1982 Chevy Silverado 1500 hesitation when accelerating

[marvinlvr]

I just purchased a 82 silverado last night, the engine runs great, starts right up and when I give it gas it revs fine. But when I put it in gear and give it gas it bogs down and stalls when it's cold, it gets better as it gets warmer but still bogs initially at first gas. After I get up to speed it runs fine and seems to accelerate fine.

It's a 305 V8 automatic. the PO told me he just replaced the spark plug and wires. I purchased a new fuel filter on my way back to the hotel last night, but I didn't bring any tools with me (stupid!) and I have 350 miles to drive it home. Any suggestions to look for?

Oh and I should mention I am not mechanically inclined, but my dad is an awesome wrencher and he has taught me the basics. Unfortunately he lives 3000 miles away!

Thanks for the help!

Sherri

[Captkaos]

Spray around the intake/carb to see if there are any vacuum leaks.
You can also hold your hand over the carb and see if it dies.

[JRConnieK10]

Funny Chris I was thinking the same thing but thought I would leave it for some of the more experienced to answer. Huh I might just get the hang of all this sooner or later.

[gold84gmc]

i just had the same problem with my truck and it ended up being the fuel filter was dirty so i changed it and it runs fine now so i would try replacing the fuel filter first and see what that does

[hilton850]

I had a similar problem on my truck years ago, but mine is a std 4 speed.  My symptom was a "dead spot" which would get better as the truck warmed up.  I have an edlebrock performer carb and it turned out when I bought the carb...second hand....it was tuned for an engine that had less vacuum at idle.  This in turn prevented the needles from lifting out of the jets properly (the extra vacuum would hold them down for an extra split second)  Then needles have springs that can be changed out to stiffer or softer ones that in turn change the timing of the needles when you step on the throttle.  I spoke with an old time mechanic who told me to just stretch the springs a little at a time until the dead spot was gone...so I did and it worked beautifully.  I can't remember the edelbrock names for all this stuff, but if you have an edelbrock carb it's in the manual.  The online version is here:  http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/carbs_acc/pdf/carb_owners_manual.pdf

I am by no means good at tuning carburators, all I know is what I've read in the manual and what I've learned from a few people over the years.
Hopefully this is helpful.
P.S. I never hurt anything driving my truck this way...it was more of an annoyance than anything.