Minus dropping parts in motor any other reason not to remove air horn and clean the top half of the carb?

Car starts up runs but has a slight miss at part throttle causing it to fail smog. Can I just remove the air horn and clean all the needles and see if that helps it. Seems to be dribbling fuel out the primary jets.

 

You will need to remove the entire carburetor in order to properly disassemble it and clean it. If it's never been rebuilt it will likely need rebuilt by now. It would be a good idea to just rebuild it and ensure every aspect of the carb is clean and functional, not just removing the air horn to clean what you can from the main body.

 

I know, I know. I’m just scared cause it fires up first crank every time and drives well, it’s just running rich. I’m afraid of it ending worst then it began.

 

If it's running a little rich, that's pretty normal. If you're concerned about the mixture, the mixture adjustment can be performed while the engine is running with the mixture screw.

 

What are the float bowl levels? Should be able to see from the sight glasses.

 

I’ll check this weekend here

 

You'll be able to see the front sight glass but not the rear. The fuel should be mid way up the glass at idle and on a flat surface.

 

You can get a hair or makeup mirror pretty cheap at Wally-world for things like this. I have a small 2" mirror on an extendable rod that I use.