Took the car on it's maiden long trip today - all of 50 miles. We drove pretty much non-stop, except for a little gas (93 of course) and then about 15 miles later a final stop at Home Depot and then supposedly home (5 freakin minutes away).

Came back out from HD after 10 minutes and the car wouldn't start. Hmmmm....I remember it stuttering a bit at a stoplight just before we pulled in but didn't really think about it. I cranked, but some short starts but died quickly. I pulled the air cleaner, got back in and cranked it. There was strong gas smell - I look up and gas is literally shooting out of the front vent tube (the one closest to the radiator) and kind of burbling out of the rear. Also, there was gas spitting and spraying out of the main body.

The guy that set the carb up said he jetted it rich because of the Victor manifold, but that's kind of beyond my knowledge base. And if being able to see firehose streams of gas coming out of the primary/seconday jets qualifies as "rich" then I think he accomplished his goal.

I let the car sit and got it to run (but won't do it again) for a little while but I had to keep pumping the gas pedal vigorously while she's sputtering and complaining and when the rpm's get up to 3000 she tries to smooth out but there are obvious stutters. I have not pulled the plugs yet, but will do that tonight when it cools down.

On old gearhead acquaintance was in the HD parking lot while I was trying to get her running and he offered up the opinion that the problem might be ignition and carb and that the cylinders that wouldn't fire were simply filling up with gas. This is SCARY because of the wash down and potential ring/cylinder wall damage which would put me right back in mitchell-crapola land - but this time with a brand new rebuild that should be rock solid.

So...calm down, Mike, and just have faith that Joe builds good motors and there was plenty of oil moving through the system while it was running. BUT!!! when I changed the oil on Thursday, there was a STRONG gas smell so I know there is some wash down occuring.

I'm up proverbial ca-ca creek again. What say the experts? Bag the "Kevin carb" and buy/install a ???? I've never rebuilt a carb, but am thinking that this is the same the carb that was on the motor a year ago and I think it just sat in a box during the resto. Guy probably just took it out and slapped it on without even cleaning it up.

Help me out guys - I'm in Chevelle hell for sure....

Thanks mucho,

Stuck front float. Don`t stress over it.
Put a holley gasket kit in it.
Clean it all out real good too, it got gummed up a little from sitting, no big deal.

Probably just a little bit of dirt/trash in the needle and seat. Should be an easy fix. Nothing to fret over. If it ever does happen again try not to keep cranking on it if you can help it. As you noticed it can introduce a lot of gas into the crankcase in a hurry and risk REAL damage.

A good inline filter will help.

This type of problem happens a lot after installing new fuel lines/systems. It is difficult to get all of the debris from assy. out of the lines and inevitably it ends up in the needle and seat. Been there done that.

Sounds like a good a time as any to start learning how to rebuild your own carb. No one will take the time and carefulness on these cars that the OWNER takes- period. ITs kind of essential to have some working knowledge of all the systems for that very reason, IMHO. IF the computer cant tell them whats wrong, they are lost, and they want to get done as fast as possible also.

I would bet money that carb needs a rebuild, and you are 100% correct about it sitting and drying out. Why? Heh, when I first got a Holley, I was told, "Oh yea, just plop it on and away you go!"..I did that and whoosh came the gas. Never again, LIve and learn.

Get a book, a gasket kit, and have at it.

BUT *edit*

Since you did pay somebody, and if they have a warranty, take it back to them and make them do it right.

Sounds to me like the float level is set incorrectly. I've had this happen to me before.

You're better off with a Holley doing it yourself. It will amaze you how simple it is. Just get a kit and do it yourself.

I think I know your problem had the same one myself..The float is stuck in the down position because a screw that holdsthe metering block backed out and is holding it down ...so dont go tapping the bowl with a hammer it wont help...just remove the 4 bolts holding the bowl on and refasten that loose screw ..the whole deal takes 5 minutes ...nothing to loose right?

Whew!....again. Thanks guys. I definitely up for the rebuild. I need to re-learn how to do this stuff. It's amazing - back in 75-80 my roomate and I feared nothing when it came to auto mechanics - even rebuilt his Datsun 2000 tranny on the living room floor one weekend. We used to wrench on my 68 Chevelle all the time. I know I rebuilt a Q-Jet a couple of times, never a Holley. I'll go slow and post for help when I get off in the weeds.

Forgot to post that one of my boys was with me. The Chevelle was their homeschool shop class and now that it's back they are really looking forward to wrenching again. You should've seen the look on his 10-year-old face when the car went kaput; like a semi just ran over his dog! They'll both be happy to know shop class is back. First project - rebuild a 4150 - a little at a time it sounds like.

Best regards,

if your rebuild dont cure your problems i would look into how much fuel pressure your running,i had a problem like this and i had to back down my pressure

Well, guys - here's what I found. Sorry for the redundancy - I posted on the demon issue as well, but this is where it all started.

The secondary needle and seat assembly slide in and out with ease, unlike the primary which has friction going in due to the o-ring. I don't know if needle/seats come in different sizes, but looking at the secondary - it's just plain worn. Deceiving to the untrained eye, but the fit is sloppy and the tip on needle (gray rubber, I guess?) is rounded off way more than the comparison with the primary. So, then I come to the fact that the float is not "suspended" in either position - right side up or upside down. It hits the top and bottom of the bowl. That leads me to the metering plate where I find an ugly corroded/rusted power valve!!! I mean, this thing has as much crap on it as an old water heater element. But how could water get in there unless they were driving it with the hood off in a rainstorm? Maybe the answer is - it's not a new carb like they charged me for. Maybe the answer is it's a carb off one of his roundy round cars. I'm glad you guys pushed me to look - nothing like seeing it for yourself. Hey, I got screwed WAY worse than this by mitchell, so I'm not gonna make a b**ch session out of this, but....what they heck are people thinking when they pull stuff like this? Like I'm NEVER going to find out? They're either complete idiots or thiefs. I go with #2.

Thanks for the help guys. Total rebuild is now definitely in order.

Best,