New and useless

[KC John]

Hey all,

Glad to have found this place. Disappointed in the reason that helped me find it.

We have a 1974 C20 that's mostly original (or mostly rust?) that my dad and I got about 10 years ago. Threw stuff in the back as we needed to haul it places. Over time she started running worse and worse. Then she basically stopped running, which was fine because she'd gotten to the point where she would hardly stop when she did run. We let it sit for several years and then my son turned 15 and I started thinking it would be a fun project for us to work on together. And it has been, even though I know absolutely nothing about working on vehicles.

We learned about and fixed the brakes. And then replaced a broken brake cable. New fuel pump got her running and then the squealing started. We learned about and changed the power steering pump and the belt to the alternator. That put an end to most of the squealing. Changed the lights in the dash because none of them worked. New reverse lamps. We got a lot accomplished before she kind of stopped running. Would start up and run fine but then seemed to bog down and die when it got warmed up... Which ultimately may have been a good thing. Because about a month ago somebody tried to steal her. Broke the driver's glass, cracked the steering column but it was freezing that night and I'm
guessing it wouldn't start and run.

My apologies for the long introduction. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction about where I should go to learn from some smarter people (everyone) about steering columns (replacements?) and ignition questions.

I found Raider's post and followed that along as best I could. You have some really helpful folks around here, and I've seen lots of posts that I'll be coming back to as our little project moves forward.

Thanks everyone!

 

[78C10BigTen]

Im gunna say that the stay running issue is a dirty carb from sitting and a malfunctioning choke

 

[KC John]

Thanks @78C10BigTen That makes perfect sense to me. We’re on our 3rd fuel filter (and finally got new gas in it) so I can see where the carb would be a mess. It was the next process I was researching before the attempted theft. The thought of tearing down and refurbishing a carb is daunting for me but I am looking into what all is involved.

 

[75gmck25]

The original carb is probably a Quadrajet. Overall not a bad carburetor, but quite a PIA to rebuild if you aren't familiar with them. If you aren't interested in rebuilding it yourself, you might want to go to Summit or other online places and look at their low end and/or rebuilt carburetors. Using a rebuilt Quadrajet is a crap shoot for build quality, but they are usually easier to swap out because all the linkage fits just like original.

Bruce

 

[78C10BigTen]

Is it a factory carb or something that somebody changed?

 

[78C10BigTen]

The original carb is probably a Quadrajet. Overall not a bad carburetor, but quite a PIA to rebuild if you aren't familiar with them. If you aren't interested in rebuilding it yourself, you might want to go to Summit or other online places and look at their low end and/or rebuilt carburetors. Using a rebuilt Quadrajet is a crap shoot for build quality, but they are usually easier to swap out because all the linkage fits just like original.

Bruce

I was gunna mention if its a Q junk that the inlet filter may be clogged. Thats where i was heading.

 

[KC John]

I don’t know if I’m supposed to keep addressing you guys with the @ so after this one I’ll stop and someone can correct me if I need to pick it up back up.

@78C10BigTen @75gmck25 It is a Rochester quad. My first thought was that it was original but I think that the code is telling me it was for a vehicle with a manual transmission originally which my truck was not. I’m leery about attempting to rebuild it (this time anyway) and have thought about replacing it with something different, but then have the very concerns you mentioned. The fuel is hardline from the pump and would make putting in a rebuilt quad easier for a fella like me. I’ve read both horror stories and good things about them. At some point I probably just need to suck it up and attempt something different. Sounds like you both think I’d be better off with a different carb.

 

[animal]

 

[Shorty81]

Welcome from the Buckeye State

 

[Babs]

 

[1973c10]

Welcome aboard

 

[KC John]

Thanks, all, for the kind welcome!

 

[Corvette Ed]

Welcome aboard from East Tennessee.

 

[WFO]

Welcome from the Texas Panhandle.

 

[Catbox]

Welcome from Oregon.

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