I pulled the trigger on the truck. Now a newbie is looking for guidance!

[Iamthewalrus]

Hello all!
For those that saw my post earlier this week, I bought the truck! Got a '83 C20 with a 350 and turbo 400 transmission. Truck is running, though not smoothly at idle. Like I said before, I have a very basic knowledge of what i'm doing here. But one of my goals of buying this truck is to learn to work on it. So far all I've done is put in new spark plugs. I can tell from the state of the old plugs that I've got some issues, looks like I definitely have some carburetor cleaning/adjustment to do.
I really am just looking for some guidance. Where do I start? If you were buying a truck like this and wanted to basically tune everything up, what's the checklist you would follow? If there is a thread that basically covers this on the forum, please point me in the right direction! Thanks in advance.

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[78C10BigTen]

Plug wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter. Like you said a carb clean and rebuild.

 

[Dan Miller]

Check fuel and vac lines for kinks cracks . Even the lines coming out of your tank . Air filters , pvc valve. Check ALL fluids for contamination

 

[Old77]

 

[Doppleganger]

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[1973c10]

Welcome aboard

 

[Frankenchevy]

what everyone already said plus check timing(base, mech adv and vac adv). I got curious with my first engine and pulled the valve covers to check lash. found a couple loose and a couple tight. also found a leaking carb base gasket.

i'd always start with fixing any vacuum leaks and ensuring the ignition system (cap, rotor, plugs, wires, distributor adjustment) is functioning properly. without those items addressed, you'll have trouble adjusting a carb.

 

[roundhouse]

Along with cleaning the ethanol garbage out of the carb

Might want to consider replacing the gas tank
New tank is less than $100 and being so cheap makes it not worth the trouble of cleaning the old one

Old one is almost sure to be gunked up with the ethanol garbage

(Be sure to thank your congressman for that )

I set the timing by ear or with a vacuum gauge
And just use a light to verify the changes , I don’t use the light to set it