Thanks for all the responses!
Dragsix, I don’t have the ID tag to know the specifics of my carb. My guess is that it was originally on a 216 since it had a 52 main jet, but that’s just a guess since my truck is a 1949 with a 1954 motor.
HRL, it sounds like with modern gas, reading plugs is not as easy as before, and jetting becomes more of a seat of the pants thing unless you have access to diagnostic equipment, which I don’t have. It seems to run well, but I might experiment with the Holley jets to see what it means to be too lean or too rich.
Wrench bender, I’ve read that the ethanol gas makes them run lean, so a bigger jet makes sense. Will experiment per HRL’s notes.
Joe, it seems to run pretty well and pull pretty hard at most any throttle input in the city or on the highway, so I must be close (I have no reference point for what a healthy 235 should run/feel like, but it keeps up with traffic for sure). I don’t smell like I spilled fuel on me when I get out after and here in Houston, our “hills” are highway overpasses ;-) and it seems to just need a little input to maintain speed up those uphill conditions.
The reason I thought it was lean is because the plugs were bone white when I checked them and the jet was stamped 52 when a 58 should be stock (check out the pictures in my original post)
What I am finding from all the responses is that I am likely in a good place with what I have right now and am more than likely not lean given the size of the jet compared the known 56 that I have. I was concerned about being lean and burning a valve because I have lower compression in one cylinder (95 vs 110 in the others) I will check mileage and experiment with the jets.
