I have a 268 v8 with a 4 barrell autolite 4100 carb.
How do i know if the carb is operating at its best potential?
Is it possible that only 2 barrells are functional?

The car is running well, a bit short on power.
I think maybe a bit rich.
I do not want to tear it apart just for the fun, unless that would really help.

Thanks for the help

 

The secondaries are vacuum operated. If the diaphragm is ruptured, they won't operate. If the carb is otherwise OK, you can replace just that. Glazier/Nolan has that, p/n G08214.

If the choke doesn't come all the way off, the secondaries are locked out, so check that, too.

 

260 v 8 sry
i keys are too tiny

 

still the very same (good) advise. good luck :-)

 

how long has it been since the carb had a rebuild? Holley carbs are a snap to work on so not bad at all. Holley has some excellent video guides on the process on youtube. Take a look and you will see it isn't a tough job at all. There is also an excellent book on rebuilding and tuning holley carbs. I got mine on amazon but don't recall the name. Just google search and you will find it. Cost about $15-$20 and well worth it.

 

he's looking for help on an autolite 4100, not a holley. totally different beast

 

my bad, read it wrong. You can still get plenty of rebuild guides for autolites on youtube. Might want to watch one on mixture adjustment first to see if it is just a mixture adjustment issue.

 

Thursday would be my next chance to look at it.
I am at best once a week at getting under the hood.
I will see what I find.