Hello to everyone on CF. I am new here, so ill do my best to keep up with the rules!

So, my reason for joining this forum, is that my dad and i just picked up a 79 Camaro Berlinetta as a project car. However, this car is far from stock (and not in the good way...) It has 327 out of a 68 impala (supposedly rebuilt) and a THM 400 (probably because of the previous 396 that was pulled). Minus some small bondo work, the frame and body are surprisingly clean and rust-free (most likely from the 1/8" thick covering of oil and grease covering the underside of the car). Every day that we've had it has been an effort to undo the mistakes the previous owners had made. Most of the electrical connections in the engine compartment were made with electrical tape and (including the 2 or 3 extra wires in each bundle). The alternator was mounted on the wrong side with an improvised bracket. No power steering pump and the inlets and outlets on the gearbox are crimped shut. An ACCEL ignition was put on for who knows what reason, and until a whole set of cables were replaced, only 6 of the 8 clyinders were firing. The absense of a heater box meant a kinked 1 foot hose coming out of the "big block water pump" instead of running the correct way. We've got stacks of Chilton and Haynes books from a large span of years to help us through this and my dad has pleanty of experiance with Chevys.

I'm sure anyone who has ever worked on a project car knows exactly what were going through and has had much worse problems. We have already addressed all of the above problems (except the power steering) and much more, but still, pleanty remain. We are taking care of whatever we can afford at the time and it will be much easier once i get a job.

One problem that seems to stand out constantly, however, is a lack of throttle response and a serious lack of power. I know im now working with a brand new crate motor here, but i also know that this 327 isn't running anywhere near its capabilities. there are several things we suspect to be the problem. We have a Holley model 1850-C 600CFM Carb. The first thing we did was tighten up the finger-loose bolts on everything from the manifold to the 1 inch filler plate. I am looking to get a new carb as soon as possible. The throttle arm has alot of play and needs to be pushed all the way to get it into low-idle again. Another suspected problem is an ELECTRICAL fuel pump mounted directly over the heater box hole I had to patch to prevent fumes from entering the interior. were planning on buying a mechanical pump once we get the proper push rod (also missing). We checked the timing at least a dozen times, and the Vacuum is pretty consistent, but the gauge will flutter at times.


Sorry about the extremely long post, but any insight or helpful advice would be greatly appreciated! We have taken this on as a project and hope to hear from the experts here at CF some time soon! Thank you.

 

Could be a vacuum leak, and a manifold test would proove that. Try squirting WD40 around the seal to the engine and heads and see if you get smoke out the tailpipes.
You mentioned the throttle arm having lots of play? Are you talking the arm on the carb? If so, then you can tighten the screw that holds the arm to the shaft, but if the throttle wont return to idle without an assist, you either have a base gasket that's wrong and touching the throttle plates, or a return spring that's weak. I'd remove the carb and check the gasket against the base to be sure there's proper clearance. That could also be a source of a vacuum leak if the gasket is wrong.
A 600 Holley should be a great choice for a 327, if it's in good shape. What is the vacuum at idle anyway? The movement is probaly from the carburetor causing the engine to stumble.

 

Hey, thanks for the reply. We usually use a spray bottle full of soapy water to test for leaks, but the wd40 sounds better, so ill try it. And by throttle arm, i actually meant on throttle shaft on the carb. The haynes book says that vacuum flutter can be caused by anything from a poorly tuned carb to an excessively worn carb, which i thought to be the cause of the play in the shaft. weve done pleanty of float bowl adjustment and idle screw adjustments and the vacuum stays in the green at about 19-20 psi, but, on occasion, will flutter for about a second, stabilize, and repeat.

 

Toss it away and get a new carb. Worn shaft means leakage around the shaft, and unless you've got a mill or someone who can mill the base and bush the base plate, I'd toss it. It's leaking vacuum around the loose shaft, and nothing else will stop that.

 

thats what we thought.. well were heading to a swap meet around here in the next few weeks, so ill see what i could find. im still trying to stay with a holley 600 or something comparable.