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Feb 6, 2015 | 01:13 PM

Claudio33

Thread Starter

5th Gear

Joined: Dec 2014

Posts: 5

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Engine

Have an 82 vette with a 383 stroker, bought it from my dads friend and has been sitting for some time. Car starts but does not hold idle unless given gas. I tried to pump out the old gas as much as possible and put new fuel but still didn't help. I even changed the fuel filter and gas still looks dirty but I'm not sure. Fuel squirts into carb so the fuel pump works. I am stuck and don't know what to do now, can someone help?

Feb 6, 2015 | 01:24 PM

silver74vette

Pro

Joined: Mar 2005

Posts: 635

Likes: 118

From: Lakemont, GA

Hi Claudio,
If it has been sitting for some time you would be well served with a carb rebuild and a basic tune up. It sounds like you may have some gummy ports in the idle circuit. Pull out the idle mixture screws and spray carb cleaner through them. Lightly seat the screws and open them 1.5 turns and try to get an idle. If you provide more info on the type of carb, ignition engine build, transmission etc. we can help more.

Feb 6, 2015 | 01:56 PM

74modified

Burning Brakes

Joined: Oct 2008

Posts: 1,037

Likes: 14

From: Mobile Alabama

+1 on crud in the carb. It could be other things, or maybe a combination of things. The fuel can leave behind deposits after long term storage, and many times the only way to solve the problem is to open up the carb.

Feb 6, 2015 | 02:46 PM

Strokemyaxe

Burning Brakes

Joined: Jul 2014

Posts: 831

Likes: 54

From: Arlington TX

agreed on carb crud. This is your first check point. But first...

What type of carb is it? Are you familiar with the ins and outs on it? Do you know how to tune it? It's silly, but we shouldn't assume it ran well BEFORE being stored...

Regards,

Edit: Also depending on the cam it has installed... it may never idle the way you think it should. Could have a rough idle by design.

Last edited by Strokemyaxe; Feb 6, 2015 at 02:49 PM.

Feb 6, 2015 | 03:12 PM

69Vett

Safety Car

Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 3,729

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From: Austin Texas

Corvette of the Year Winner 2017

2016 C3 of Year Finalist

a big o vacuum leak will also make it die, with it sitting a long time (think rotten hose).
I would block off all external vacuum lines. and see if that helps.
next rebuild carb, and use an external fuel source plumbed to the carb.
gravity feed would probable work, this will eliminate fuel source problems.
good luck.

Feb 28, 2022 | 02:33 PM

Lobzila

Pro

Joined: Feb 2014

Posts: 607

Likes: 122

I put an Edelbrock carb on my big block 454 and it ran great. I changed the cam and the motor made very little vacuum at idle. So little that the carb did not work very well, and idled like caca.
Changed to a Holley carb and swapped out the power valve to match the vacuum at idle. Works and runs great now.