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Try this.....Plug ALL the vacuum ports from the manifold and carb.(distrib.....PCV....vac advance...whatever)
Fire it up and spray carb cleaner (or Brakleen I love that stuff!) around the base of the carb and along the intake manifold gasket to check for vacuum leaks. Engine will speed up if a vac leak sucks in some of the fluid.

Next...if NO leaks  using a timing light  set timing to about 12-14 BTDC.

Then adjust/tune carb.
Re-attach vac hoses making sure they are in good shape(no cracks)
Report back with your results
6sally6

The only vacuum you should have is the PCV and the advance can.  Definitely check for leaks first.

Beyond that, what do you mean by "run right"?  There's A LOT that can cause that, but specific symptoms may help us pin down what's going on.

Welcome!
 

Oh also I was turning the air screws to try and tune the carb but when I screw them out to listen to the idle drop or even in nothing happens. Someone told me the air screws could be causing the vac leak …???

Is this true ? I just got this car so I’m working all the 1/2 assed bugs out of it

Last edited by Jameson66 (10/18/2023 12:43 PM)

TKOPerformance wrote:

What carb is on it?  Did it sit for any length of time?  If its not responding to the idle screws something is off.  My guess would be something is stuck in something and allowing fuel in when it shouldn't (bypassing the idle screws).  I would pull the carb and clean it out.  You shouldn't need to replace anything, but especially now that ethanol is in our fuel you can get contamination even in just a month or two of sitting.  It doesn't take much to stick a needle and seat open.  Blow out all the passages.  2+2 if you can get it is still the best carb cleaner IMO.

Reinstall it with new gaskets for the base and under the spacer if equipped.

Once the carb is good I'd move to timing, and you should start with making sure that TDC on the balancer is actually TDC. 
 

 
Holly 600 FR 80457-13 2018 4 barrel
Vac secondary

I have replaced the whole fuel system with the help of mustang Steve .
Oh also the check valve was stuck causing the squrters not to work for the accelerator pump I just fixed this

Are the fuel levels in the bowls set correctly?
You indicated that the "check valve was stuck... ".  Was this a used carb that was sitting for some time?  If so, the needle and seat may have dried out and need to be replaced.

What stood out at me is he indicated it did not seem to respond to idle screw adjustment. 

Did you verify that TDC on the balancer was actually TDC?  Without doing that any timing work is meaningless.  Ford used 3-4 different timing locations over the years.  With an engine of unknown history you don't know what a previous owner or mechanic may have done.  The wrong balancer with the wrong pointer can lead to your TDC mark being 40-60 degrees off.  You would think it would run terribly timed that far off, but on a typical low compression engine you'd be surprised how well it will run like that.  If the plugs are coming out anyway its not hard to use a piston stop to verify TDC. 

TKOPerformance wrote:

Did you verify that TDC on the balancer was actually TDC?  Without doing that any timing work is meaningless.  Ford used 3-4 different timing locations over the years.  With an engine of unknown history you don't know what a previous owner or mechanic may have done.  The wrong balancer with the wrong pointer can lead to your TDC mark being 40-60 degrees off.  You would think it would run terribly timed that far off, but on a typical low compression engine you'd be surprised how well it will run like that.  If the plugs are coming out anyway its not hard to use a piston stop to verify TDC. 

 
I didn’t and I don’t know why… I’ll do it next . I can hardly see the 0 mark on the balancer but if I’m TDC where should 0 mark be?