Flaming Tailpipe

NO
They are difficult, not impossible, this is legend of ham handed mechanics. There are many critical adjustments, when done right it is a fine carb, more efficient than what it replaced.

 

Balance the carb today, I used a infrared thermometer on each cylinder, What I have is a range between 330 and 400 on each cylinder warmed up and idling. It is running a lot smoother. (I measured the temp on the exhaust manifold, aiming as close to the cylinder head as possible) I have two vv carbs and one kit, plus all the rebuild literature with specs. I'm going to attempt the rebuild just for the challenge. I will let ya'll know how that works out as I go

 

Funny you should say this. My brother went through HELL trying to keep his 86 Colony Park original, using nothing but the best carburetor shops in Toronto, and that included Ford mechanics who were in the dealerships when the 86 was new. After 4 years of nothing but grief, and I forget how many thousands of dollars, he gave up, and put on an Edelbrock intake and 1401 square bore carb. The gas mileage JUMPED big time, about 30%, and the performance jumped as well. He never had a single problem with the engine again, and that included no oil burning, even when it was up at 750,000 kms (about 466,000 miles). When the VV went out on my 89, I slapped on the 2 bbl from my 79 Thunderbird, so it was set up for a 302, not a 351. It worked perfectly, and it, too, gave better gas mileage than the VV, but not as good as the Edelbrock. Like my brother we had been trying to maintain originality on somewhat rare cars, and finally gave up in disgust. When the factory manuals, the local Ford mechanics, a specialty carburetor shop, and the Ford Historic Vehicles desk were unable to help get these cars running, and a younger Ford-factory trained mechanic tried to tell us we had after market engines, we just gave up on the original POS and went with something that actually mixed air and fuel in a way that would burn properly.

 

I really think that with the vv carb, it is just a matter of if you have the literature detailing the rebuild procedure and specs. (Comes with the original rebuild kits). If you follow it step by step with no oversights then it should work.

 

Exactly^. This assumes the throttle shaft bores are good and parts aren't worn beyond limits of course.
The Ford VV and GMs CCC carbs were all difficult(still have my CCC tools if anybody wants them) as they became quite complicated. I suspect lots of pros in the day, especially the boys at dealers who had customers with open checkbooks or a warranty claim form, simply swapped them out with new rather than risk running over book time to do a good job.
If I can do them anybody should be able to.

 

actually....I d throw some fresh plugs in it....if its belching that much fuel ....then something aint firing !
or the chain is that far out !!