V6 914 Has started for !st time w/prob
 

Overall I am quite happy with the fact that the 914 ---Chevy V6 project is running. There is however a problem that I will throw to the experts. (you guys) First of all, it is a 2.8 liter Chevy V6 with a 4 barrel carb and a brand new electronic ignition.
For some reason, it is loading up with gas. It will idle OK, but when you give it gas, it starts to cough and sputter and backfire up through the carb. And of coarse black smoke. A friend suggested jacking up the car to level the carb. a bit. It does have a wedge under the carb, but it is still not totally level. Any suggetions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Pete

Hi Pete,

What size 4 barrel? Is it sized correctly for a 2.8 liter and not too many cfm? Was the carb checked out OK beforehand? Float adjustment good? What's your fuel pressure? These are maybe some things to start looking at.

Guy, the carb is a 390 and the engine is a complete runner from a previous 914 engine swap. I think the fuel pressure was set at just under 3psi. Thanks for the reply. Pete

Pete check your firing order on your dist cap it sounds like one or two of your wires are mixed up.

any chance you used the Haynes manual to get the firing order?

If so, then yes, your ignition wires are not correct, Had this same problem on my old Chevy Blazer, another reason why haynes manuals suck ass.

After tweeking the carb and putting every change back after no results were found, I triple checked the timing, firing order, new plugs, grounds and realy was sick of the whole deal. Then, while it was running, I happened to pull off the vaccum tube at the distributor and it now runs absolutely beautiful. A friend seams to think there is an excessive amount of vacuum pressure. Whatever the case, the it runs great with the hose off. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks, Pete

Pete, so what's your timing set at with the vacuum line off and plugged? Too much advance will cause it to run crappy, but this would be noticed with ported vacuum at high RPMs. With full vacuum (unported) at idle it'll speed up but if your timing is set around 8 deg (with vacuum off) should be OK. Maybe the advance unit in the distributor is bad and causing a vacuum leak?