Where is my Spyder's venom? Where to begin?

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Where is my Spyder's venom? Where to begin?

Postby mySpyder77 » Wed May 05, 2021 1:56 pm

Finally able to dig into my 77 Spyder .....

Here are the basic specs:

Chevy 350
Holley Double Pumper
Not sure of the cam specs, but it has a rough idle that straightens out when you rev it up
MSD Digital 6AL/HEI Distributor
700R4
3.08 Posi Rear End

Conditions:

In park, the engine is very responsive and snappy.
TV cable looks to be adjust properly - at WOT, you can feel there's no more cable to be had. And at idle, the cable is nice and tort and aligned properly with the linkage.
When driving, it goes through the gears very quickly; with 1st being very quick/hard shifting - if I buried the gas, it would definitely more than chirp the tires.
To get the transmission to kick down, you have to really mash the gas pedal to the toe board.
Engine just seems .... meh driving power wise like maybe the timing isn't advancing when needed.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

mySpyder77
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Re: Where is my Spyder's venom? Where to begin?

Postby cammerjeff » Thu May 06, 2021 9:56 am

It probably is the TV cable adjustment. When I put a 200R4 in my 78 Sunbird wagon years ago, I tried several of the aftermarket brackets on the Q-jet I run on that car. Never was happy with any of them. I finally went junk yarding and bought a mid 80's Q-jet from a car with a 700R4. All I wanted was the TV cable bracket. After swapping out the Bracket from the doner carb it sifted perfectly. After that I just tell people to use the stock GM parts. But I don't know if that is an option with your Holley.

The issue I had with the aftermarket brackets was not in adjusting the TV cable, but the actual mounting position and the angle they mounted the TV cable. The aftermarket brackets were just a bit off from the stock mounting location. That and the variables of installing the bracket on the carb.

The quick and hard shift from 1st to 2nd gear is a classic miss adjusted TV cable symptom
Jeff R

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1973 4-speed Lemans Safari STOCK!!!!! 1978 Catalina Safari
2006 Mallet Solstice, 6.0 LS2, 6-speed manual
2009 Solstice Coupe, 2.4, 5-speed Manual
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1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari Wagon


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