Chevy 250 running issues

Well I tuned it in last night, adjusted the carb, filled her with gas and this thing purrs like a kitten. Had I known the distributor was that bad I would have replaced it a while back. I still need to clean the gas tank out, but that will be another weekend. I drove it to work today and what a beautiful day it is

 

After you get through ****in' around with the fuel system change the coil and/or the condenser, one at a time, with known good ones, so you know which one it was.

 

The distributor points/condenser mounting plate was the problem with it popping through the exhaust and one of the reasons why it wouldn't stay running for long without causing a bunch of issues. The points were either wide open or completely closed (when the engine was supposed to fire) because of the mounting plate moving around vertically (not just for the vacuum advance, but up and down like a tilt-a-whirl at a carnival). Both the condenser and points are good, as well as the new vacuum advance that was on the original distributor. I will keep it for parts/spares and for the next tune-up or in the truck as a repair kit.

The fuel pump and carb were full of silt from the gas tank. I still need to clean the tank out, but for now I just don't need to run it almost empty like I did, which caused the problem in the first place. The truck wasn't getting the right amount of fuel because of this.

The carb was a POS that I had taken apart several times to fix random problems with and finally I decided it was time to get something with fewer problems.

Thanks HAMB!