[X(] I just put a 350 crate engine in my 78 L82 with L82 manifold. It has a rebuilt 78 quadrajet 650 for L 82. The carb came from a family business who has been building carbs for forty years and they have a great reputation. The GM Goodwrench Engine I put in is supposed to have 250 hp. Sounds smooth other than when the guy who put the engine in tried to adjust the carborator to soothe the engine rather than adjust the timing appropriately. The carborator now whistles.Runs somewhat smooth after putting a new distributer cap and roter. all of the smog is on. past smog ok. with flying colors. But I think my 4.8 on my 2006 crew cab will blow the doors off this thing. Why no power??

gilsl82

 

Hi gilsl82, They have no horsepower because of the gas problem of the late 70's and polution concerns of the 80's,that doesn't mean that there not fun to drive.
Whatabuot the timing and the carb adjustment, if you felt he was off, just ask"What's up" and have him explain, and then go to the book.
If your like me I just enjoy the ride. Enjoy your ride, PG

 

Hey gilsL82, I've got the L48 in my '78 and it runs quite strong, I'd say the timing could be off and if you have a whistle the carb throttle shaft might be loose in the bore and/or you have another vacuum leak somewhere. Go through all of the vacuum hoses and set the engine up to original tune-up specs first, then if it runs well you can start tweaking the timing and carb from that point.

 

Where I get my smog check done, the mech had to detune my engine to get it to pass smog. I brought it home after passing and tweeked the timeing and carb. She really came alive.