I continue to struggle with my carbs and was hoping to get some guidance from the more experienced SU gurus out there:

1. Per the Haynes manual, I am setting jets to a baseline of 0.060" below the bridge, measured with the tail of a vernier caliper. This results in 24 flats down from fully up for the front carb, and 20 flats for the rear. Two questions: a) is it normal for the two carbs to differ by 4 flats? b) 20-24 flats seems like a lot, since I've seen 12 flats referred to as the standard baseline?

2. Using the baseline settings above (20-24 flats), I'm finding that I can adjust the rear carb by 2-3 flats so that lifting the piston results in a rise-then-fall in RPMs. However, lifting the front piston doesn't seem to do anything until I lean the jets (5+ flats) to the point where it starts to sputter and stall. FYI, floats are set to 3/16" (not sure if that affects mixture settings?).

3. I notice that when I pinch off the line from the intake manifold to the PCV valve (this is a B18), the engine stalls - but otherwise, the engine won't stall, even with idle screws all the way out. I've changed the PCV valve and lines and cleaned the flame trap. Is the PCV system behaving correctly (ie, should I be looking for problems elsewhere)? FYI, I have tested throttle shafts with carb cleaner (and even rebushed them), and tried re-centering the throttle plates (although, I dunno if I've done a good enough job).


In general, my gas mileage stinks -- both figuratively and literally: I get about 10 mpg and the car smells like fuel whenever it runs. (Although, this may have been due to overfilling float bowls, which have been remedied thanks to some new float bowl lids purchased from Agent Strangelove.)

A rundown of what I've tried so far can be found on a blog I'm keeping:
http://65brick.blogspot.com/search/label/carbs


Thanks!
Jerry