I posted this question on another forum with no response yet, thought I'd try here. I have a 78 with 460 and an e4od. On the valvecover decal it says the idle is 650 and the high idle is 1200? The sticker is hard to read because it's so old. Is that still recommended today? When it's idled up it sounds really loud. I'm just concerned about oil flow when cold and wear. My oil pressure is 80psi on startup.

 

If it still idles high when warm, you need to check several things. First disconnect the vacuum hose of the distributors vacuum can. If manifold vacuum is reaching the vacuum can it will over advance the timing at idle. If that doesn't cure it, make sure the choke is coming all the way off. This can cause the throttle to not drop all the way to the actual idle stop.

Oh and no a 1200 RPM idle is not normal or recommended, mainly because of increased fuel consumption

 

Thanks for the speedy reply bear. It has an Edelbrock 750 with electric choke that works. Once it warms up it idles around 650. While it's warming up it is around 1250. It just sounds pretty loud until warmed up. I know there is an adjustment for fast idle somewhere on the carb and will adjust it if I have to. Thanks for any help.

 

A function of the choke is to make the mixture richer and to increase the idle speed to keep the motor running. 1250 isn't all that high. I have a couple of engines that are spec'd at 1600 to 1800 for fast idle with the choke. It's noisy because the fan is running fast as is the engine. Your engine has a mechanically driven geared oil pump and it pumps more oil the faster the engine runs, so that is not an issue.

 

Thanks again bear, I'll leave it as then.