I have a question about my 72 Cutlass 350 with a Holly 650 carb. and a performance cam. Had the car for 9 years and it always ran perfect. A few weeks ago the engine ran really bad until I sprayed carburetor cleaner in the carb which did help take care of most of the problem that I was having with rough idle and dying. Lately when I start the car (when cold) it sputters until I get the RPM'S up and idles a little rough at stop lights and will die if the AC is on. The RPM'S is set at 750 in drive with the brake on. Driving the car it runs fine, just starting and idling is where the problems starts. I have a glass fuel filter and noticed it would drain empty within 3 to 5 minutes after I turn the engine off. I replaced the fuel pump and still have the problem. Yesterday I noticed the glass fuel filter only fills about half way with the engine running. Also all vacuum lines look good.

I am by no means a mechanic but do tinker around enough to get by. Any suggestions what my problem could be?

Grumpy

 

I had one of those glass fuel filters on mine and it was complete junk. Was on there about a year probably and cracked. You could barely see the crack in it, but it was there. Problem was, my car wouldn't start at all. I replaced i with a different type, and the car starts and runs fine now. That glass piece of crap ended up in the trash.

 

The fuel filter is not a measure of the amount of fuel pumped into the carb nor the amount it retains in the bowl.

 

What type of choke do you have on it? What your describing is EXACTLY the same problem that I was having with my quadrajet. Different types of carbs I know, but the problem sounds the same. My issue wound up being the choke pull-off and the choke thermostat needed to be replaced. The parts cost about $35 on Amazon and took about 20 minutes to replace.

 

The choke is not electric and is the original spring type that came with the Holly. You may be on to something, I adjusted the choke earlier in the week and it did help with starting faster but still had the sputter till I pumped the gas a few times to get the RPM'S up.