Hey all, great to be here, been ghosting for a bit and y'all helped me figure a few issues out already. Got a 74 Cutlass with the 350 Rocket, 45k miles, barn car, sat a bunch recently cuz reasons. New starter, battery, alternator, distributor, plugs, wires, thermostat, points and condenser, etc.

Had it parked for winter because was too broke to afford parts. Fixed distributor and plugs, Ran fine 2 months then problems. Filled at shell, 89octane, then bad idle (high when in gear slowing down, rough when in park warming up) exhaust had sulfer smell, dead battery.

new battery, fired up, ran 2 min then Problems. Smoke from motor block, won't start again, smoke out the back 2 barrels of carb, carb covered in gas, carb won't open etc. Should I call a priest lol?

Looking forward to getting schooled by the gearheads, appreciate the feedback, yall are my last hope to get my baby back on the road.

*warning* user is a self taught shade tree mechanic with only a basic understanding of how things work, and no real concept of how classic motors work. If the Haynes manual can't explain it, the user can't grasp it past swapping parts from o'reilly's. Please be patient with the useless millenial.

 

Welcome. Make sure you post some pics.

If you installed new points, plugs and wires did you set the dwell and timing with a timing light and dwell meter?

 

x2 ^^^ Welcome.

 

Good day to you IM74C. Pics of the car will be nice when you get her all fixed up, etc. From past recent experience, we had a similar problem on our 1966 Ninety-Eight. The carburetor float would get stuck open, allowing the bowl to instantly flood out, resulting in fuel at the base of the carburetor. Obviously disconcerting to say the least. If the car has been sitting, as you indicate, a thorough check of the carburetor inside is recommended. The carburetor number on a Quadrajet 4-barrel can be found on its left side, vertical arrangement. If I recall, for your year, it should start with 704 with 4 numbers after that. This will be to help you source a carburetor kit with gaskets. If you are not confident enough to do it on your own, ask a friend with experience or, conversely, check out You Tube, there are many great tutorials and how too videos covering Quadrajet! Best regards, Howie.

 

We can be very patient with a millennial who wants to learn.😎

But the first thing you need to do is throw that damned Haynes manual in the trash and get yourself one of these. It's the factory 1974 Olds service manual. This one's currently on ebay for $15.


This is the same book the dealership mechanics used to service your Cutlass. Well worth the investment, but get an original PRINT copy since reprints and especially digital copies often lose critical detail.

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Since the car sat, your problem may be fuel related. Could be gunk in the gas tank, soured fuel, trash in the carburetor. Modern fuel formulations can make a carbureted engine do weird things too.

I have a 1974 Hurst/Olds so I'm a little bit in tune with a 1974 Cutlass. We'll get you going somehow.

(edit) Just thought of something. Few months back a Sheetz station near here somehow got Diesel fuel in one of its gasoline storage tanks and a lot of vehicles had similar symptoms as yours. Gas station pumps blend 87 octane and 93 octane to make 89 and if either tank was fouled you could have got a load of bad fuel. If the station where you bought the Shell 89 also has Flex-fuel or E15 pumps and the tanker driver put that in the wrong storage tank, a 1974 engine isn't gonna like that mess either.

But as long as you're willing to learn and try, we'll get you going. Hey- I taught several millennials how to operate big electric powerplants, so I know you're not all useless!😄

 

Thank you all for the input, greatly appreciate it.
got my dad over and we are starting with the accelerator pump as it appears to have a bad seal. The float is


still, well, floaty and appears to be fine. Will update once the part comes in. Also, enjoy these pics of the "Beast".

 

The accelerator pump may very well be bad but it won't cause carb flooding and smoke. Severe flooding is almost always related to a bad/sticky needle valve, dirt on the needle valve seat and/or a float that is either hung up or is too heavy because it has absorbed fuel.

Sample the fuel into a glass jar and let it sit, if it has water in it the water will separate to the bottom of the jar like oil and vinegar.

 

Welcome aboard! Looks like it is in very decent condition externally. One thing that has not been mentioned in previous posts is the possible deterioration internally of the fuel supply hoses. In addition to cleaning the fuel tank, I would recommend replacing all the fuel hoses with new hose. Crap from the inside of old rubber hoses can cripple a good or freshly rebuilt carburetor. An old fuel pump can also be a factor as it won't have the newer rubber seals and diaphragm inside compatible with today's gasoline.