360 Hard Starting & Wont Hold An Idle

[Lizey]

My 1977 360 with the Carter Thermoquad refuses to start unless you pour gas in the carb. Theres more than enough fuel to the carb, we cracked the line off the carb and its flowing good. Ive had the carb off the vehicle and cleaned it numerous times. When you pour gas in the carb it will run but you have to hold it at 1000rpm or higher or it will fall right on its face, it will not idle on its own the second you take your foot off the gas it sputters and dies. Im really at a loss as to what to do from here!

[Cooter]

Being a 1977, it's most likely a "Lean burn" (Read junk)set up on the ignition, and or that Thermo-junk carb...Start with trying a different/better carb like an Eddy 600 CFM, or Holley.

[471_Magnum]

Could be something as simple as a vacuum leak, or incorrectly set idle mix screws.

Thermoquads are good carbs, but the later ones with all the emissions crap are definitely more prone to problems. It's probably premature to recommend that you dump it, but in the long run swapping on an edelbrock will probably save you some headaches.

[Chryco Psycho]

sounds like the accelerator pump is bad , can you see fuel squirting into the primaries when the throttle is opened .
a simple rebuild kit will fix the problem .
I would not recommend the Eddy carbs they are generally lean & not really a better solution than a good TQ is , BTW the TQ is 800 CFM Why would you injstall a tiny 600 cfm ??

[Lizey]

   Well, found a working T-Quad on craigslist and stuck it on today and ran for about 30 min and died. Checked it again and no fuel at the carb. Traced it back to the fuel pump so a new ones going on tomorrow.

[471_Magnum]

Why would you injstall a tiny 600 cfm ??

Who said anything about 600 cfm? They come in 750 as well.

I'm not a big fan of Edelbrocks, but they serve pretty well in a mild street application and are an easier retrofit versus a Holley

I do like T-quads. Run one on my Road Runner. They just don't age well and the smoggers can be a hassle to get working correctly. Used ones are a crap shoot.

But... as suggested previously and subsequent testing has proved, dumping the T-quad might be premature.

[Chryco Psycho]

Being a 1977, it's most likely a "Lean burn" (Read junk)set up on the ignition, and or that Thermo-junk carb...Start with trying a different/better carb like an Eddy 600 CFM, or Holley.

600 CFM EDDY

[Lizey]

Update: New fuel pump works great. Gas is getting to the carb, bowls arent filling. Had a friend spray gas into the carb with a spray bottle and it ran. Filled the bowls with gas and it ran until they went dry again. Where in the world do I go from here?

[b5blue]

1st check that the fuel flows freely through the pump feed line, make certain you don't have any pin holes in the lines as it could suck air. You can try feeding the fuel pump with a hose from a gas can to verify it's not a fuel delivery issue.

[Lizey]

I have a hose going from the pump to a can of fresh premium gas. I disconnected the line from the carb and I can fill a Gatorade bottle in a very short amount of time.

[b5blue]

Pop the carb open and check the float needles, they dry out and stick closed on Holley's when aged. 

[71ChallengeHer]

I had a similar problem. My gas lines back at the gas tank were bad.