How do i set my carb - 1983 Ford Mustang Hatchback

the carb needs to be cleaned and kitted
fully. just like we did from 1920 to 1985.
SET THE CHOKE TO LEAN WHEN CAR IS COLD
THEN ADD CHOKE IF YOU NEED MORE COLD.
THE FUEL MAY BE BAD
AND IF IS OR WAS BAD FUEL, FILTER FUEL IS PACKED UP AND SO IS THE WHOLE CARB INSIDE.
FINDING CARB PARTS (AND KITS) 2023 IS NOT EASY
THIS IS WHY NO CARB CARS SEEN ON THE ROAD.
36 YEAR OLD CAR AND CARB.
PARTS ARE RARE.
EVEN THE SERVICE MANUAL IS RARE.
IF LUCKY JUST CLEANING IT CAN WORK
LUCK HAPPENS.

I owned one and fully restored it and sold it.
that is carb problem.
ticks means , IDLE RPM SPEED.
the carbs do all that. here is a list of whys, done them all me back to 1963 as a boy lots of bikes owned even no cars, for 15 years. driving.
1: carbs not cleaned, TV valve gummed up x2:
2: cables set too tight to carb .
3: choke lever set wrong, too tight cable ends.
4: carb idle screws set wrong./ sync screws wrong.
5: carb a mess of gunk making all things in it sticky and fails. (never seen one clean me for sure this old)

THE TV means throttle valve. (red x, photo)
inside the carb are 1 or 2 valves
one controls air,flow and one the needle valve slide. they are stuck , open some. only why remains.
i bet if i looked at 10 , 1996 bikes, every one has filthy carbs, end to end
and if it makes it go lean (jets full of gunk)
that is never good for the engine running lean.


why not buy the service manual
and read how to set the carbs up, proper after a full cleaning and kit'ing them out.
they are also tuned for altitude

set the brass X TV valves both are set synchronized in action
and if stuck open , idle RPM screams.
tuning any camplex carb like this takes skills and the shop manual
both. the kits are huge, full of parts and now expensive for rarity.
The top 2 diaphragms must not be cracked.

these are "SU" CV carbs, constant velocity
the hand throttle causes the TV to open off idle stops
and then vacuum wakes up the CV diaphrams, and adds fuel to your new air, you just added. that is how they work. when clean they work great and lots of power. On mine a had to go to tiny bit larger jet.
to not go lean. once done , was rocket ship rid.
I had the 900cc;. and BMW side kick 77R100s that I still love.the latter is a TORQUE monster, (fun)
good luck cleaning and tuning carbs, once clean they stay clean, with fresh gas I bet you do not have,
filthy tank.

If the emgine is hunting avoid adjusting govenor.You need to stabilize rpms first. Hunting is almost always carburetor issue.

Set carb fuel air screw to 1 1/2 turn out.

Set point dwell then disconnect vacuum advance and set timing.

Then try adjusting fuel air for peak rpms.

Negative ground? Check coil polarity is correct.

Comment here.

Was the carb sitting for years before you bought it? Probably the needle shut off valve is stuck . Where the fuel line goes into the carb, try firmly tapping (wack) the carb housing with a screw driver handle. If it still floods, its take apart time. Was the "experienced drag racer" a driver, or mechanic.? Apparently he don't know much about carburetors.

Make sure carb or jets are working properly. Warm engine up and use the idle set screw AFTER your sure the mixture is properly set. Get a diagram of your carb (or metering jets) to find where the set screws are located. There are various fuel metering types to these engines.

1st thing to check is the fuel pressure , most carbs have to have a constant 12 psi supply in order to work , they'll idle on lower but will starve out when more throttle is added (pumps and filters)

second thing what model carb did u use ? reason I ask is some models require two fuel inlet connections , the former carb might have only had one that would lead u to believe new one only needs one as well , this may not be true

last but not least : out of the box carbs are set to basic settings as far as jetting goes , some fine tuning is expected to do by installer for perfect calibration of A/F ratio in all throttle settings

What is carbon vent? Never heard of it.

If you mean the carburetor vent at the carb's fuel bowl, the fuel level is probably too high in the carb. The top of carb will need taken off to set fuel level, unless there is an external screw for setting float level.

Have you tried setting the idle in drive? If you try that, have a helper setting in there with their foot on the brake and parking brake set. I've seen many high mileage vehicles, that wouldn't idle correctly. Other than an engine overhaul, we would set the idle in drive. At least it wouldn't die every time you came to a stop sign or red light. Yeah, when you put it in park or neutral, the idle would go high, but, you don't drive it in park or neutral.
You can get a carb kit for the carb, see if it helps? The carb kit should have all the instructions you need to adjust settings. In the past every carb kit I used had plenty of instructions. I looked at rockauto.com, they had a carb kit for your vehicle. Find the model number on your carb and make sure it matches their carb number.
If your carb is a holley, you can check the holley web site. I haven't been there in a long time, I don't know if they would have instructions for your carb?

U are not describing a carb adjustment issue but a carb dirt issue or an intake manifold leak or the base of the carb is loose (very,very common), twist the carb body if it moves the base of carb has come loose, but back to the adjustments, set the rough idle speed to spec, then turn the mixture screw out about 3 1/2 turns, then turn slowly in while you watch a hand held tach, when the eng reaches its maxium idle speed the mixture is correct, then turn it in 1/3 more to pass smog and maximize fuel economy, then set the final idle with the idle speed screw, also verify the dash pot works so the throttle closes slowly when you raise rpm, if the little decel dashpot is no good replace it.

its better to have it rebuilt......... it might be a float issue do u have black smoke when it first starts????