vacuum leak

[scott h]

a couple of weeks ago my motor developed a vacuum leak at the carb. (it is possible that this has been going on for a while since i have had some issues with problems of smooth running at lower rpm's at speed. ie: fifth gear 2200-2500 rpm. My neighbor who is a mechanic helped me diagnois the leak. I changed carb base gasket and throttle body gasket, no other changes or adjustments, now the motor will not run /idle below 2200 rpm. it will just die. on the first start after reinstalling carb when the motor died i got a big backfire out the carb. i don't want to buy another carb unless i have to, all gaskets appear to have been installed properly. any suggestions?
on a less serious note, i replaced my 14" dia. air cleaner assembly with an oval cobra style cleaner from Ford, if i use the plastic spacer provided the hood won't close, without the spacer the base touches the top of float bowl screws and also the back side of the cover has to be wedged under cowl. any input would be appreciated.

[scott h]

oops, accidentally posted twice, so i should get twice as much advice

[bstandley1]

Scott,

I can't help you with your carb problem, but I did have a similar problem regarding hood clearance with my oval air cleaner. I solved the problem by cutting the plastic spacer at an angle. I ended up with the end of the spacer facing the windshield approximately 1/8" lower than the side facing the radiator. Hope this helps.

Bob

[Master]

timing issues come to mind or a blown power valve in the carb. What say y"all.

[RJacobsen]

If your carb was previously adjusted to compensate for the vacumn leak, it would now be way to rich now. What kind of carb are you running?

[Aggressor]

Scott,
Are you running a tall intake. I had a similar problem with my second car with was resolved by having a small amount machined off the carb mounting surfaces. The intake was a dual quad high rise on a 289 sb.

-Geary

[scott h]

i discovered that the gasket was the wrong one, it was blocking the idle ports, waiting for a new gasket.
can i use the air cleaner base without the spacer, i was thinking i could dimple the base where it touches the carb, i do have a tall intake, what would change if i had it milled down.