked it was running as well as it was with such a huge leak. I also noticed this weird hole:

Any clue whats going on here?? I plugged it up just to be safe but it looks like something used to be there.
Pumping gas is still an issue unfortunately...I'm pretty sure it has to do with getting that new tank installed.

 

Well I guess I spoke too soon...drove my folks up to Greenville for some live music...the trip there was nice and smooth (about an hour trip with high speed traffic), check engine light never came on. Then as soon as we got into downtown, got to the first stop light and stalled out. I did have the AC on, so I turned it off and started it back up okay. Afterward the idle was kind of rough but it didn't stall out again (i kept the AC off). Check engine light never came on either. The temperature gauge never went to even half during the trip. Oil pressure was good, straight up while driving...it did fall slightly below the 1/4 mark while at idle, but I've read that's okay. Sorry I don't have actual numbers, I'm just going off memory of the gauges right now. If anyone has any insight, any info would be appreciated!

 

Your stalling problem with the A/C could be due to the "kicker" solenoid not working, or perhaps not there at all. It is supposed to kick the idle rpm up a bit with the A/C on. Your normal idle rpm should be about 600-700. The coolant temp gauge should be just past the first mark, which would be around 190-200F. If it gets into the middle, that is too hot. Your oil pressure is about 45psi or three quarter on the gauge while cruising. Once the oil has warmed up, it will drop a bit. At idle, it can be anywhere between 15-25psi, or as you mentioned, about one quarter on the gauge.

You are getting to know your car and learning the quirks.

 

Looking over the photos you posted of your carburetor, I see that the "kicker" solenoid is missing. As you can see in the photo of my carb, it is in the middle right of the picture. It pushes on the throttle to slightly raise the idle with A/C. This is due to the added load of the compressor.

 

Man your carb looks so clean compared to mine

Would replacing the solenoid be as easy as buying the part and plugging it in?

 

In regards to the solenoid you need, I am not sure they are easily available anymore. It's a fairly simple part which was probably used across many models of GM cars and trucks. As you can see in the photo, there is a spade connector on the solenoid. You should at least be able to find that laying in that area.

 

Yep...found the connector...at least now I know what it used to go to, lol. Any clue what the part number would be or what the "official" name of it is so I could try finding it online?

 

I found what you are looking for and it comes with the bracket and mounting hardware. The downside; "it aint cheap!". Rock Auto shows two offerings in the $60 range. And believe me, they are the most affordable parts house I've found. Your other choice is Fleabay, but in my opinion, that's a crap shoot with electrical parts.
It is called an Idle Stop Solenoid, and will be found under the "fuel and air" heading.

 

Thank you so much! Saved me a lot of time! I have no clue why it would have been removed and not replaced with the AC still in good condition. Oh well, these extra expenses are always expected when it comes to these old cars, and I definitely need my AC down here!