Never ASSume...

[VintageMusclecar]

...you know how the rest of that old saying goes.

Just wanted to share this little tidbit from today.

So a long-time acquaintance calls me up yesterday to ask for some carb advice--seems his kid just bought a souped-up S10 truck with a 350 in it and they can barely keep the thing running...popping and burping back through the (750 DP Holley) carb when they try to give it throttle, the whole works. He asks if I can give it a looksie, and naturally I say yes.

So he shows up today with said carb in tow. Long story short, I go completely through it, finding a considerable amount of gunk & poo inside due to a gonzo fuel filter.

I button the carb up, stick it on my live test engine and fire it up. After a minute or two to get some heat in the engine, I set the float levels and dial in the idle trim screws.

Runs like a Swiss watch. Razor-sharp throttle response.

I ask him if he's happy with it, he says "yep".

Groovy.

So I pull the carb, drain it and send him on his merry way.

Fast-forward about 2 hrs...the phone rings, it's him. In an obviously agitated voice he says; "Hey, I stuck that carb on and it's still bangin, and poppin' whenever we try to hit the throttle. What the hell could still be wrong with this thing? (referring to the carb, of course)"

I ask him to re-check the basics...

--Timing? "Nope, can't keep it running long enough to get a light on it"

--Fuel pressure? "Holley red pump, it's toast, only holding ~3 lbs fuel pressure." Obvious problem, but not the one we're after here.

--Just outt'a curiosity, have you checked the plugs and wires, and along those lines, have you checked to make sure the firing order is right? "Nope".

Check those things and get back to me.

Fast-forward another hour or so...phone rings again, it's him. "Hey, I checked the wires and they were out of order. I put them back right and it runs perfect now. Someone had wired it using a Ford firing order."