Carburated 350 Guys

[94 formula]

I worked on a farm in highschool and we had a 1982 Chevy Custom deluxe as our farm truck. I stopped in today to catch up and my old boss told me it hardly runs and I could take it if I wanted. It has a 350 in it and I'd love to pull it out and do something crazy with it such as put it in a 14ft john boat and make an inboard jet. It will probably spend the rest of its days either in the boat or be transplanted into a vehicle. What I need help with is the truck smokes a bit its not horrible but its pure black smoke which makes me think its not the rings. Also you can hold it to the floor and it will go to around 2,000rpms and just hold there. I'm thinking its a problem with the carb but I don't know a carb from a hole in the ground. The engine seems to still be solid it only has 30,000 miles but has been driven daily about 1\4 mile at a time back and fourth for the last 24 years. I think it has something to do with the carburater but I'm not positive. My old boss had a mechanic come look at it and he said its the lifters but he's also an idiot beyond belief and I really doubt it is. I can rebuild the engine with no problem but I've never dealt with carbs except on small engines and not much their either. What do you recommend that I look at?

[78formula78]

well it could be the lifters or it could be the carb isn't giving fuel right and if its that then just get a rebuilt kit there cheap and simple, plus it never hurts to do after a car sits to long anyway, if that doesn't help take a peak at the cam, lifters, timing, spark system and just look for something a miss.
my carb 350 has 175K and runs like a champ with only a *little* blue smoke on start up so i'd say its a good find and just play with it a little and you'll prolly stumple across something thats rotted or just out of wack thats causing you this trouble

[fastTa]

It is likely a problem with the carburetor. It is common on those carbs for the choke plates to stick. Could also be loading up because of a faulty metering block or stuck floats. It is unlikely that it is valvetrain related causing that much unburned fuel to exit the exhaust.

Good rebuilt carbs for your application can be had for around $100.

[94 formula]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to tear the carb down and see if I notice anything unusual.