I recently acquired a 1982 Ford Fairmont with the 3.3L I6, Power assist steering, and the CA emissions system installed. As far as the engine goes, its running (mostly) like a champ. chasing vaccume leaks through the CA emissions system was a bear and a half; the previous owner was a tinkerer, however it was quickly obvious that they had no clue as to what they were doing, as I had to quickly replace the voltage regulator, as they had wired a new alternator backwards, and neglected a ground wire. today I was going to tackle the high-idle issue, and came across something that I didn't expect: the idle mixture screw was not where any of the videos or pictures said it should be; instead there is just a deep hole; with nothing in it.
rebuilding an older car like this can be fun; but not being able to even use my local autoparts stores to get a replacement, or finding a rebuild kit that includes the screw was outside my expectations.
last of the 200s there. Mine'sa 3.8L (early LTD, fox body) bent6 w/the 2jet CFI. We need an edxtensive network (way beyond the big box stores U mention) constantly at the ready. Matt is a big part of that.
'82 is in that transition period btwn carb'n cfi/tbi. Some 'rip off" everything on top of th motor saying "get rid of that polloution crap" when it is essential feedback for performance (MPGs & pep). Get with others who know these systems for optimal parts sourcing, schematics, tech advice, etc. There R several 'on-line clubs' for this M/M/Yrs. I just boughta '85 LTD (or fox) wagon. Time for me to learn....
Wow! If you want to send me a picture of the carb and where the idle screw, I can see if I have one I could send you. I have a lot of cores. Matt