[Darth Menace]

Thanks for the help. Glad the compression test ended up okay. I have 3 days off starting tomorrow so time to get down and get the carb tuned/timing set so I know where I stand

Originally Posted by PontGuy

Well it has been fun today, but will not be able to keep the lead indefinitely so someone else will need to step in eventually.

Can't say on the gas grade, we haven't got into dynamic compression yet- another lesson for later
I'd start with premium, get it running good, then try mid-grade. Not so sure about regular but might be OK.

Glad to hear you already have good instructions on setting the timing. If the engine is running then no real reason to put it off. The last time I had a "newbie's" car in my garage for a checkout the timing was way, way, way retarded. So far off that I was afraid to advance it all the way to 36 deg without test driving it half-way there. Made a huge difference in the way the engine ran.

Not sure what to say about the carb- not exactly a light topic for someone new to them. Other than the idle does it seem to work OK? FYI pulling the choke closes the choke flap and also increases the idle speed by raising the throttle position using detents on the choke assembly. Pushing the knob back in opens the choke flap but the idle speed does not reset until you step on the gas a bit. So the engine speed increases. Perfectly normal.

The plugs may clean up when you go for a drive with everything set right. Cold idling does not do them much good.

[PontGuy]

Just re-read all of this.

Stuck in front of a computer at home working all day this week, and helping you out made for some good breaks yesterday. Guess we can keep on going if you have more questions.

Another mention on the carb choke. Once you get it running you can adjust the knob in or out to get a smooth idle while it warms up. When you are ready to drive you push it in and hit the gas a bit and it should slow down. Not sure about the Edelbrock but it probably has multiple detents so that you can push the knob in partially and slow the idle down some, but not all the way to normal.

With an electric choke the above happens sort of automatically. But you still have to step on the gas to set the choke, and then again to get it off the fast idle detent once it warms up. Its just not like today's computer-controlled fuel injection.

I never owned an Edelbrock carb so not sure how they are put together, and how good the idle circuit is. But I would make sure the timing is set reasonably right before making any adjustments to it.