riverracer au

this is my cali 1972 350 auto with correct number Rochester Quadrajet 7042902, carb is clean (ish), looks and works ok.
would love to send to Lars for an overhaul, but with the oz $ up the creek lately, it would cost a small fortune to ship over,
and besides it's cruising season now.



now for the query,
mate just bought a re-con holley carb for his 396 camaro, all bright gold n shiny.
that got us to thinking over a beer or many, what colour finish did the original vette carbs have?
were they a fancy gold/cad colour or have more of a dull finish?

any links or photos to share?

not that it affects our performance, just curious...

Alan 71

Hi rau,
The original quadra-jet bodies were gold dichromate plated.
They tended to be darker than the Holley carb bodies.
Many of the q-jets that have been re-plated when they were rebuilt seem to exhibit more color and coverage than what was typical of originals.
This q-jet was only on the engine for a few weeks before being replaced and then sat in a box for 40 years.
Restored carbs tend to be VERY pretty compared to original carbs.
Regards,
Alan

Faster Rat

Here are photos after installation of a NOS service replacement Q-Jet that was manufactured in 1982. When purchased in 2005 was still in it's original shrink-wrapped plastic tray and cardboard box.

lars

Rat's photos are a perfect example of an original, correct Q-Jet. All of the plating is correct and original. Things to note that "restorers" usually get wrong:

• The carb itself is not cad plated.
• The choke and secondary airvales are cad plated, but have not been given the yellow dichromate conversion coating - the parts are silver. Original carbs did not have gold secondaries or choke plate.
• The accel pump arm is epoxy coated green - some years did have cad plated arms, like Alan's, but most were green.
• Rat's photos show the range of colors on the carb, with mismatched bowl and airhorn colors. This was the norm, and it's correct. Most of the carbs appeared grey or brownish, often with a greenish tint, and they did not look "gold." Alan's carb is a good example of this.

Use his photos and Alan's as a guide when looking for original, correct, unmolested carbs.

Lars

Alan 71

Hi Lars,
You rebuilt my carb years ago and it hasn't been, or needed to be!!!, touched since.
You did change that gray pull-off to a new white one which led me on a merry hunt for another gray one!
The originality bug's bite can make us do very odd things!
You probably have my original in a bucket full of old pull-offs!?!?
Regards,
Alan

CanadaGrant

How NOT to rebuild/restore a carb..... This beauty performs about as well as it's phony looks and even gets laughs as a bookend. One just like it can be had all day long on eBay.

lars

I vote you name it, "Goldmember."

Lars

lars

I usually don't replace the pulloffs unless there is an indication of improper performance or failure, and I don't keep any broken pulloffs... If I replaced your original grey one, there was some issue with it, which could have been anything from finding fuel contamination in the pulloff to a ruptured or seized diaphragm. I also replace them if they've been altered by drilling out the bleed hole.

Lars

Kid Vette

As rebuilt by Lars. Weathered a bit but pretty close to original finish.

lars

That's an outstanding example of a carb that is completely original and correct. All colors and plating are exactly as the factory built it.

Lars

(Edit - Note that the phillips head screws on the choke cover are not correct - the factory used pop rivets. I installed the screws so the choke could be adjusted.)

LS4 PILOT

Is that the Bruce Jenner " Q" jet model