From the 1977 green cover service manual in the General Description of the ECS text make note of paragraph 3.

 

I did a little research on canister set ups and found good info on a jeep forum.
here are the basics I discovered ( no guarantee this info is correct!) also this info is regarding function not originality.
- the " to carb " nipple on the canister should go to ported vacuum and ideally also through a thermo vacuum switch so no vacuum to the nipple when engine is cold.
- Many people add a restriction such as an old carb jet to the line from pcv to canister or the line from canister to tank. I believe this is to control vacuum leak amount?
- the to pcv line can go to any manifold vacuum it does not have to tee to pcv.
- some vehicles used a system that controlled the canister "to carb" valve device with a small tube that goes into the air cleaner creating weak vacuum proportional to air speed in the air cleaner housing. this system was reported to be better than ported vacuum plus thermo vacuum set up.
- a liquid separator at the tank is needed
I will fiddle with my set up a bit and report back.
I am partial to trying the restriction in the line idea so that my tank does not see full engine vacuum. one to avoid crunching the tank like the toyota crown reported above and two to minimize vacuum leaks. I will also borrow an evap smoke machine tomorrow to check for holes and leaks.
one of the posts that informed the info listed above
http://theamcforum.com/forum/charcoal-canister-part-deux_topic61938.html

 

The canister vent should connect to the air cleaner assembly, between the air filter and the throat of the carburetor. That's how my '81 is and that's how I've done retrofits on older cars.

 

I did a short test drive, gas smell issue may be solved now that my canister is connected to engine not plugged off.

I connected everything as follows.
canister pcv nipple to carb base via thin vacuum line ( to reduce potential vacuum leak issue compared to using standard thick vacuum line to pcv) This line may eventually clog but I used it because it was available and others described putting an orifice in this line anyways
- canister carb nipple to carb ported vac. ( im actually running holley sniper but it still has a ported vacuum nipple like any carb would.
- canister tank to stock line that leads to tank.
- gas cap - non vented.

I guess ill have to run this set up for a while to know if it works without any un intended side effects.

 

PCV and evap systems are the earliest, most effective and simplest emissions systems on the car. Why not connect them the right way?

PCV helps performance because it puts the crankcase under vacuum, creating a better seal for the piston rings, and reducing oil leaks. It should be connected to a large port on the intake manifold or at the base of the throttle body. High vacuum high volume.

Evap has no effect on performance because the vacuum source is (should be) in the air cleaner.

 

Adams Vapor Canister is the simplest of designs, connection from tank and connection to a ported vacuum source at carburetor.
There is also an open 90* tube at the bottom of the canister for drainage.
He is also running what looks like a Edelbrock AVS carburetor.

Adam, I took a photo of the ported vacuum source of a Carter AFB I was running on my 69 340 Swinger. Should be the same as your Edelbrock.
As you can see (I hope) the volume of vacuum this small slot will create will be minimal if that is something you were worried about.

 

Joe - Thanks very much for your time and effort on this. I just had a major wake up slap to the forehead as I was looking at your posts - I have a copy of the green service manual here, and completely forgot that I did!

I'll give the ported vacuum a shot for the vapor canister. As I mentioned, I had been using it for the vacuum advance, but I'd had been wanting to try running that to the manifold vacuum port and see if this motor likes that or not. If not, I'll just put a "T" in the ported line and run it to both the canister and the distributor advance. I also picked up a new GM Original Equipment Fuel Tank Cap just so I know what I'm working with.

As I mentioned before, I also need to figure out a way to replace the rubber lines at the tank. Given the overall condition of rubber parts on this TX/AZ car, I'm sure they are dry rotted.

Thanks again!
Adam