how important is this thing to make the car run correctly? I recently had my carb rebuilt put it back on. Before I pulled it I took a bunch of picks and hooked the vac lines up the way it was before. After reading my chassis manual looks like the hoses were routed all over the place and the control switch was bypassed.


Prior to the carb going kaput, the car ran good. I reconnected the way it was before and the car fires up, thought haven't taken for a test drive cause it's to cold and snowy. There was never any lines run to the vapor canister. Would it be in my best interest to get all the hoses routed to what the chassis manual says or should I leave it as it is cause "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

 

Is this for the 72 Cutlass?
You'll get a lot of different opinions on the TCS switch. The one in your car was a 71/72 application only and used on both 350 and 455 engines. It certainly doesn't hurt to use it as a stock application although some folks will advocate for bypassing it. I prefer to keep mine hooked up and functional. The TCS switch doesn't have anything to do with how the car runs per se. Check your CSM - there's a great write up that describes its function. Then I won't have to type it here. Leave well enough alone. There, I said it.

 

"Is this for the 72 Cutlass?" correct 72' 350 4bbl with auto trans.

So if I understand correctly the Dist Vac Control Switch (DVCS) advances timing in 3rd gear. Or if temp hits 210 (close to overheating) then the distributor is advanced.

On page 6K-10 Fig 6K-19 of the chassis manual; the picture is confusing. Is this for manual trans 4bbl? OR EXC. Toronado and 350in Manual Transmission where: EXC stands for EXC-luding?

The 6k-19 picture shows the MT port on the DVCS connecting to a T on the manifold port that goes to the modulator. Mine does not have the T. Possibly it was removed? However, in the picture an arrow points to the line from DVCS MT port to T stating "On manual Transmission connect to fiting in intake manifold". So if I want to hook this up right two questions come to mind,
1) is this picture for auto trans and I need to get T?

2) The way its hooked up now the distributor vac line was plugged straight into Port c or the carb. 2a) does this affect the performance at all? 2b)Is this a typical poor mans fix if the DVCS is bad? In other words, I'm wondering if I get the hoses routing they are supposed could the switch be bad and cause myself more problems than if I left it. ie, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

I don't know why, but the transmission controlled spark system used in the early 1970s seems to be one of the most difficult systems for people to understand. A question about this must come up every month or so. Type transmission controlled spark into the SEARCH box and you'll get many, many threads. Here are just a few:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...eccessary.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...mog-stuff.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...but-whats.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...6-tcs-tvs.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ontroller.html

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...emissions.html

 

Thanks for all the links. So next question is, is the port in front of Carb, Port C the same a manifold port?

 

I'm not sure which one you are calling "port C", but this is very easy to check with a vacuum gauge. Simply connect the gauge to the port and observe the needle. If vacuum is near zero at idle, but increases as you slowly open the throttle, that's ported vacuum. If it is the same as the reading at a port in the manifold runner (15-20 inches at idle), then it's manifold vacuum.

 

Fig 6K-11 (72 chassis manual) shows the top of DVCS with note "to carburetor (Port C)"