Carburetor issue?

[TorqueLegend]

Hey all, first time poster. I’m hoping someone may be able to provide insight on an issue I’ve never experienced. I have a 72 squareback that recently received some paint and body work after being hit while parked. The car ran fine for a week or 2 after being hit but I wanted my paint and door fixed so took it for work. After I picked it up from the body shop my problems started. For reference I have a stock 1600 with dual 34 empi carbs.

The car wouldn’t start when I picked it up. It turned over but didn’t ignite. I figured it was flooded and after 10 minutes of turning it over it eventually started. I warmed it up and drove it about an hour home with no noticeable issue.The shop owner was equally confused and said when he moved it out front it fired right up, he agreed it was flooded.

There are other symptoms:

My oil pressure is unusually high. once warm, at idle it sits around 2k which is a little high. I checked the oil (which was changed relatively recently maybe 700 miles ago) and the oil looks good, definitely full but doesn’t appear over filled, it’s close tho. Honestly I expected the oil to be lower based on my known leakage and the time since last change, but again it’s not “over filled” per my dip stick.

When i put the car in reverse it bogs out and stalls unless I aggressively open the throttle. Then when i put it back in 1 and drive, within a minute or so the car will stall out and the horn will sound off.

It also seems to struggle in low RPM, esp when cold, but also when I get into the higher RPMs it also doesn’t pick up like it should.

It seems to me like the idle speed is too slow, I tried to adjust but it didn’t really seem to make a difference, if anything a faster idle speed made the higher rpm pull worse.

Finally, it smells like fuel but I’m having a hard time recalling if it’s more than normal.

My syncrometer reads at 10 for both carbs, is that too high?

In the end I assume the carbs got contaminated during the strip/paint process (whole passenger side was repainted) and I just need to clean the carbs refresh the gaskets etc. But would clogged carbs make my reverse stall out and cause my horn to short out like that? The shop could have also added oil, although that was never mentioned or requested. Is there a chance it’s a fuel pump issue?

At the end of the day I guess I’m going to change the oil and clean out (maybe rebuild my carbs) but I would rather not waste my time or money unnecessarily. For those thinking to themselves “why doesn’t he just take it back to the shop”- 1 shame and I want to be able to do this myself, and 2 it’s pretty far and I’d have to take time off work that I don’t currently have. Thanks in advance for any input.

[busman78]

I am assuming you have an automatic trans, my first guess is you have a vacuum leak, possibly the line from intake manifold to trans or the cross-over line between the carbs if it has one. Check all the vacuum lines, and look for any wires not connected.

[Bobnotch]

[TorqueLegend]

appreciate the responses gentlemen. It’s a manual tran for what it’s worth. I did check the fuel lines, at least at the clamp into the carbs. I’ll check into the vacuum lines and Inspect the fuel lines more thoroughly today.

[Tram]

A wild and crazy thought- make sure that the wire for your reverse lights is hooked up to the power (+) side of the ignition coil and lot the distributor (-) side.
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[KTPhil]

[Tram]

[Bobnotch]

[TorqueLegend]