My name is Stogie and I live in Knoxville, TN. I just purchased a 1977 New Yorker Brougham and I'm interested in meeting people who know about my car and how to keep it running. Right now, I'm looking for someone to walk me through tuning a lean burn 400 engine. I'm also hoping to find a source for trim items. I enjoy car shows and other auto related events. If anyone also has late model C body cars in the Knoxville area, I'd love to meet with you and maybe caravan to shows and cruise ins.

 

Hello Stogie! I actually worked on those lean burns in the 70s. They aren't overly complex. The unfavorable news is they didn't run the best. It was a time when America tried squeezing every drop of fuel out of a gas engine when engineers were in the experimental stages.
The stock 2 bbl carbs on them were very touchy. Be very careful tightening down the air filter (loosely) because it will warp the top of the carburetor air horn. It can be straightened out by heating and clamping but that's another day. Many people plugged the EGR valve to prevent hesitation and surging problems. There was a ever changing timing approach on those cars through the computer. The computers then were very finicky being affected by inadequate or unsteady power from the alternator. Heat also was an issue. If you place your hand under and over the computer and lightly squeeze, quite often the engine would stall.
that being said. You could leave the lean burn in place and plug the vacuum line after doing a total timing of 32-34 degrees making that bad boy run the way it should. That 2 bbl carb is a pretty good performer when not warped and responds well with a total timing setting. Looks will be original but that's all.

 

Welcome to the site..... Happy tinkering and cruising !!!!!