Hey, I’m unfamiliar with the basics on how to properly tune the carburetor. I’ve got a 1976 Cutlass Supreme with the 350 ‘Rocket’ and I believe the 4 barrel?
It does sometimes shut off/stall immediately following a shift into reverse or drive. Idle does seem a little rough as well. I do see the 4 screws on the carb in each corner along with the 4 in a row in the middle.
any help or tips would be much appreciated.

 

What carb are you using? The idle air/fuel mixture screws only set the mixture for the idle circuit. It's done using a vacuum gauge where you adjust for the highest vacuum reading, or using a tach where you adjust for the highest rpm reading. Other ways are with an AFR gauge.

 

Assuming the stock Qjet? Check your curb idle, it could be set very low. I find above the factory idle spec works better. It is the screw on the driver's side behind the throttle linkage. I personally like close to 1000 rpm in park. The fast idle screw is below the choke coil. The two idle mixture screws in front in the base plate at the bottom, can also be set with a tach as well. Set them at the highest rpm. Also check for vacuum leaks with something like carb cleaner around the carb and the condition of the vacuum hose. This is assuming the timing and tune up is in spec.

 

Define "tune a carb". If the engine is stock, setting the carb to stock specs per the Chassis Service Manual will get you the best performance. Once you make mods to the engine, you need to change jets and metering rods in the carb to optimize it to the current engine setup.

 

If AC equipped, first thing I would check is idle stop solenoid. Quick & easy. If it’s a dead end, go further. Vac leaks would be tied for first place to look. I realize the idle stop isn’t technically sound science but it’s a quick check.

 

Not just the jets and rods, the idle passages as well. Even with the mild 204/214 cam the idle is less stable on these super lean late 70's carbs.

 

Yes, it’s original qjet. And yeah, my buddy just dropped the car on me cause he’s too lazy to sell and had another project on the go.
im not too mechanically inclined when it comes to the older cars, but enough to get by slightly lol.
He’s got a proform 14” open air cleaner kit he hadn’t installed. I’d like to put that on in place of the OEM intake. I imagine there will need to be adjustments with the carb once installed.
Perhaps finding an experienced mechanic would be good so I could see in person the basics. Edmonton however is a very slim car market

 

Once you get the engine to run correctly, it should not require any additional adjustments to run an open air cleaner vs the stock snorkel. All settings are usually done with the air cleaner removed.

 

Why can't your buddy teach you a few things or help with advice ? You're not to old to learn, are you ?

 

cause he’s lazy haha
and no quite the opposite. Never too old

 

Yeah, it might be tough to find a mechanic who much about carbs. You want one near retirement or semi retired. The basic adjustments are simple and may be all that is needed.

 

In the "old days", we hung around and helped others that knew more than us. We learned things that we were able to do on our cars. Simple things like setting the timing on an engine can be helpful if you watch someone do it to their car. OR, you can pay someone to do it and watch him.