Even tho we specialize in AC we are known as the shop that still works on older stuff. Today I'm rebuilding a carburetor on an 89 Jeep.
Old skool carburetor rebuilding.
- Thread starter Chris142
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That looks like a Holley or a Ball&Ball 2 barrel. Careful on those needles that go down inside the jets. Adjustment is critical for good gas mileage and power.
I was recently asked to help get a newly built carburated hot rod to run better. The guy who built the engine was clearly not well versed in carb setup. All I brought with me was a wrench for the float adjustment, a small screwdriver, a vacuum gauge and a timing light.
Within fifteen minutes I had this thing idling at 700 rpm and running very nicely. Hadn't done that in over twenty years. Felt kinda like voodoo.
Within fifteen minutes I had this thing idling at 700 rpm and running very nicely. Hadn't done that in over twenty years. Felt kinda like voodoo.
Did you have to bore and bush the throttle shafts?
Or is this just a needle seat and gasket affair on this Carter?
I never had the "pleasure to rebuild a electric FFB carb.
I will say the carb on my early 80's S10 V6 with large port heads was a great unit.
Rochester vara-jet 375CFM spread bore - the longitudinal half of a quadra bog with a BIG secondary.
Flowed all the a/f the 2.8 needed.
Fuel injection/emissions ruined that sweet engine. Just like the 3.0 Ford V6 past 1995 with OBDII. Choked.
Or is this just a needle seat and gasket affair on this Carter?
I never had the "pleasure to rebuild a electric FFB carb.
I will say the carb on my early 80's S10 V6 with large port heads was a great unit.
Rochester vara-jet 375CFM spread bore - the longitudinal half of a quadra bog with a BIG secondary.
Flowed all the a/f the 2.8 needed.
Fuel injection/emissions ruined that sweet engine. Just like the 3.0 Ford V6 past 1995 with OBDII. Choked.
Do you rebuild Q-Jets? Best street carb ever made.
Only a handful of people left who can rebuild them right.
Worse, there are few good cores left.
Only a handful of people left who can rebuild them right.
Worse, there are few good cores left.
1989 is "old school"?? An electronic controlled carburetor? Seriously?
You do know that cars existed for about 100 years before that carburetor came along, right? And that carburetors worked before electronic controls, or even electric chokes?
Old school looks like this: https://pac-carbs.com/
The Detroit Lubricator Model 51.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/09/full-38203-36406-11163e7e_eb4a_454a_9574_065871348b5d.jpeg "[Linked Image]")
You do know that cars existed for about 100 years before that carburetor came along, right? And that carburetors worked before electronic controls, or even electric chokes?
Old school looks like this: https://pac-carbs.com/
The Detroit Lubricator Model 51.
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Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Do you rebuild Q-Jets? Best street carb ever made.
Only a handful of people left who can rebuild them right.
Worse, there are few good cores left.
I used to have an 80 Trans Am that I put a 383 Chevy in and I bought a Brad Urban Q Jet for it. That thing worked flawlessly with the overdrive trans I had in it. The Holley before it, not so much.
Do you rebuild Q-Jets? Best street carb ever made.
Only a handful of people left who can rebuild them right.
Worse, there are few good cores left.
I used to have an 80 Trans Am that I put a 383 Chevy in and I bought a Brad Urban Q Jet for it. That thing worked flawlessly with the overdrive trans I had in it. The Holley before it, not so much.
Originally Posted by Astro14
1989 is "old school"?? An electronic controlled carburetor? Seriously?
You do know that cars existed for about 100 years before that carburetor came along, right? And that carburetors worked before electronic controls, or even electric chokes?
Old school looks like this: https://pac-carbs.com/
The Detroit Lubricator Model 51.
old enough that no shops around know how to work on them.
1989 is "old school"?? An electronic controlled carburetor? Seriously?
You do know that cars existed for about 100 years before that carburetor came along, right? And that carburetors worked before electronic controls, or even electric chokes?
Old school looks like this: https://pac-carbs.com/
The Detroit Lubricator Model 51.
old enough that no shops around know how to work on them.
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Did you have to bore and bush the throttle shafts?
Or is this just a needle seat and gasket affair on this Carter?
.
Throttle shafts s are tight. Leaving those alone. I found the float too low. Way below spec.
Did you have to bore and bush the throttle shafts?
Or is this just a needle seat and gasket affair on this Carter?
.
Throttle shafts s are tight. Leaving those alone. I found the float too low. Way below spec.
Originally Posted by Chris142
old enough that no shops around know how to work on them.
Yup, a lot of shops here won't touch a car that isn't OBDII. The Mercedes dealer across the street usually turns away anything older than 15 years.
Its too bad CARB won't let you toss that toilet out and replace it with one of the new Holley Sniper EFI kits. It would run so much better.
old enough that no shops around know how to work on them.
Yup, a lot of shops here won't touch a car that isn't OBDII. The Mercedes dealer across the street usually turns away anything older than 15 years.
Its too bad CARB won't let you toss that toilet out and replace it with one of the new Holley Sniper EFI kits. It would run so much better.
Kestas
Staff member
Carbs were fun and satisfying to work on until they were loaded with electronics, just before EFI took over. Fuel injection improved things a lot, but now even that is getting too complicated. I guess that means EV will bring things back to simplicity.
I remember trying to pull apart a SU carb for a Triumph TR4. It was simple but a degree of precision and detail had to be applied to put it back together.
