idleing and reverse problems 86 SS

I just bought an 86 ss. The guy I bought it from had got the shell from out of state and then put a 350 from a late 70's c10 into it.

He told me the carburetor wasn't very good, the car doesn't like to start in park. I have to start it up then put it into gear (reverse or drive) and then drive or it will die, after the first ten minutes of running it won't die, unless i put it in reverse then it starts to conk out.
If i drive around for bit then park it with the gear in park it will stay on.

This is my first car with a carburetor and I have no prior experience with them. any input would be nice, especially if there is anything else i should check on the car.

If in fact the carb is the issue as you say it is weak and by now should be rebuilt or exchanged for a rebuilt, what carb is on there?

i don't know what kind it is or how to check, I'm assuming it's what came with the engine out of the truck. He also said that their was an exhaust leak in the intake and just to tighten down the bolts again. Not sure if that could be part of the issue

We really don't have sufficient info to give any meaningful advice here.

Ok, well here's an update.

the exhaust manifold was pretty loose, some bolts i could turn by hand so i tightened those down.
the carburetor doesn't have a choke. which is probablly why i had trouble starting the engine.

as part of some new problems, the starter was missing a shim so I put a new one in.
but before i found out it was missing the starter made some bad clunking noises. I think the starter is hitting the flywheel, it only happens when it's hot, if i start cold there isn't a problem so my buddy thinks the bushing expands under heat causing it to hit.

my buddy also said that the flywheel was kind of loose but i gripped that thing and wingled every which way, it seemed solid enough to me.

I think the carb is either a rochester or .... i forgot what he had said but another old brand.

Still no relevant info! What carb is it? Either way it needs an adjustmant or a rebuild based on your description of the symptoms.

Still no relevant info! What carb is it? Either way it needs an adjustment or a rebuild based on your description of the symptoms.

Well it's just a regular 4bbl carb but i'm not worried about it that much anymore i can usually get it started now with a little carb cleaner and playing with the choke till it idles right.
Now I'm having another problem with the starter and flywheel or at least that's what I think it is. I would try and start the car and I would hear a grinding clunk clunk noise. when I had someone else try and start it when I played around with the choke, there would be puffs of smoke coming out of the carb every time I heard the clunk noise.
Now the last time I tried to start it, it wouldn't even start. I starter clicked and everything. I'm pretty sure it's the flywheel because I pulled the starter out a couple weeks back and the teeth were all broken. I have a lifetime warranty on the starter now so I'm not too worried about ruining the starter again. My only problem is I moved and the won't start now. It's sitting at my old apartment block and I don't have the cash to tow it.
Is there some way I could rotate the flywheel to get the good teeth back into position to get it started so I can drive it home or do I have to get under and replace the whole thing.

Okay,
So I looked up on youtube, and figured out how to rotate the flywheel. I stuck a screw driver in there and wedged it against the oil pan or whatever I wasn't paying attention to the part I was using as a leverage but i rotated it until I couldn't see a hole to aid me. battery was a little dead so I had to jump the car but I got it to roar to life almost instantly.

I appreciate the help. When I get a chance I will post pictures of the carb so you guys/gals can see what I'm working with. not having a choke switch sucks. and so far all i have to do to make sure the car doesn't die on me is drive in 1st gear for a couple feet and then I can get going. i just hate taking the air filter off and jumping from the ignition to the car carb.

I'll also put pics of the 2 extra carbs i got with the car.

the carb should be a quadrajet . this carb has numbers on the side of it to id exactly what the part number is.

with cold start the primary carb throttle plate must be closed. so whatever is missing or not working will need be replaced to have this occur. when the engine startsup this throttle plate must open slightly usually .170 inches to allow a rich condition when cold to keep the engine runnin g a few min until warm. this is connected to cams on the pasengerside that keep the idle high 1100rpm. when at normal temp 600rpm in drive.

flywheel issues. the flywheel must be torqued with torque wrench. the bolts must be with med lock tight on the threads.

scrap yard you should be able to get one.

the starter must set into position so that the drive teeth have a space of about 1/8 inch or slightly less between the flywheel teeth with the starter engaged into the flywheel. you can get the guage at the part store. also the new starter should have this info.

if the starter smashes into the flywheel when cranking the starter bushing/teeth/flywheel teeth all get chewed up[grinding noises]

if the starter does not engage the flywheel teeth [too far away] then you will get the whirling noises with no crank effect.

shims are used and are usually supplied with the replacement starter to properly mount it.

a loose starter or flywheel will screw up these parts very fast.

Thank you, that makes sense.
I actually just fiddle with the choke myself. I have to pull the throttle slightly to get the choke to close all the way, then after it starts i have to hold it down slightly until the idle balances out.
As for the starter, I did put a shim on I think it was the biggest one that came with the starter. A friend of mine, an old school mechanic, told me I needed the shim on the starter when he first heard the grinding and clunking noises. So his information clashes with yours but yours makes more sense. I'll have to measure and see what kind of clearance I'm getting.

I don't see any damage done to the flywheel but when I did rotate it, the car started fine. I'm wondering if there is a possibility it's off balance or why it only happens randomly. I bought the car from a younger kid, being 23 myself, and he put the engine in himself. I'm wondering if he just plopped it in without taking accurate precautions.

To clear up a jumbled paragraph I just wrote about the starter and shim.

There wasn't a shim on the starter when I first bought it. I drove it a total of 3 times and the fourth time i tried starting it I got the clunky grinding. My mechanic friend took a look and saw there was no shim so he sent me to the store to find another one. I put one on, but to no avail it wasn't fixed. I don't remember the exact details of the night but i eventually got it started.

To clear up a jumbled paragraph I just wrote about the starter and shim.

There wasn't a shim on the starter when I first bought it. I drove it a total of 3 times and the fourth time i tried starting it I got the clunky grinding. My mechanic friend took a look and saw there was no shim so he sent me to the store to find another one. I put one on, but to no avail it wasn't fixed. I don't remember the exact details of the night but i eventually got it started.

rebuilt starters are a crap shoot. some are very poor condition and do not properly fit. the shim install instructions will show how to install shim too increase or decrease the teeth clearance. your installing the shim on one bolt or the other bolt to tilt the starter to engage the teeth at the proper amount. too many shims like 2, then get another starter.

flywheel must be torqued properly. the bolts loosen especially with no lock tight and the starter smashing into it.

the flywheel must be rotated completely use chalk to mark as you rotate and torque the bolts.

REMOVE SPARK PLUGS BEFORE DOING THIS.

the choke parts [CHOKE STOVE/CHOKE PULL OFF] don't last forever. usually 5 years of use they fail to provide proper start.

when replacing remember to adjust the pull off to .170 in gap when the engine first starts when cold. use a drill bit as a guage.