[cranker]

seems like whenever i phone edelbrock's tech line i get four different answers to the same question, so what do you think,1406 with vortec heads 490 lift 230 dur @ .050,rpm manifold..anyway plugs are black with this motor and carb set up..down to a 95 jet with the stock rods back in..i'm at 3500 feet roughly,tech guy today says that i cant go any leaner?? instead he tries to sell me on a thunder series carb..so if any body has a suggestion fire away....thanks cranker,,,,ya ya i know throw it away and buy a holley,,not in the budget!!

 

[6NOVA4]

to be clear plugs black at idle or WOT?

really wanna piss the edelbrock guy off? tell him why would you want to buy a thunder series when you already have one POS you'll just go buy a holley!.....lol

 

[cranker]

i guess that is a little hard for me to answer cause motor hasn't seen much wot and buy the time i get it in the shop it has usually idled for a minute or two...but seems to be loading up pretty good when idleing..when i fire it up getting a lttle bit of black smoke,,and ya i know i should just get a holley but that leads to a new bracket for my 700r4 and more cash

 

[EVILS 65]

i guess that is a little hard for me to answer cause motor hasn't seen much wot and buy the time i get it in the shop it has usually idled for a minute or two...but seems to be loading up pretty good when idleing..when i fire it up getting a lttle bit of black smoke,,and ya i know i should just get a holley but that leads to a new bracket for my 700r4 and more cash

Have you checked your fuel pressure? Edelbrocks dont like anything over 6psi fuel pressure. What is the timing set at? Have you tried a softer spring for the metering rods? With that size cam its going to need a soft spring or the rods will just be jumping around especially in gear.

 

[bowtie0069]

Those POS carbs are usually pretty lean, maybe you got some junk plugging an orifice somewhere? How's the fuel pressure?
How about the ignition..something going away there? Has it been this way since day one, or has it started recently?
I know what you mean about their techs after too long on the phone and NOBODY there has a clue about how to make that junk work. Needless to say, you couldn't give me one of those....oh wait, I do own one--makes a good door stop.

 

[cranker]

no i haven't checked the pressure,,i have a stainless hard line on it so i guess i will have to take that off and put a rubber line on it and get someone with a gauge to check it..i had the same carb on the motor before i rebuilt it and had no problems,,timing is at 36 i believe,,and i didn't know you could get softer springs

 

[bowtie0069]

i didn't know you could get softer springs

They sell kits with all the pieces needed to try and make one work correctly.

 

[EVILS 65]

no i haven't checked the pressure,,i have a stainless hard line on it so i guess i will have to take that off and put a rubber line on it and get someone with a gauge to check it..i had the same carb on the motor before i rebuilt it and had no problems,,timing is at 36 i believe,,and i didn't know you could get softer springs

Yup, check your fuel pressure first. if its over 6 psi you'll need a regulator. As far as the springs, they sell a kit with different springs. Basically the less vacumm you have the lighter the spring you want to install to keep the rods down at idle. I'd suggest you start with the yellow one. Set the jets back to the baseline setting and just replace the 7547 rods that come with it and install some 7147's if you have them, then set the idle mixture screws at 2 1/2 turns out. This should get you close unless you have some kind of blockage. What is your initial timing? 14-16?

 

[elvera]

The 1406 on my 305 is way too rich. The smallest Jet on the 1406 Calibration kit is .95. I currently have .98 primary jets, will switching to .95 make it way leaner?

 

[chuckha62]

What do you have for a fuel pump? Is it mechanical or electric? If mechanical, is it an A/C Delco or an aftermarket? If it's an aftermarket (especially a cheapie!), then regulate it. If I recall correctly, the A/C Delco pump is calibrated to 5psi. I had this problem on my Corvette YEARS ago with a Quadrajet. The aftermarket pump had enough pressure to unseat the needle and seat and made it run rich as hell! The A/C Delco pump took care of it.

 

['64 moredoor]

It looks like it would be a good idea for me to get one of those calibration kits for mine too. I'm running a 350 with a 1406 on a Performer intake with a 1" spacer, 10.22:1 compression, and cam specs of .507 lift and .235 duration @ .050. I haven't fired her up yet since building her, so I think I'll take some of the advice on here and calibrate it before I test fire her. Thanks for the helpful advice guys!!! That's why I love this site!!!:yes: