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too much advance could be causing several of your problems. start with the basics first. check the timing and the curb idle speed, make sure they are right before you try to "fix" other symptoms/problems. if you aren't going to do these things yourself, ask where they were before, and where they are set now. hard numbers, no guessing or setting by ear.
I have a 1972 460 with Edelbrock 750 - model 1407.
How long did the engine sit, after the hex distributor shaft broke?
My truck sat for 1.5 years, and ran, but poorly. I knew timing was not an issue.
The engine ran crappy, flooded, black smoke, could only run cold, would start hot.
I knew my timing was good.
I Bought a rebuild kit ~$50 dollars, took my time, carb cleaner to clean everything.
After carb rebuild, installed, started first crank, idled, warmed up, runs like new.
So, maybe your mechanic is correct, and carb is flooding itself.
Floats may be bad or out of adjustment.
That is my guess also. When the hex shaft broke the engine backfired through the carb and I suspected it may have caused problems in the edelbrock. My engine is having the same symptoms as yours did it appears. Thanks for the good information!
I've got the same set up in my 65 f100 and had the same problem with the starter, did some research and best I could figure is as the engine and starter get hot, the heat causes greater resistance and lower amperage to the starter so hot restarts are tough (with an engine this big). I took the following steps and the problem seems to have gone away, first I replaced the starter cable with the smallest gauge (largest cable) I could find and made it as short as practical, then I bought a battery with the highest starting amperage I could find, finally I bought an insulated wrap that velcro's around the starter to help keep it a bit cooler. Another possible solution I came across is a type of starter, that is not affected by heat as much but I never followed through, seemed like it was going to cost around $175.00 and my other steps solved the problem.
Finally got my issues resolved on my 460. The pickup coil was the problem with the engine going dead and the timing had to be bumped up to get the truck running better. Once I began driving the truck more the carb also got much better. It was a process of elimination but hopefully we have it repaired now. Thanks guys!
I finally got the starter issue corrected. The starter would barely turn the 460 engine over and was damaging teeth on the flywheel. After backing the transmission out there was one dowel pin missing from the engine block and was putting the starter in a bind. I also replaced the starter wires with heavier gauge ones and put a heat jacket on the starter and truck is cranking and starting really great now......even on hot days. Hope this information may help someone.