help please??? carb and distributer problems

welp i got a 283 chevy with a th 400 tranny all in a 1950 chevy pickup.... i just swapped the stock intake and carb with a holly contender intake manifold and the Holley 600cfm Vacuum Secondary Carb. i did all this last night in about 3-4 hrs... we got it runnin but it backfires like a mother and consistantly and it idles extremely high and we backed the idle screw all the way off. we didnt have a timing light so we just timed it by ear to get me back home with it. when i drove it, i didnt expect much at all but i had to play the throttle (in and out quite fast) just to get up to speed otherwise it would bogg out and die. also when i was driving it, it didnt backfire nearly as much. the main vaccum line on the carb we had hooked up but the other little one we didnt. i didnt mess with the fast idle screw or anything else cuz i dont know all that much about carburators. any help would be appreciated. ill keep you posted if i remember or fogot anything else... thanks alot ppls ... :)

Tim.
Get into your hands a timing light and dwell meter.
When you have set them both according to specs. for your 283, with vacuum off from distributor, you can then adjust carburetor.
As to carburetor, never assume new in box has all settings correct. Happy cruising in your nice ride young man.

well ?.... what the heck is a dwell meter and what does it do exactly?
Thanks

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Originally posted by tim_bo16
well ?.... what the heck is a dwell meter and what does it do exactly?
Thanks

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Dwell meter sets the angle of duration of the cam inside your distributor. See specs. on your 283, expressed in degrees.
A valuable tool for setup to your engine would be a dwell/tach/voltmeter. Best of luck to you. :)

Quote:

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Originally posted by tim_bo16
the main vaccum line on the carb we had hooked up but the other little one we didnt. :)

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Don't know if I'm understanding you right, but it sounds like your driving it with a vac line unhooked?
If so, that would cause a vacuum leak that would cause the problems you are having.

Quote:

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Originally posted by pro70z28
Don't know if I'm understanding you right, but it sounds like your driving it with a vac line unhooked?
If so, that would cause a vacuum leak that would cause the problems you are having.

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Very correct ProZ---- I assumed vac. line was reconnected.
Ah!... what happens when one assumes.
Affliction often attributed to an ole geezer like myself.:HMMM:

maybe the little vac. line that you did not connect is for your advance on your distributer ?????????I know more than i can spell!

i dun got a vaccum on my distributer.. one on the tranny and brake booster.. the little one is now hooked up to the line from the tranny ... and the big one is hooked up to the brake booster... it still pops.. im gonna get a timing light tommorrow and a dwell meter... ( found someone who has one and will help me with it) so ill keep you all posted