82 Camaro 2.8L Major problems need help

I'm a mechanic out of Virginia and just had a friend drop off this 82 Camaro.

I have replaced plugs, cables, battery cables, air and oil filters, and a few other things and while driving the car, it is missing a lot of power it should have. It's an automatic, and and 82 but the engine only has 33k miles, and it's the second engine. I have no clue what to do to get that power back, maybe vaccum lines somewhere on the carb arn't connected or maybe blocked, fuel filter ? Can anyone help ? It also gets shit for gas, I own a 83 Z and it's no where near as bad on gas as this thing is... Maybe a bad fuel air mixture ? If so how do i fix it ?

well first you will get more help in "problem section" then here. For the shitty gas mileage i would say fuel filter as the logical answer check to see if its clogged. for the power i'd say double check everything you did and check the fuel pressure. i assume you meant performance power instead of electrical power?

How is the engine running? If it's running ok then check the torque converter. If it's running shitty then check all the vac lines, make sure the carb is tuned right, check the fuel filter, and pump for that matter, I can't remember if it was a "computer controlled" carb back then, if it has a TPS check that, it's gonna help controll your spark. I'm sure I missed something, but at least you have a bassis....And not bad mouth you or anything, but if you are a mechanic, shouldn't you have already checked all of these things?? Let us know how it goes.

sounds to me like its running pig rich, Im not a carb guy, but sounds like you need to readjust your mixture. given the poor gas mileage i wouldnt look at your fuel filter as that would indicate a lean mixture.

also 92RS brings up a good point with the torque converter. did you make sure you filled the converter with trans fluid before you installed it?

Well I have been working in a autoshop for about 5 months on an apprenticeship program and this is my first major project.

As far as the torque converter, it has no leaks, or doesn't jolt at all in any gear to signal malfunction or that the converter is bad... is there anything else i need to do to check the converter ?

As far as the carb goes... it does get shitty gas mileage, and runs pretty rough, like it's choking itself out. Theres no power under the hood for anything when the pedals to the floor. It just seems weak. What to do to the carb to control the mixture ? As far as fuel and air goes...

Also looking for a Instrument Cluster that has an RPM Tach on it, if anyone knows where I can get one or knows anyone who has one for sale or something let me know...

anyone else have any ideas ?

have you changed the pvc valve going to your carb, and a car this old may need its fuel filter change, the one near the rear end.

nope, haven't changed the pvc valve or fuel filter...

the engine has been replaced with a Jasper Engine, and I found out why today. I called some people to do paperwork checks on this car because i keep finding unusual shit wrong with it, turns out it was totalled, and the engine cracked due to no antifreeze and the radiator and heater core went as result, so thats why it has a new engine and front end.

I messed with the pvc valve and vaccum hoses a little today replace hoses and fittings, what to look for to know if valve is bad and what does the valve do ?

well the pcv valve can plug up, it looks like they are plugged with grease, the one on my camaro was plugged and it made it idle high, due to pressure in the block i changed it and it went from idling on 1200 rpm to 8 or 900 rpm. but you could take an air compressor and blow it out if its clogged. is this car computer controlled? i now its carb'd but does it have an electronic disrtibutor? if so the computer could be bad, that would cause it to run crappy too.

PCV is Positive Crankcase Ventalation, as the reciprocating assembly spins inside the engine it creates pulses of vacume and pressure inside the engine case. in addition to this, a certain ammount of combustion gasses pass by the piston rings into the crankcase adding pressure, that is, unless you are running gapless rings. without a way to vent these pressure forces, the engine would seize up not due to metal on metal, but due to the pressure built up inside it. at the very least it would seriously impead its abilty to run correctly and make power. The PCV vents these pressure forces out of the engine compartment and into the intake track to be burned off. to see if its faulty, take it out and shake it, if its full of oil, or if its rattling extreamly loosely, its bad. really the only way to learn is to buy a new one, and shake them both and compair, the new one will rattle, but you can learn over time to tell how much is too much rattle. its an odd little game.

a way to tell if your fuel filter is bad, is that your engine is running lean, or not running, or you can shade tree it. Ive done this although its not really recomended due to the carcenogenic proporties of gasoline, but you can take off the filter, clean it as much as possible at the flange, and try to blow through it, if you cant, its done, it should be relatively easy to blow through it, if not, its clogged.

as far as adjusting the carb, im really not the guy to be giving advice on that, but you might have to break down and ask one of the more experienced guys at the shop how to do it, as a mechanic myself, and not being that old, i know its gonna suck for the first week or so, youre gonna be ribbed for not knowin, and askin for help, but it will all be in good fun, dont take it personally, all those older guys had to go through the same thing, its how ya learn in the profession, and youll do it to youngsters too when you get experienced. so just grab someone and admit you dont really know how to do it, and ask for help, trust me, its alot better than screwin somethin up, or giving an incorrect diagnosis in the long run.

example, i diagnosed a olds alero with leaking head gaskets for a coolant leak. naturally it was a huge bill, then an older guy came by, with more experience, who knew those engines have a tendency to leak from the intake manifold, and thats exactly what it was, the customer was pissed to find out that i had "tried" to rip him off by doing a larger job. If had just asked, it would have been avoided.