Go get a snack and a beverage. Get comfy. I started on the Solex carb on old bugs, and a Carter YF-1 for the Willys. I saved the carbs from my Grand Wags, a Ford 2150 2 barrel. This was 15 yrs ago and I needed a carb to pass roller emissions I had 3 carbs in rough shape and an Echlin carb kit from NAPA I used a bucket of stale gas and a tooth brush to de-cruddify the best pieces. I chose the one with the tightest throttle shaft. and followed the instructions in the kit,Enough of them to build a carb. I used 2 cans of carb cleaner to clean out stuff.. I was laid off and I spent a a few days, painstakingly assembling the carb. Tore down 3 cabs and used the best looking innards soaked 'em and cleaned best as I could.. Replaced all the vacuum lines , 30 feet or so,looping the various little valves and widgets. Had a working smog pump plumbed to a new cat. With a new 200$ EGR valve, the Jeep passed by a factor of 4. The inspector was amazed
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Do you rebuild Q-Jets? Best street carb ever made.
Only a handful of people left who can rebuild them right.
Worse, there are few good cores left.
Never had to. In fact I got a R4 spreadbore from the bone yard and was ready to dig into it but it was fine.
It was from a 1971 472 or 500 Cadillac
Put it on the BBC SS 396 that some silly kid put a Holley on over and adapter..
Ran excellent. I think I may have knocked a bit off the side of the M-rod tips a bit.
This is back when you could buy a not running SS396 w/M21 that some kid messed up for 700 bucks.
Straight car no rot just piled on improper repairs and and bad tuning.
3 new pushrods and the right carb new clutch and .....Away we go!
30 Ft of 3rd gear rubber. Sounded like a chirp but painted long stripe since you were going over 90 feet per second!
Do you rebuild Q-Jets? Best street carb ever made.
Only a handful of people left who can rebuild them right.
Worse, there are few good cores left.
Never had to. In fact I got a R4 spreadbore from the bone yard and was ready to dig into it but it was fine.
It was from a 1971 472 or 500 Cadillac
Put it on the BBC SS 396 that some silly kid put a Holley on over and adapter..
Ran excellent. I think I may have knocked a bit off the side of the M-rod tips a bit.
This is back when you could buy a not running SS396 w/M21 that some kid messed up for 700 bucks.
Straight car no rot just piled on improper repairs and and bad tuning.
3 new pushrods and the right carb new clutch and .....Away we go!
30 Ft of 3rd gear rubber. Sounded like a chirp but painted long stripe since you were going over 90 feet per second!
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Never had to. In fact I got a R4 spreadbore from the bone yard and was ready to dig into it but it was fine.
It was from a 1971 472 or 500 Cadillac
Put it on the BBC SS 396 that some silly kid put a Holley on over and adapter..
Ran excellent. I think I may have knocked a bit off the side of the M-rod tips a bit.
I believe some of the Caddy big cube cars had 850 CFM Q-Jets. This is the one to have!
I would flat out love to find an unmolested one.
My BIL is gonna swap a nasty 454 into my old Vette. I was gonna spring for a throttle body EFI.
But a perfect Quadra-Junk would be my 1st choice.
Never had to. In fact I got a R4 spreadbore from the bone yard and was ready to dig into it but it was fine.
It was from a 1971 472 or 500 Cadillac
Put it on the BBC SS 396 that some silly kid put a Holley on over and adapter..
Ran excellent. I think I may have knocked a bit off the side of the M-rod tips a bit.
I believe some of the Caddy big cube cars had 850 CFM Q-Jets. This is the one to have!
I would flat out love to find an unmolested one.
My BIL is gonna swap a nasty 454 into my old Vette. I was gonna spring for a throttle body EFI.
But a perfect Quadra-Junk would be my 1st choice.
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A friend has a '78 G30 Chevy motor home with a 350 and a q-jet. It's a trip down memory lane since my first regular "car" was my dad's totally rusted out '78 G30 Chevy with a 350.
But I never worked on the carb when I was 16. My friend's runs ok, but the fast idle is sticky. I've cleaned it, and it helped a bit. But that about as much as I know, I hate to say. I put a starter in it last weekend... it's so different to work on than my 335!
But I never worked on the carb when I was 16. My friend's runs ok, but the fast idle is sticky. I've cleaned it, and it helped a bit. But that about as much as I know, I hate to say. I put a starter in it last weekend... it's so different to work on than my 335!
I just did this one in a few hours this evening.
This was my first real adventure with this particular style if carburetor(called an "HIF" for "integral float") and it had some aspects that were both annoying(the float height setting is a pain) and also quite nice(the throttle shaft bushings are user replaceable).
I didn't do the amount of cleaning I usually do, but got it clean where it counts. I find working on carbs to be oddly relaxing. Say what you will too-a lot of people hate working on SU carbs, but I'd rather work on them than anything else.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/09/full-72050-36424-img_0285.jpg "[Linked Image]")
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/09/full-72050-36425-img_0287.jpg "[Linked Image]")
This was my first real adventure with this particular style if carburetor(called an "HIF" for "integral float") and it had some aspects that were both annoying(the float height setting is a pain) and also quite nice(the throttle shaft bushings are user replaceable).
I didn't do the amount of cleaning I usually do, but got it clean where it counts. I find working on carbs to be oddly relaxing. Say what you will too-a lot of people hate working on SU carbs, but I'd rather work on them than anything else.
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