Auto Racing: 82 Ford Mustang Gt, flowmaster dual exhaust, federal mogul

Question
Hi Steve,
I got an 82 GT with just over 100K miles being rebuilt at 89K with a summit engine kit. No bows and whistles, just the needed basic rebuild. I did put on an Edelbrock Rpm Performer intake and a Performer carb to match 750 Cfm. Yes, I was told it was too big, but I made the rookie mistake and went too large. So it runs rich (black out the tailpipe) when I get on it and basically most all the time there is a black spot where I started the car. How can I compensate for this? I thought of camming it and putting a flowmaster dual exhaust on it. Are there ways to compensate for it running rich by beefing up other stuff? Or should I lean out the carb? Thanks.

Answer
Mike-

  First of all...nice choice on the '82 GT.  That's my 2nd favorite of the Fox bodied Mustangs next to the '93 Cobra.  I too have made the mistake of over-carbing.  Honestly I'd really recommend just buying another carb...maybe in the neighborhood of a Carter 625cfm (your Edelbrock carb is made by Federal Mogul who also makes Carter so they're essentially the same).  You can, however, buy a kit and re-jet the carb.  It's a bit labor intensive and not something I'd recommend unless you're VERY familiar with the internals of your carb.  Even with different jets in there you'll probably still run a little rich.  Jet kits are more for fine-tuning...not knocking 100cfm off of the carbs airflow.  A cam and exhaust are great ideas, but they won't relieve your rich condition.  Also, a cam is good overall but it really needs a good set of heads to reach full potential.  And remember...with the cam just like the carb...bigger doesn't always mean better.  Hope this helps.

Steve