Ain't nothin' accidental about it. The people running the "remanufacturing" companies think their MBA degrees give them licence to "re-engineer" carburetors (starters, alternators, distributors, etc.) so as to consolidate their product line and have the minimum number of different parts covering the maximum number of different applications. Each and every year, model, emissions package and transmission type had its own unique carburetor calibration. Doesn't matter to the MBAs, so all those unique-to-model/year/engine/trans carbs get tossed into the same dumpster, then all disassembled and the parts (all airhorns, all throttle bodies, all floats, etc.) and abusively "cleaned", then all sloppily thrown together using whatever airhorn, whatever float, whatever throttle body, whatever metering rods, etc. come down the line. Mix-and-match garbage is the result.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

This is a great thread for those who don't believe that the remanufactured carb's from parts stores are garbage.

Carb 1 - Remanufactured Holley 1920 from Kragen. Wouldnt idle no matter what. Took it back and got another one.

Carb 2 - Remanufactured Holley 1920 from Kragen that same day. Idled and sounded perfect. Noticed my gas mileage getting worse and worse. Put a rebuild kit in and it did nothing. A few months later I decided to try another rebuild kit. This time the ring that Dan talked about earlier in the thread had popped out and the little ball bearing was just sitting in the float bowl. Fixed that and still only got 10 mpg. Changed the 52 jet to a 58 and still the same mileage. Engine was also rebuilt during this time.....same mileage.

Carb 3 - Remanufactured 2 bbl Carter BBD. Came with a loose throttle shaft that had to be rebushed and a leaky gasket under the float bowl. Had it rebushed and rebuilt for $160 and now it runs fine. Haven't done a mileage check yet.

This is the bad part, we are now in the era where finding a running/rebuildable carb in a junkyard isn't a good probability either, I just got a stock Holley 1920 off a 1973 Dart Sport, it's trash now, along with a handful of other 1 barrel carbs I've 'swiped' over the years. We need to start getting a CAM program going for some billet replacement carbs, or start thinking about a more common carb that's easy to get (yeah right) Last walk through in the valley shows that yards are now crushing pre-90 cars within 24 hours of receiving them because they actually have metal in them, and pulling carbs and distributors for scrap right off the bat...


-D.Idiot

A billet replacement carb would be rather pricey (it would, seriously, probably cost as much as a bolt-on TBI kit after all the testing work is done!), but some of the Holley two barrels are available new, and fit Clifford manifolds. I've also seen an adapter that puts a small Weber on a standard manifold.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

I've gone through seven Carter BBD's---each and every one had a loose throttle shaft that caused a vacuum leak.

One of them wasn't too bad, but has gotten worse. From a rebuilder in GA.


FWIW,

Joe

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Joe Hoppe

71 D100 225 Super Six 727 AT on 2008 Crown Vic CopCar frame

64 Valiant Wagon 225 904 AT 3:23 8.75"

1) Holley 1945- Rebuilt it with a non-Holley kit. It ran OK.. Not great. Never quite on. DusterIdiot sniffed it twice and threw it in a rubbish bin.

2) Rochester B.
A fine "rebuilt" carburetor from Billy Joe Bob's house of slag. Crud heap. Never worked right. Culminated it's pitiful existance by igniting the engine compartment and melting itself into a twisted rendition of a rock. I think it came from one of the discount auto stores... I didn't buy the stupid thing, it came with a pickup. They call "B's" Leakchesters for a reason. Crappy Neanderthal design.

3) Rochester MonoJet. Chunk from a wrecking yard. Rebuilt it with a NAPA kit. Worked perfectly. Replaced it anyway because the linkages didn't quite function in the application.

4) Carter YF. Rebuilt by Holley for Summit Racing. Perfect. Plug and play. Works flawlessly. Adjusted the idle and mixture. No Leaks.
I screwed up the mixture later by installing tube headers. Not it's fault. Time for another 4 bbl...

5) Rochester E2SE. God-aweful POS. Changed out to Rochester 2SE Wrecking yard special and new vacuum advance distributor. No more codes. had to transfer certain items from the E2SE to get things right. Rebuild kit from NAPA.

6) Lot's of Holley 4 bbls. Rebuilt units from yard cores. I used Holley kits. mech and vac jobs. No problems.

CJ

1)The last carbs I rebuilt were both Carter Thermoquads. I got one at a garage sale and the other at a swap meet, both for $10. I got them within a year of each other.

