I have a 41 Master Deluxe with the original 216 and it has a Carter carb, not the original but the same model that came on it. It needs some choke (1/4 - 1/2) until it is warms up. Once warmed up it will idle without any throttle.
In the past on this car I have had a bad coil cause the car to require more throttle to keep it going and as it would stall at low RPM.
In another instance it had a carb that needed rebuilding that did make it harder to start but did not require any more choke. Once going the performance was not there, you hit the gas and it took a while for anything to happen. It would idle but I had that turned up on the old worn carb.
I think back then most of the torque specs were measured in uga dugas and good enoughs and not using a torque wrench.
