[Timmy-Boy]

So i just bought this beautiful lark. I payed $3,000 for It. I'm about to turn 17 and this is basically my first car. The car is almost all original excluding the wheels and the interior has been redone. It has 79,000 original miles on it. Under the hood is a 350 with a 2bbl carb I believe to be a Rochester? Or whatever comes stock on them. The car runs good but It needs a good tune up. First thing is the car will bog when given to much gas to quick. I'm pretty sure its because of a lack of air. I also checked the spark plugs and they were pretty black which I'm pretty sure is a sign its running to rich? It seems to idle perfectly normal and when sitting if you give it gas it doesn't really bog. I need to figure out how to solve this problem so I can start driving her. Would It just be easier to buy a new holley 2bbl carb for about a $150? I plan on doing an oil change, new plugs, belts, hoses, etc... Please leave me your thoughts on how to solve this problem and any other things i should consider doing to her before hitting the road.

[vinniekq2]

rebuild the carb, put new plugs and wires,have some fun

[geezer69]

17, yay, another young man in the hobby.thats how it stays alive. cool. nice car to start with too you lucky rascal.i had a 59 ford for my first car. good luck and let us know how its goin. got any pics ??? we all like to see them rides.

[69 widetrack]

Originally Posted by vinniekq2

rebuild the carb, put new plugs and wires,have some fun

I agree with Vinniekq2, how long has it been sitting? If your not confident in rebuilding the carb, buying a rebuild or a new one may be the way to go...do everything you said and don't forget about replacing the air filter. If the car is running rich, your getting more fuel than air, a plugged air filter can give you this effect...check that out first.

Congratulations young man and best of luck.

Ray

[Greg T]

Don't forget the points, condenser, cap and rotor with that tune up. Set the intial timing a few degrees above what is stated on the label as that was the beginning of the smogger motors.

[malc]

........and an oil/filter change.

[Timmy-Boy]

Thanks guys. I attacthed a pic of the car. The picture isnt very good. Its not faded at all.
Im not confident enough yet to rebuild the carb myself. I feel it would just be better to get a new carb anyways. But with the distributor i should replace the cap and plug wires? Can you explain more as to what i should do with the timing? The car has basically been sitting for 2 years. The guy would start it up every once in a while and take it around the block.

[69 widetrack]

Originally Posted by Timmy-Boy

Thanks guys. I attacthed a pic of the car. The picture isnt very good. Its not faded at all.
Im not confident enough yet to rebuild the carb myself. I feel it would just be better to get a new carb anyways. But with the distributor i should replace the cap and plug wires? Can you explain more as to what i should do with the timing?

Beautiful...where are you from, it looks like there isn't any rust...from the picture anyway.

As far as timing goes, if you advance the timing several degrees from factory recommendations ( say factory tells you it should be set at 20 degrees advance? not sure what the factory timing specs are, set it at 22 degrees) you get a bit more power. This is something you could play with down the road, for now it might be a good idea to set it up to run well and enjoy.

Nice car
Ray

[vinniekq2]

under the hood the factory has posted the tune up specs.Basically do that. when you have a few extra dollars,consider changing the points to a none points ignition.Either put a kit in the factory distributor or adapt a GM HEI distributor(high energy ignition) to rebuild that 2 barrel,its actually quite easy,just like building a model,the rebuild gasket set comes with pictures and instructions.Those carbs are known to have the base plate loosen

[Timmy-Boy]

Im from Phoenix AZ. Im not sure where the car originated from but its been in Arizona for a while. The Isn't any rust I could find when examining the car. Shes in great shape and other than the small acceleration problem she runs like a champ. I don't think i wanna buy a new distributor for this motor. I haven't decided for sure yet but I might just build a 455 motor and TH400 trans to swap into It a little later on. So If I'm gonna do that I don't see the point In putting a bunch of money into this motor. Just wanna get It running and reliable.

[poncho62]

One thing that I remember from working on a buddy's Skylark.....When setting the timing, be careful...that distributor is awful close to the fan....lost some knuckle skin doing that.

[Timmy-Boy]

Originally Posted by poncho62

One thing that I remember from working on a buddy's Skylark.....When setting the timing, be careful...that distributor is awful close to the fan....lost some knuckle skin doing that.

Ill be sure to take extra precautions with that. Thanks for the tip.

[Custom10]

My first car was also a 72 skylark, nice. It had a beautiful center shifter console, crome plate with the inverted U shaped handle, sweet. The trans only lasted me a couple months Last time I drove that car home was in reverse

I would agree, just rebuild the carb thats on it, not complicated, take your time. Good car to learn on, good luck.

[Timmy-Boy]

Originally Posted by Custom10

My first car was also a 72 skylark, nice. It had a beautiful center shifter console, crome plate with the inverted U shaped handle, sweet. The trans only lasted me a couple months Last time I drove that car home was in reverse

I would agree, just rebuild the carb thats on it, not complicated, take your time. Good car to learn on, good luck.

I may do that. I would kinda prefer just to get a new Holley 2bbl. But i guess ill see what Im gonn do

[RWENUTS]

A holley 2 bbl won't just bolt on. You'll need an adaptor. Here's a link to identify your carb. They also sell rebuilts.
Rochester Carb ID