2) They were originally on mid-70s 400 v8s, but I put one on my 318 (73 Satellite) and the other on my 383 (which was in my '66 Polara until I replaced it with a 440)

3) Rebuilt them myself, can't remember what kit I used. The only thing that *really* needed replacement in either one was the pair of "X" cross-section rings that seal the jets to the "well" in the throttle body on the TQ. Those ALWAYS need replacement, and what usually went "wrong" with TQs was that the rebuilder would almost always screw something else up in the process of replacing the X-rings :-/ .

4) Both worked great. I quit using the one on the 383 because I didn't have a spread-bore manifold and had to use one of those cheesy adaptor plates, but the one on my 318 is still there. It got better mileage than the car did with a BBD, and way better than it got with either an AFB or AVS.

I really like TQs, and I really should put a spread-bore manifold on my 440 so that I could use one of them there.

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1980 Dodge Aspen - 1bbl 1940.

Original carb rebuilt by myself several times. Idle circuit and power valve circuits richened. Currently using #68 or #69 jet (I don't remember). Mounted to a fabricated water heated carb spacer. Runs very well. Average 24-26 highway mpg.

Mitch

Hi. I am interested about this. is the anti-corrosion stuff similar (i forget the name of the $#!+) they use to coat pistons and cylinders before use. How hard or rather what is the process of using the compounds and is it even worthwhile to perform on a rebuild?

it is called alodine. alodine is available in #1 and #2 formulations; one is clear, the other is yellowish. soda-blasting the carburetor body will remove corrosion and deposits without abrading the surface. the part is then dipped in a series of solutions. alodine is available from industrial chemical companies and commonly used in hobby aircraft building. more about this process here:
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/corr ... lodine.htm

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

If you want to restore a carb plating included contact Scott Smith at Harms Automotive.

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'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

My .02 cents................
1.oem carb on my 74 scamp was a holley 1945 ran ok but got worse as I drove the car. This car had 79000 org. miles on it when I bought it. I sent it to a "rebuild shop" in fontana ca that was down the street from me. ran great for a year but then it would diesel and would flat out stall while driving it. Buy that time I move to Tucson AZ. Meet a guy and he rebuilt in right in front of me and showed me why it did all that. The rebuild shop damaged the inside off the carb and bits of metal were jammimg things. After finding replacement parts and a larger jet it got 21.6 mpg and ran perfectly. It was only replaced for a SS for more power.

2.rebuilt a junkyard 225 bbd ran for 2years badly broke the bowl pulling out the jets(listened to bad advice) scrapped for parts.

3.auto zone bbd never ran, got horrible milage. pulled it apart found alu. oxide pellets every where clogging emulsion tubes and idle circuit , 2028 and a 2224 metering rods as well, the reason partly for the bowl gasket I found is over filling of the bowl from a lean setting on the carb not just warpage.

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it's like a vw, sounds like a million miles an hour but goes really slow. (for now)

Never bought a rebuilt one. Always done it myself, maybe 50 or so?

Never had a problem with one I rebuilt, except for ones that someone else had already modified (bad dreams about 390 Holley I had once someone had used for a 2X4 setup...).

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Lou you wouldnt happen to have a holley 390 woud you. I am trying to get the 72 skamp running. Put the headers on it I got from Meril and have a offy 4 barrel intake but need carbureator.

Had to use the parts off 3 Holley 1920's to make 1 good carb. Traded throttle body & found N.O.S. metering block on E-bay. Lousy stock one cannot be disassembled to clean properly.Also had to swap choke cam. Used a Hygrade rebuild kit for the rest of the parts. Took about 1/2 hr on a cold morning to adjust choke pull off rod & file down 1 of the choke cam steps.
Now the engine starts with 1 pump, kick it down after 15 seconds, repeat again after 1 minute and drive away! Engine idles perfect, runs even better.
Best advice I can give: Find a non rebuilt,stock 1920 as your platform & work from there. Buy a bunch of Holley jets & start with the #57 & work up till you remove any bogging or lean plug color. Get a shop manual & read then re-read the Holly 1920 section. Work clean! Don't over tighten the float bowl cover screws. With engine cold, adjust choke opening by bending pull-off rod. Don't be afraid to file down the lower step of the high idle choke cam to achieve an idle you can drive away with until the choke completely opens.
The 1920 was & still is a very dependable carb. You will be gambling if you get a re-built from unknown source. Do it yourself! It's not so bad & very gratifying!