Need help understanding this old carter

[skitzofrenic66]

my '65 lesabre has a '69 skylark 350. the qjet's vacuum module for the secondaries wore out and its taking me some time to get my hands on the proper new one (finally located one just a bit ago, now have to wait for shipping) so in the mean time i grabbed a good running carter AFB off my '55 pontiac.

after not long i realize i dont know a whole lot about this style carb. i was working from a carter PDF i found online but im a little confused about this one. there is literally no idle screw. from reading it seems some of them use the air/fuel ratio as some sort of idle? im no rocket scientist with these. i can make 98% of them work like never before (square bores that is) but its more trial and error than skill :puzzled:

so help me understand the theory of this carb please. it shouldnt be on the car longer than a few weeks (unless its a diamond in the rough) but im sure ill meet another of its angry cousins down the road lol

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/Myspace%20Junk/IMAG0032.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/Myspace%20Junk/IMAG0033-1.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/Myspace%20Junk/IMAG0034-1.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/Myspace%20Junk/IMAG0036.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/Myspace%20Junk/IMAG0037.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/Myspace%20Junk/IMAG0039.jpg

some of the links i mentioned
http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/carterafbtuning.pdf

http://www.bob2000.com/carb.htm

[SteeveeDee]

On your last pic, that screw on the lever that says 803 is the idle adjust. You get fast idle all the way to warmed-up idle off that cam. Weird, and I've never liked having to reach under at such a stupid angle to adjust the idle.

Sorry, I guess it's been a long time since I worked on one of these.

[Buford]

That screw in the last pic is for the fast idle speed when the choke is on. Warmed up idle speed is controlled by that big screw in the front middle between the two small idle mixture screws. Carter used that for a few mid 60s years.

[skitzofrenic66]

thanks guys!!

[robs71redriv]

here's some specific stuff to help you understand the QJet -

http://boattail-riviera-by-buick.com/library/documents/understanding%20your%20quadrajet/index.html

http://boattail-riviera-by-buick.com/library/documents/1971%20qjet%20clean%20adjust/index.html

http://boattail-riviera-by-buick.com/library/documents/proper%20carb%20ttuneup%20methods%20for%2069-71%20buick%20engines/index.html

plus 71 to 73 manuals
http://boattail-riviera-by-buick.com/library/documents/documents.php