Guys helpw/carb setup and running rich&brakes....

When you converted the 4 to the 5.0 did you swap the front suspension and brakes? If so you may need a.. Umm. Crap. I cant remember what the name of the part is.. Essentially its a little metal block that acts to distribute the pressure evenly to the front and back brakes. Alot of times when folks do brake swaps they dont think about replacing it with the one that corresponds to the new brake setup and lockups and failures can occur. Someone should be able to tell you the name of it.. I cant for the life of me remember it right now.

As to the smell of gas. Are you sure your actually running rich? If you dont have cats, or have gutted yours often times this causes a gassy smell. The unburnt fuel isnt getting taken care of anymore, leaving the odor and such.

MusPuppis is refering to a proportioning valve, you may have to get an adjustable one. What kind/size of carb are you running?

I think the words you're looking for are proportioning valve. The proportioning valve can cause the problem you're quoting in your brakes. Also, air in the line can cause a similar problem.

For the fuel smell, what carb, HCI setup are you running? How about ignition? If all of your fuel lines and vents are hooked up correctly and working properly, make certain that you also check your carburetor idle circuits for mixture (usually max. vaccuum), and your timing may need some tweaking if you're using a hotter cam and / or heads. Each mod affects the other when you're changing that stuff. If you've got "fast burn" heads and / or a hotter cam you may or may not need to advance your timing; poorly matched timing can account for the stench of raw fuel. Of course, if you're not running any EGR and / or smog / cats any longer, you've probably got your culprit.

Actually, you are probably experiencing gas boiling inside the carb when you shut the motor. Gas smells come from heat rising to the top of the engine when it is off. This heat boils off the gas in the fuel bowls. Add a wooden spacer and this problem goes away.

Make sure the evaporative emissions hose is either capped or hooked up to the aircleaner. It exits on the passenger side fender near the back, runs through a solenoid to the charcoal canister.

I noticed my carbed mustang has significantly more vacuum across the board since most of the vacuum accessories are now disconnected and manifold vacuum runs straight to the brakes. A smaller (550-600 cfm) carb would increase this. Going from a 670 to a 600 made a huge difference in this effect for me.

Trace the brakelines from the brake booster and you will hit a small block under or right next to the the booster with 3 lines running out of it (and 1 in).

The proportioning valve is the aluminum chunk of metal about 3 inches by 2 inches with both lines from the master cylinder entering it, and then all of the lines to the brakes exiting it. It will be within a foot of the master cylinder on your 87, bolted to the inner fender. You can purchase adjustable models that allow you to select the proportion of braking force you would like to split between front brakes and rear brakes. Otherwise, just find a proportioning valve from an 8 cyl car and swap it for the one that's in there. Be aware that if you replace the proportioning valve, you will obviously have to bleed your system really well before you drive anywhere.

For the brakes, if you used the original brakes they should work as well as before. If the rear locks, it may be the proportioning valve, and you should be able to swap in a v8 unit or adjustable unit If it is the front, check that the calipers are not sticking. If they sat for awhile on a donor car, the pistons may be sticking. Make sure the calipers can float. If you had air in the system, you usually have little or no brake actuation at all.

Also make sure the pushrod from the power booster to the master cylinder is adjusted to the right length. If it is too long, it will apply the brakes, but not allow the brake pistons to return far enough to open the return ports. If you swapped to manual brakes make sure the pedal to m/c pushrod is on the correct linkage mount on the pedal.

For the carb, see if it has obvious leaks when sitting there. Most likely it has a float level that is too high in front or rear, and is draining when shut off. With the engine off, look carefully down the carb throats and see if you see gas. If so, try lowering the floats. It takes a 5/8 wrench and a wide screwdriver. I cannot remember which way lowers right now. Loosen the screw a bit, with the engine running, and turn the nut, with the bowl screw out of the side, until gas just barely runs out, or does not run out. The nut is the part that raises or lowers the needle and seat assembly. That should do it.