Initial Inspection brings up some questions

tahnks mike i find that too during a search, but i am looking for an autozone number...nearest napa is 30mins away

 

Erik, That battery is pretty new.. Remember when you were here I told you I took the alternator off to match it up for a new one for my Jeep? When I took it off I noticed that the GM plug was missing and that the wiring was loose.. Check to see if you are getting any charge out of the alternator... Plus, I also noticed that the belt was pretty bad too..

 

thanks tim...i will have to check that the battery looked real new so i was wondering if you had put one on....do you know how old that dist. is?

 

So just so i am sure with the timing:

The marks above the 0 labeled: 4,8,12,and + are those after or before tdc. also my book lists setting the timing at 0 or 5 deg btdc depending on which dist....mines not marked but its a points type, so which one should i set it at?

 

i suspect its a delco dist. but take a pic of it and someone here will recognize it. + usually means BTDC

i had mine set at 5* but it was a prestolite points dist and it's now a GM HEI. still at 5* BTDC

 

Carb rebuild, definitely, but it might be worth looking into the fuel pump as well. Are there any signs of gas in your oil? Symptoms would include some that you have already listed, plus the addition of possible heavy black smoke at WOT. That white smoke sometimes means head gaskets. Are you losing coolant? Are you sure it's not blue smoke?

I had a fuel pump go out on a SBC (similar design to the Buick, if not the exact same part) and was chasing what I thought was a lot of vacuum/carb issues for a while. In reality, it was just erratic fuel loss into the crankcase, combined with massive blow-by (gas not as high a viscosity as oil). A mechanic buddy told me it is especially common in vehicles that sit for long periods (i.e. barn or field finds) because the rubber or whatever that holds the fuel back from entering the crankcase ends up dry rotting.

On that batt issue, is the battery not getting a charge, or is it actually losing a charge? The difference is, you should be able to trickle charge your batt overnight and then use it for a day or two or more without headlights (JEEPs don't draw much amperage), whereas if it is losing a charge it might only take a few minutes or an hour or two of sitting to be dead. If the latter is the case, see if your alt is connected wrong and exciting the field when the ignition is not on. Easy to fix; just use Sparky's diagram in the tech section. If it is not charging, swap out to a 10SI internally regulated alt ($40 new at your FLAPS.) Just ask them to show you a '70s Buick Skylark alt (will have V-groove pulley and standard hardware).

I have varied timing between zero and 6deg BTDC, and 5deg seems to be the sweet spot.