I purchased an '85 sport not too long ago. I have been replacing hoses, belts, ignition parts Holding off on the plugs) , changing all the filters and fluids. Car sat for 2 years. Started right up though. I put seafoam in the tank and some high test and after all the smells and smoke cleared it runs okay. It idles rough though and stalls until it is really warmed up. The primaries open up but even at full throttle the secondaries just sit there. I have a strong suspicion that the carb (quadrojet electric) needs an overhaul. I have done a plain jane before but never one this recent. Any advice would be appreciated. I have no interest in upgrading changing or eliminating any oem stuff. If I am not going to fully convert this into a street beast I see no point. Cars is in great shape for its age and truth be told if it was locked up I could have made a small fortune in parts.

 

Stalls until it warms up can very be your choke isn't working correctly. Also, the choke linkage prevents the secondaries from opening until the choke opens fully. Look at the choke linkage down at the base plate and you should see a cam resting against the cross pin on the secondary shaft. Until the choke linkage lifts that out of the way, the secondaries won't open. Your carb needs a choke mechanism/linkage adjustment.

 

Yea, I have let it run for over 15 minutes during which I can get it to finally idle but if I open the primary all the way it gets rough. The carb linkages and all seem sticky. I am guessing from sitting it's all gummed up. Hoped the seafoam would have freed some of it. I know cheap tricks seldom work. I really want to keep all the original parts on this car, at least until my daughter gets tired of it and wants a new car then I will modify things. I may get some help rebuilding the carb so I do not have to buy a re maned one. Next thing I have to tackle is getting to those plugs and replacing vacuum hoses a few are iffy at best.

 

Q-jet carb kits are cheap and the better ones come with instructions and illustrations. Computer Q-jets are the same, basically.
When you tear it apart, set parts as in an assembly line, start at the right and work your way to the left.
Change old parts for new parts in the assembly line.
Assemble left to right.

If outside linkage is sticking, Seafoam won't free those up like a shot of WD40.
Choke pull-off is common failure for diaphram leaking, the white circle on the pass side.

 

Yea I got the seafoam -vs- wd40. I was thinking sludge from old gas clogging ports and such. used carb cleaner and stuff on exterior parts. am rebuilding it with help from a few friends.

 

Rebuilding the carb won't hurt since the car sat for 2 years. But the symptoms you're describing are classic choke adjustment issues.
Go over the choke operation and linkage settings with a fine tooth comb.

 

thanks guys I will check all this out.

 

Well, we took the q-jet apart finding the base plate shafts worn severely. I went to advance and ordered a reman q-jet computer controlled. Installed it Friday with disappointing results. Now the car won't idle at all, at full throttle floods out, won't respond to any adjustments. Unplugged TPS and Accel pump? No difference, no light either. So we unplugged MAP sensor to see if Computer would code. NOPE!
So here we are again. Tuesday we are putting a non-computer assist q-jet on it to see if that clears up fuel issue. If it does then it will get a new distributor and all that computer crap will get abandoned. Worst invention yet. I have an '87 K-5 Blazer with a 350 TBI thats what this car needs.

 

And can be done.
Spend an afternoon at Pick-Ur-Part removing a complete system from a '87-'92 TBI truck, add a return fuel line to the existing Camaro, and a O2 sensor, and go for it.
It can be a 5.0L TBI as the ECM will learn.