86 Ranger 2.0 liter has no power after carb rebuild

[raymondvillain]

This ancient truck has a 1 barrel carburetor, 5 speed manual transmission, 2 wheel drive. I took the carb off and took it to a shop and they rebuilt it for $145. Put it back on and I can barely make it uphill in 3rd gear. Before the rebuild it would just fly up that hill.

It also backfires now. Didn't used to do that, ever.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Tomorrow I'll check to see whether or not the choke plate is fully open when the engine is warm. I also have to replace the steel tube from the fuel pump to the carburetor intake filter. The threaded connectors on the tubing won't line up with the flare fittings on the carburetor, or the fuel pump unless the tube length is correct. So that's another chore.

What kind of mileage do you guys get with your Rangers? Mine will get about 26 miles per gallon on the Interstate, no more than that. I was really surprised to hear that one Ranger owner in these forums posted that his truck got 30 mpg.

Solved! Well, almost. The rebuilt carburetor was loose. Tightened the mounting nuts and lots of problems went away.

 

[raymondvillain]

Additional info:
I advanced the ignition timing to 20 degrees BTDC and the power returned. Standing there with a timing light on the crankshaft pulley, if I goose the throttle, the timing mark goes up to about 30 degrees.

My question is, what is doing the advance? I cannot find a vacuum advance anywhere on the distributor. Is it a centrifugal advance? Or does it have a solenoid or some other electrical gadget to do the job?