Ok all, I'm still learning here...I should have mentioned in my initial post
that I had a Weber carb; next time I'll be more mindful of that.
The consensus of the list was correct about the problem-once I started the
car, a simple downward adjustment of the cable rear of the carb brought the
idle back down again. Until I even thought of touching the throttle. Once I
did, zoom went up the idle speed. My ride home from work was hell. After
doing a comfortable 55-60, I get stuck in stop and go traffic, and my idle is
now at 3,900 rpm. With car in gear, I'm battling the brakes to keep things in
check, and they begin to smell, the temp gauge is rising, and I am sweating
bullets hoping the engine doesn't go on me in the middle of rush hour.
Thankfully, my kind mechanic is located exactly at the bottom of my exit. The
culprit? Get this-the bolt to the front of the accellerator cable had worked
itself loose from vibration, and things were getting stuck. Bolt was rather
difficult to get to, but once it was tightened, we did couple throttle in/out
tries with the engine off, and low and behold, I was back in business. I
never could have found or fixed this bolt on my own.
So, the car now idles happily at 1,000 rpm, and I have the car to enjoy for
the weekend. Thanks to all of you who offered your help.
Tom
78 Midget
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