Project: 1980 Buick LeSabre, 4.1L V6, 5MT

[theholycow]

Back to the fast idle issue...I won't get to work on it much again until the weekend at least. I could squeeze in a few minutes during my workday or when I leave work, but it's dark out when I get home. It's really bothering me this week.

If I manually push the fast idle cam lever down, it idles nicely.

Is there a quick easy way to convince the fast idle cam to stay down?
Can I easily unbolt something?
Can I zip-tie the lever down to something (and God forbid I have to manually fast-idle it with my right foot, how will I ever survive )? If I do that will it break anything?
(This is intended as a temporary fix until I can work on it more.)

In the previous tank I got to almost 200 miles on the first 1/4 tank when the idle was behaving, then it started acting up and the gauge dropped quickly. I thought maybe it was common non-linear behavior of the gauge. This tank started with high idle behavior and I'm down to 1/2 tank at 200 miles. If the driveability and the transmission wear weren't bad enough, it's also burning up my gas...

[Jay2TheRescue]

I'm afraid if you zip tie it down you may end up breaking the choke. A liberal application of Gumout carb cleaner has always resolved that issue for me. For some reason, Gumout works best. If you cheap out with Generic carb cleaner it usually does not work as well.

[theholycow]

I've got a can of gumout waiting for me to use it, I just need some daylight.

I've been pulling over and pushing the thing by hand. It's difficult to reach and see so sometimes I have to remove the air cleaner when I do it. I'm glad I removed the smog pump connection that was holding it down, now I can lift it by just unscrewing the top. I think I'll put a zip tie on it (not connected to anything else) just as a grab handle.

[theholycow]

Figures. I set up to get video and it behaves properly. When I want to go to work it'll get stuck with a 2500 RPM idle speed. I ran out of space on my camera card before I got the idle to step down the second time.
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[Jay2TheRescue]

Get that Gumout and liberally spray down that carb. Next time I see it I wanna see all that varnish gone!

[theholycow]

I sprayed everything that I thought mattered, but I guess I can spray the stuff that's just ugly too. Will merely spraying it clean it up or will I have to scrub?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Dad always told me to clean the whole thing, not just the parts that appeared functional. You may need an old toothbrush to assist you the first time if this hasn't been done before.

[occupant]

This is giving me all sorts of ideas. A B-body wagon, maybe a Custom Cruiser, 1980 model, with a 2.8 V6 and a 5-speed manual from an S-10 or Camaro, 2.41:1 rear gearing, skinny 215/75/15 tires, and smooth 80-85 Delta 88 hubcaps with the Olds logos painted/stickered on instead of sticking out.

Hmmmmmmm...

A 77-79 Chevy coupe with the aero rear window, done the same way?

So you didn't have issues putting a 5-speed behind the 4.1? I thought BOP and Chevy bellhousing patterns were different?

[theholycow]

I had a hell of a time doing it. The bellhousing wasn't a huge problem. A standard BOP bellhousing, bought separately, bolted right up to the transmission. The biggest problem was the fact that I'm nowhere near qualified to do the job.

You can see a ridiculous quantity of text and photo details in my build thread:
http://www.standardshift.com/forum/v...p?f=32&t=12612

I don't know if it's going to work out as well as I had hoped. It's way too early to tell but my results have been somewhat discouraging. My ineptitude combined with lack of daylight, unpleasant weather, laziness, and more ineptitude conspire to prevent me from diagnosing and repairing the carburetor's behavior. Maybe next summer I'll get it working right.

[occupant]

I just wanted to come back to this and say thanks for the reply and detailed build thread*. There's a guy on the edge of town with a '79 Impala coupe, the 250 six in there had the carb and radiator stolen probably for scrap metal years ago, and it ran fine until that happened. He fired it up for me off some carb cleaner straight in the intake so I believe it runs and that's good because I'd like to sell it in running condition.

If I can get him to come down off the $2000 (!) he wants for it, well, a guy down the road from me buys up S-10's and S-10 Blazers all the time and he sells off the stock engines and transmissions and drops in junkyard fresh 305's and 350's with TH350 automatics for racing or mudding purposes (depends if it's 2WD or 4WD) and I'm sure at any given time there's a 2.8 and a 5-speed ready to rock.

Have you considered swapping out the Quadrajet and the mechanical fuel pump for an electric pump and a TBI unit off an 87+ Chevy truck or van? Of course you could go with an external pump (mounted on the frame near the tank) or get a fuel injected sending unit and pump from a late 80s Caprice or something. The wiring's the hardest part and seeing you drive that car with all the dash wires exposed makes me think it doesn't scare you much to wire up an ignition/EFI harness. The TBI from a 4.3 V6 ought to be sized just right.

Reason I mention it is I plan to put a 305 or 350cid TBI system on the 351 Cleveland V8 in my Torino, and I might get around to it this fall. If I can get it done I will try to find taller gears for the rear end (I'd swap to an AOD but I just spent $1000 rebuilding the FMX automatic). And there's tons of info on how to swap out carbs for TBI.

*49 pages. I began writing this 3 hours ago. Just finished the read. All I have to say is that rope-pusher guy is a few needles short of a bearing. That or he has too many needles to be simply a bearing and claims shamelessly to be the whole hub and spindle.