Peninsula66

Hello all,

Pleasure to be here, this site is an AMAZING resource. I recently acquired a 1966 Sting Ray, long story short, it's a project car. For the time being, I'm simply focusing on getting the car roadworthy and safe to drive. Currently I am in the process of having some minor repair work done at a "reputable" corvette shop in the area (brakes, fuel tank/delivery, tune-up, etc), and have run into a snag regarding the carb leaking fuel - I'm told it's a problem with the floats sticking.

My options seem to be a) have the carb rebuilt (it's roughly 20-30 yrs old, rebuilt once or twice already), or b) replace with a brand new carb. The shop that it's currently at has quoted me roughly $600 for a rebuild from "a guy they use," which to me seems ridiculous . I've found new-re manufactured 3367's for that price, and local shops which have quoted me around $150 for a rebuild.

My question is, if I wanted to go with a direct out-of-the-box replacement, would something like a Holley 670 street avenger or an Edelbrock 1406 work for the time being?

Thanks in advance!

woodsdesign

A friend of mine bought a Holly Street Avanger from Summit. He loves it and it is "ready to run" right out of the box. About $350. However, it has an electric choke so you will have to deal with that.

54greg

I also run a holley street avenger on my 327/350. Carb works fine, perks gas just greatEven with a spacer. It's more a issue of modern gas than type of carb.

woodsdesign

"perks gas just great Even with a spacer"

What do you mean by this?

Nowhere Man

is the carb you have now the original numbers matching carb for your car.

54greg

When It's over 80 outside and you turn off the car the engine heat vaporizes the gas in the float bowls. It's a little hard starting, really no big deal, what I hate is the gas smell. I have fought this for years. I'm positive that I have no leaks and my vented gas cap is operating fine. Cooler temps no issues, but I live I the desert

4440stevesvette

I would go with the Edelbrock, I've never had ANY problem with them. Good to go right out of the box providing your altitude is below about 3500 ft. May need a jet change above that.

midyearvette

good advice, i always recommend the afb's over holleys , if there is no hood clearance issue....for competition though, holleys are infinitely more tuneable
for the street, you are eliminating about 18 potential fuel leaks by choosing the afb over the holley....jmo.....

66since71

If you're running the 300hp intake, then exhaust gas is routed directly to the base of the carb. With an aftermarket carb, be sure to use an OEM gasket and plate. Since the aftermarket will likely not have a divorced choke, consider blocking the exhaust gas passages between the heads and the intake..

Harry

Jims66

Buy a rebuild kit and try doing it yourself. You'll be amazed how easy it actually is to do on a Holly (assuming that's what we're talking about here). Having said that, if you manage to mess it up you can always buy new or pay someone lot's of cash to rebuild for you.... Try it yourself first.... that's what owning and driving these old cars is all about (at least for me). A rebuild will take you no more than an afternoon (or so) to do yourself. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

Bluestripe67

If it is orig., make sure you keep it if you change carbs. Don't let the shop have it. Here are some carb numbers to look for on the choke horn of the carb. R3367A, 300/350HP, R3605A 300/350HP w/Air Injection Reactor (smog pump). Dennis

Viking427

Tough to argue with brand new and modern technology for the price, but I'd still take a swing at having the 3367 rebuilt by a well regarded quality rebuilder. Here's a few that have performed excellent work repeatedly over the years for other forum members;

Bob Kuntz

Chuck Smith

Holley Performance Products (Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101)

Eric Jackson (xxx.vintagemusclecarparts.com)

..couple important points as noted above - block off your heat passage in the intake, use a phenolic or wood spacer and make sure whomever rebuilds it next checks the squareness of the float bowls and metering plate - they tend to warp from over-tightening or over time from heat ..and ironically enough, the symptoms are leaks and sticky floats.

Frankie the Fink

$600 for a carb "clean and re-kit" is pretty outrageous. I'd either take a crack at it myself or ship it off to the sources Viking427 mentions. Buy a new one if you want, but the early carbs aren't all that bad once they are dialed in and running right... In the big picture, if this "reputable" shop wants to charge you 100% over what other carb rebuilders charge I would have to question their pricing and work on the other things you have them doing !

JohnZ

Two other things to consider. Both the 300 and 350hp use the same carburetor (3367), and both intake manifolds use a divorced choke with a manifold-mounted thermostatic control; if you block off the crossover passages from the heads to the intake, the choke won't work (and you'll have to gut or wire open the heat riser valve). Also, on the 300hp with the iron intake, the carb pad has a "hot-slot" that you'll need to plug at both ends so it doesn't heat up the carb so much and boil the fuel in the float bowls (you can plug the hot-slot holes and still maintain the automatic choke operation if you leave the crossover passages open - they only heat the bottom of the plenum floor, not the carburetor).

Peninsula66

Thanks for the great feedback! The carb on there now is a replacement holley, the original was taken when the car was stolen for a day back in the late 60's.

To get it out of this shop, I'm going to throw a new edelbrock on there, and try rebuilding the Holley myself. As mentioned by Jims66, i'm in this for the learning experience at well.

Since I don't have the car in front of me, some of the advise is hard for me to picture (thanks JohnZ for yours), hopefully it all makes sense when I'm looking at it!

Peninsula66

Running 350hp intake, does this apply?

66since71

No, there is no hot slot with 350 hp (Vs JohnZ's picture) although there is a crossover passage. If you run the stock carb, you should probably leave the passage open. Also the carb base gasket is a conventional paper one.

Great tip from John on plugging the hot slot on the 300 hp manifold!

Harry

Peninsula66

Thanks Harry. One thing I'm trying to understand is where the divorced choke aspect plays into this purchase. I understand electric v manual, but this term is new to me. Will I need to find a carb specific for this?

I'll go do my research

Dan Hampton

The key is getting it clean. Try and find someone like your local Honda bike dealer and see if they won't sonic clean it for you. It will make a considerable difference.

JohnZ

The only carb that will work with the stock manifold-mounted divorced choke thermostat arrangement is an OEM carb; none of the aftermarket replacements have the choke linkage arrangement to work with it. Any aftermarket replacement carb will have an electric choke.

Photos below show the OEM divorced choke arrangement; it's a 3810 on a '67 300hp, but the '66 setup is the same.