estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

1970 c10 custom, 350 4bbl rochester, auto hydro 350,a/c, pwr st/br --everything on truck appears original.

History on the truck:
-Water pump went out.
-Sat for 7-10 years in garage due to original owner being elderly and eventually past on.
-Family wasn't sure if anything else is wrong with the truck.

I would like the recommended order of maintenance/tune up on the engine, carb, timing just to get this moving on it's own and get it to a daily driver status.

Maintenance I did:
-changed the oil
-replaced fuel pump/water pump/thermostat
-roto rutered/flushed the fuel lines
-added a couple of in-line gas filters to see what's coming from the tank and lines.
-Vacuum ports/hoses have been replaced/sealed/tested for leaks.

Truck starts.
-Gas going to fuel pump/carb is very clean.
-Got it to idle on it's own after clockwise turning the base idle screw 13 1/4 turns(3.25 full turns).
--This seems like a lot, as now the spring is compressed very tight.
***I'm not sure if this is the right way to adjust carb, but i didn't want to mess with mixture screws yet.
Any advice is appreciated. ***

Small vacuum leak(sprayed carb cleaner and idled faster) on the front driver base of the carburetor(gasket??) that i couldn't seal by cranking down on carb mounting bolts.

Gears shift but idle will decrease/almost die when under load(R,D,L2,L3).
It does move on its own.
The idle/timing sounds great, but i don't have vacuum gauge or tach to check.

So what's the right order of maintenance/tune up to get this engine/carb drivable without having to rebuild the carb right away?
I don't want to rebuild the carb without replacing tank 1st and then the lines, working all the way up to carb.
With a budget, it will be a piece at a time. Being able to move the truck around without major worries will help with the maintenance.

Thanks!

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Where’s the pics?
Especially the carb with the air cleaner off.
3 1/2 turns says you likely don’t have enough initial timing.
Do you have a timing light?

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Best pics I have till next weekend when I am near the truck again.

Yes, I have a timing light.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Not much of a gasket between the carb and intake. Might be blown on that corner.
Check your timing (unplug the vac advance) and set it at 10 degrees. Then you might be able to turn the idle down. If not you’ll need to replace that carb gasket.
That should get you running.
Nice looking truck btw!

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Thanks Geezer! So it sounds like i don't have to mess with the mixture screws at this time....which I was dreading.

I'll get on the timing this weekend and see what that does for me.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Oh right!
I forgot the mix screws!
Simple things.
Get the timing fixed and your vacuum leak and your idle screw adjusted and then we’ll walk you through it.
You’ll need a cheap vacuum gauge.
When you fix the gasket don’t tighten the carb down too harshly. Go gentle.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

I love this forum! Thanks again and will let y'all know what happens after this weekend and the first round of tuning/adjusting.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

One thing to be aware of when you change the carb gasket.
Watch for how thick the replacement gasket is. If you get a thicker one ( 1/4 inch) and the one there now is thinner, you might run into linkage adjustments on the choke.

One more easy check on your carb.
Sometimes the throttle shaft gets worn and you can get vacuum leaks or erratic idling.
To check for wear just push/pull on the carb linkage to check for excess movement. Normal movement is about 1/16 inch either way.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Check/replace any rubber gas lines in the cab. Really don't want leaks in there.
Pull the distributor cap and replace points and condenser and rotor. Some condensers seem to last forever. Others have a life span. If yours is EOL, it can play havoc with the ignition. Also check the cap contacts. Possible there are dead many legged critter parts in there as well. Check the size of hex wrench needed BEFORE installing new point set.
Check and gap plugs. If they are in decent shape, you can defer replacing until you get the timing and carb dialed in good.
Start it in the dark and look for blue fire escaping the plug wires or playing over the outside of the distributor cap. Escaping blue fire points to replacing the wires/cap that are leaking.
Change transmission fluid and filter. You might have accumulated some water from condensation during the years it sat.

See if you can borrow/buy an old style idle tach/dwell meter. Useful for setting the points correctly.

