Rochester Monojet Carb help

[jchicago]

Just bought a 80 C10 with a 292, engine idle seems to inconsistent, sometimes it runs smooth, other times it wants to die when I put it in gear. So starting with the carb and as I'm poking around the engine I see a ton of disconnected vac lines, some plugged with screws, others open. And to be honest my last truck was a 66 with a 292 and it was barebones, now with all the smog equipment I'm wondering "where this is suppose to go" and "this looks important, wonder why its not connected to something"

So I pulled the carb yesterday, and there is two solenoids on it, with neither powered by anything. (vac line for the HEI was also disconnected). One I believe is suppose to be powered by the ignition switch from what I read online. Is there a easy place the wire gets connected to? The second one, I have no idea on. Also looks like I'm missing the fast idle cam, or does the second solenoid replace it?

Also, there is a thin piece of metal between the carb and manifold, no idea why its there.

And incase it matters, previous owner said the engine came from a 76-78 1-ton, not sure if that's true, didn't think those would have all the smog equipment.

Tried to attach pictures, but ran into a security token error. Can upload them later.

Thanks in advance, any advice or wisdom appreciated.

[jchicago]

[geezer#99]

Take more pics and make them smaller.

[jchicago]

Looks like it let me do the attachments now.

[greg64]

Okay, the solenoid near the carb base that points downhill is the anti-run-on solenoid. It gets power when the ignition is on. You're correct that the original factory wire is pink.
This function is important because when the engine is running, the solenoid is extended and open the throttle blade to its true idle position. When the ignition is turned off, the solenoid retracts which causes the throttle blade to close completely, stopping the engine from dieseling. These inline 6s tend to do that. I would just connect the solenoid to the positive side of the ignition coil, as it is powered at the same time.

The next electric hookup is the electric choke (the round cylinder at the top). This needs power to slowly wind open after startup and open the choke. It should be hooked to ignition power too.

The vacuum advance should be hooked up too. It will help a lot with the idle, if it is connected to manifold vacuum (not ported vacuum) but you'll hear different opinions on this.

I've been playing around with these chevy 6s for the last 20 years, so ask any questions you have. The 292 is a good engine, if you expect reasonable things from it. I have one in my 77.

[jchicago]

Thanks Greg. And looks like I am missing the fast idle cam, correct? Think I saw a few places online to pick them up with the accompanying lever.
Not expecting to take the truck to the track. It's my daily, so just looking to make it reliable enough not to strand me on the side of the highway.

[greg64]

Yes, there should be a fast idle cam and a link that connects that cam up to the choke linkage. If you do a google image search for mono jets, you'll find a picture, I'm sure.

Reliability is where these engines are king. So simple, and the damageable parts like the starter, distributor and ignition coil are not exposed to exhaust heat and are very easy to get at. The oil pressure is always good too, even at idle. There's no point revving it past 4000 rpm in stock form, there's no more power to be had. But at low revs (where these engines are good) they seem to last forever.

I think you said you have a hei distributor. If you don't start there. Makes a big difference in starting.