Drilling the hole didn't help, just made things worse. I went with a
rebuilt, the correct one for the car, and now the car runs great, no more
hesitation and smoother (but not perfect) at idle, also doesn't "miss" at
idle as it used to. The rebuilder totally rebuilt the carb, you'd be hard
pressed to tell it wasn't NOS. The finish on the carb looks like new (re
anodized). I checked the ported vaccum port before I bought it, to make
sure it was open. This carb is basic, no feedback control.
What amazes me is that this engine was rebuilt through a local Chyrsler
dealership. They are the ones that installed a 1981 carb in a 1980 car,
removed the lean burn system, then when it didn't work (no vacuum advance,
no ported vaccum) they just left it. It wasn't a matter of poor
adjustments, it was just a wrong part.
The owner at the time was in his 60's, and didn't drive the car much
(preferred is Ram Charger) so didn't notice any performance issues with the
new rebuild, until it failed the emissions test, then the dealer "fixed" the
problem and the car passed.

Had a similar problem with my sons Mazda, three attempts by the local Mazda
dealer to repair carb issues (at $600.00 per fix)(failed emissions tests)
then the owner sold us the car, we replaced the carb and bingo, great
emission test results. Same issue with my Merc., can't these dealers fix
cars any more?

Many thanks to all who gave suggestions for the fix.





"Ted Mittelstaedt" > wrote in message
...
>
> "nirodac" > wrote in message
> news:U_N8f.65275$S4.30548@edtnps84...
> > I was at this NG some months ago, this issue is part of that problem.
> > Problem; no ported vacuum for dist. Fix from this NG was to replace
carb.
> > Now the question; Jobber wants to sell me a carb for a 1980 318 CID,
> Dodge
> > truck, instead of one for a 1980 318 CID Lebaron.
>
> There are tons of carbs on Ebay. I bought one last year for my 84 Chevy
> Celebrity, it was a feedback carb and the numbers matched exactly, which
> was amazing considering the number of variations of that carb that GM
used.
> While it was a New Old Stock carb I only needed the selonoid from it,
> and the carb is still on my shelf in case I ever need it.
>
> If I were you I would find a local carb rebuilder and see if he could
drill
> the passage you need in your existing carb.
>
> Ted
>
>