Thanks to George for referring me to the 1800 Owners Group on Yahoo. There's an excellent discussion there of why the auxiliary air valves fail, as well as a good set of photos by one intrepid member who has actually disassembled and reassembled several AAVs. I need a bit more information on disassembly, but am probably going to give refurbishment of my AAV as shot, as new AAVs are apparently no longer available. As an initial step, I'll spray some carb cleaner into the AAV and see if I can free the stuck piston.

And my failing AAV explains some of my recent starting/idling problems. By setting idle to 800 rpm on a warm engine with an AAV that is stuck in the open position, the idle is actually set way too low to enable the car to start promptly and idle when cold.

So, I attempted over the weekend to set idle on the warm engine by plugging the AAV outlet hose. Worked very well, although I think I set my throttle stop screw too far in to be able to get maximum idle adjustment using the proper idle screw on the underside of the intake manifold.

Just a little more tinkering, though, and I think I should be there.

I can't thank you enough for all of the help. -- Joe