howdy pinto pinto nuts
I just bought a 1978 pinto wagon off ebay.My which is my 1st mistake not everybody is honest out there. 2nd mistake should have looked for a 75 or older "smog exempt here in the clean air state"
The main problem with the car is that it is missing chunks of the smog parts" I later found them in the spare tire compartment.
Before i found them I got mad and took off the rest. IE pump,loose hoses,some diagram looking things?
Now i have a problems. Duh. I cant get the idle mixture to lean out .I know with Holley carbs to lean out the mix i turn the needles clockwise but with smog carbs it may opposite.The carb is a 2150 on a 2.8 I also don't know if i should hook up the vacuum advance to the manifold tree or some where on the carb. Should i or can i take off the egr plate .
By the way some how the seller got it smogged for the sell.In my zip code you only have to smog it a the intail sale.Please help!
The distributor should hook to a fitting on the front of the carb passenger side near the bottom. You can block off the egr with a plate. And possibly the carb that is on it may have been for a larger motor, and the jets are too large. open it up, if they are larger than a 58 get a set of 56's. Mine runs slightly rich with 58's, but I am doing this on purpose to keep my temp down at the track. My carb came with 55's originally. Autozone and advance sell a liquid that claims to help pass smog tests, but I dont know if it really works or not.
Was it the 78 cruising wagon that went for around $550? If so I did notice they said it was non-op since 01. If it's that would it even need smogged? I dunno as I'm in Ohio... curious more than anything.
Anyhow if it had the smog equipment it prolly wasn't even working. If it's a 6 cyl. engine then I do believe the 2150 is the right carb for it, prolly just needs rebuilt.
  Thanks for the info DEMON The carb is the one listed in my manuel for the 2.8.I thought maybe since the emission system was gone it would run wetter. Does any body know which way to turn the idle mixture screws on this 2150?Clockwise leaner or counter clockwise?
Yeah r4 any car after 1975 has to be smogged to get tags for street here in CA.Your zip code dictates how often you have to have it resmogged
clockwise for lean. They used 2150's on everything from 4 cyl to 460 big blocks. That your manual lists it for the 2.8 isnt a sure fire thing that it has the right jets in it. those screws you are playing with really only affect the mixture at idle to very low midrange, they still have a small effect on the mixture thru the rpm range.
The carb might even be junk. If you can wiggle the throttle shaft side to side or back and forth, it is shot. You will be getting a very large vacuum leak between the shaft and the carb body.
Thanks again for the advice D.T.D. i didnt relize that carb was used so often ill check the jets asap
You stated that you bought the '78 on eBay. Was this an original CA car or a FED car? If it was an original CA car, it should have the Ford 2700 VV (variable venturi) carb. If not, it will have the Ford 2150 carb mentioned in other posts. Most people do not understand the VV carb so they'll replace it with a 2150, but it is not correct to pass smog in CA. When the VV carb is working as it should, it's a very good carb.
Thanks for the reply 79.The carb is new / newer! It appears to be a 2150