If you haven't already, add several gallons of fresh gas to the tank.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

how many miles? Org eng? Looks like the intake has been off at one time.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

You need to properly rebuild the carb asap...todays gasoline formula is different from olden days, AND even if you buy gas that's non ethanol, it likely has some ethanol in it!!!

Get the deluxe kit from Cliff, his book, ALL parts needed to properly calibrate the carb. Don't try to save money doing this!!! Cliff's parts are ethanol resistant, also!!!

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

thanks for the info guys. I'll be doing some of this stuff this weekend.

looks to be original engine with about 83k miles.
Not sure if the intake has been removed but it sure does look like it.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

The telltale on the intake is the bluish silicone squeezed out at the front.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Does anyone think the intake has been worked on, that stuff on the front edge of intake looks like it has.... oh yea, looks to have a newer water pump, has to been a forum rebuild.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Replaced carburetor base gasket that sits on the intake.
Original gasket is a little thicker than what I purchased, felpro, but nothing seems to be wrong with orig other than a little old.
New gasket did not fix the vacuum leak in the front of the base carburetor.
I am thinking it's a gasket within the carburetor.
Nothing I can do there until I rebuild the carb. Unless there are suggestions.

still attempted to set timing to 10 degrees with all vacuum ports capped and advanced disconnected.
Truck originally set at about 16-18 degrees.
Truck did not liked reducing timing from 16 to 10. Kept wanting to die.
Had to fiddle with base idle screw to finally get it idling at 10 degrees. It will idle, seems rough though and will cough randomly every few minutes.

I have video on YouTube I will share as soon as I figure out how.

https://youtu.be/tYOCvBEydoc
https://youtu.be/b8e4MfeiIDM
https://youtu.be/mb_jMXKDHg4
https://youtu.be/sLVgjaJaGXs
https://youtu.be/SJ2Lg8zU8Nc


Please give me thoughts and suggestions and take a look at the videos.

I was able to completely flush all brakelines with new fluid.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Possibly your harmonic balancer has slipped. Put it back at 20 and see what it does.
20 won’t be accurate but at least it should idle better.
Could be a vac leak on the base plate to carb body gasket.
Or possibly throttle shaft worn.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Was the new gasket exactly like the old one?
Same shape.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Yes both had the same shape. I should had take pics of the gaskets but I didnt think about it at the time. I won't be around the truck till next weekend.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

There is the remote possibility the new and old gasket aren’t right.
Take a pic if you can.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Have you checked for vacuum leaks between the intake and heads? Might also remove and plug the power brake hose to make sure the booster isn't leaking. They can leak enough to throw off the idle and still provide braking assist. Another possible vacuum leak is that white plastic vacuum pot on the side of the carb.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

You didn't mention draining the gas tank, so I'll ask -- are you attempting to use 10 year old gas? That would explain the idling problems if you are...

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Mention of gas being clean, is it new gas ? no sense on checking the timing and balancer if the gas is not new. If a vehicle has been sitting for a while the first thing to do is drain the gas and/or remove the tank to make sure the tank is not rusty.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Initially the tank was drained, the lines had a steel auger run through them several times with carb cleaner and brake cleaner. The pump is new. I have temporary clear filters after the tank and in between the pump and carb. Carb has a new filter.

I fixed some of my vacuum leaks by removing the new base carb gasket and placing the old gasket back. The intake base was scraped clean and carb cleaner was sprayed to clean the bottom of carb. The new filter was definitely thinner and coverage was different and a problem.

I also got the timing dialed in as best I could. 14-16 btdc degrees is where it likes to idle at. I have not attempted to set total advanced timing yet. When I get an rpm gauge i will attempt.

My vacuum reading has a small bounce from 15-15.75. I'll be replacing pcv grommet and grommet on the other valve cover which connects to the air cleaner. I'll be looking for other small leaks to try and get the vacuum higher and steady.

Re: estate sale purchase- recommended order of maintenance
 

Here are some pics of carburator removed.