TommyTank

I picked up a 76 Stingray a couple months back and am going through it before driving much.

1976 L48 Silver, 4SP with white/gray leather, matching numbers - previous owner(s) did some restoration in the 90's, put on headers and duals, other than that it seems stock.

One of the prior owners/mechanics had tie wrapped the primaries open (so no choke), cranked the slow idle way up, adjusted the idle jets to a really rich setting, then jammed a bolt that seemed to override some of the workings on the passenger side to make it "seem" normal if not just a little difficult to start when cold and a really slow response/quadbog if you step on it.

At this point I have removed all the "extras" adjusted the quad (youtube videos are great) and think I'm all set. The fast idle when cold was way up at 2100 and I slowed that down to about 900. The choke works and disengages, warm idle slows down to about 800. I do need to reset the jets and idle speed when the engine is warm.

My question is why would someone go through all that goofy jerry-rigging? Everything seems to have adjusted with about 30 minutes of work and letting the car sit overnight to fully cool down to get fast idle set. I would have finished up on warm idle and the jets had a few more minutes this morning. Someone knew enough to either cut away the factory seals, or the carb was replaced since the jets are simple straight slot heads.

Any Ideas? Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks - TT

SH-60B

The PO was a dumbass redneck named Bubba.

I think you're talking about the idle mixture screws, the jets are internal.

TommyTank

Yes - I am talking about the idle mixture screws. Thanks for catching that!

I believe you are correct on the PO as well. Went out for a few quick errands and put about 15 miles on the car. Warm idle is @700 and cold idle is still @ 900. Going to let that sit a bit and adjust to factory specs after a few more miles.

Then on to checking compression along with a serious read on the classic AC that I need to put in before my wife will ride with me this summer.

gcusmano74

When I first bought my car, I had so many troubles with it caused by "Bubba" and his friends. Once I fix it correctly, I have no more trouble with that particular area.
Knock on wood, I've had my Corvette for well over 30 years and personally driven it more than 110,000 miles, and it's never left me stuck on the side of the road. For more than a few minutes.