I removed the Edelbrock carburetor yesterday afternoon and replaced it with the new/old Autolite unit I’ve been prepping to install for some weeks now. The carb went on well and looked, not surprisingly, like it belonged there. I had a little trouble with the choke tubes that I ultimately decided to ignore. I was able to start the car with little trouble, but it ran very poorly–wouldn’t idle at all.
I suspected a vacuum leak and checked for loose hoses. Finding none, I suspected the re-used gaskets. Swapping them out had no effect, however. I finally ended up pulling the carb off and replacing it with my trusty Edelbrock. On the bench, I noticed that the Ford has a fairly rough base plate (could be causing a vacuum leak) and a bent idle mixture screw (another possible culprit).
I will need to clean up the base–that’ll involve disassembly–and get a replacement screw. In the meantime, I’m back where I started.
Not having a new carb to dial in today, I pulled out the fender skirts that have been banging around the garage. They needed a little modification to clear the tire/wheel combination I’m running. That done, I put ’em on and went for a quick spin on this beautiful spring day.