I bought an '80 Camaro couple years ago - It has been pretty much sitting for a couple years. I would occasionally start it - the tires were bad so I didn't run it that much. However I did drive it from my Dads to my house about a year ago - and it ran fine - besides the bumby ride from the tires. Anyway - getting to the point. I finally put a couple new tires on it, plates - registration, and hoping to get it on the road. I put in a few gallons of new gas - started it - it idled fine (a little rough) - put in on the road - it ran fine for about 2 mi. Then it bogged down, and stalled. I would start it up again - it would start after a few - I would put in drive, and once I got up to higher speed - again bog down, and stall. Anyway I had to keep starting it, and drive a little - stall / start / drive to get it back home. It seemed the longer I let it sit - the better it would run for awhile - but always eventually stalling and running rough.

I know this may be vague, and could be several things - but if someone can point me in the right direction..... I haven't messed w/ these cars since I was a teenager (about 18yrs ago), and even then My Dad and Grandpa did most of the work...... Thanks, and let me know what other info would be helpful.

 

Try changing your fuel filter. Do you know if you have one in-line?
Also, remove the fuel line where it connects to the carb. Remove the fitting from the body of the carburetor and see if there still may be a metallic cylinder shaped filter in there. If you have a good in-line filter, leave the one out of the carb. Either one of those could be restricting fuel flow, which is what it sounds like.
From having the car sit, you also could have some crud that's getting picked up by the strainer sock at the bottom of the tank. But it would have to be a lot to plug it enough to kill the engine. I have seen it happen though, like a layer of slime that was built up inside the tank. If the innards of your tank are that bad, you'll have to drop it and flush it out.
But I would work on the filter(s) first. And put a can of "Heet" style gas treatment in the tank too. You could have a bit of water in with the gas (they don't mix). The gas treatment is alcohol based, and acts like a catalyst by absorbing the water and allowing it to mix with the gas.

 

Thanks for the reply - Yes I believe there is an in-line fuel filter - the clear device like you find on riding mowers? I can pick one of those up - that ran through my mind, but I kept thinking something w/ the carb. I will also check for the metallic filter also - didn't know about that one.. and good call on the dry gas I'll put a bottle of that in.

Couple side notes - I called a few auto repair places around to see if they work on old cars - all of them said they have no one that knows how to adjust carbs... are you kidding me!

Also yesterday when it stalled - in front of our neigbors around the corner - she was out w/ her Dog - well the dog decided to jump on all sides of the car... It needs a new paint job - however It still looked decent on the sides, and I had just washed and polished - now there are major claw marks all around. I would have cried if it had a new paint job on it....

 

Don't use those cheap-o plastic filters. Use a metal one, for obvious safety reasons. And if the filter doesn't take care of your problem, it might not hurt to rebuild the carb.
Damn, that sucks about the claw marks too. Had it been me, I think it would have been the dog doing the crying from the impact of a baseball bat! Or maybe to the owner instead, for not controlling their dog.