I have to rebuild the Carb on my '71. How difficult is this. I would like to keep this carb as it is original to the car. Is there anything that would make a carb. not-rebuildable. Should I do this myself or give to and expert. If so who do you suggest.

Ray

 

Most likely you will need to bush the throttle shaft. There are a few carb shops that sell these or offer a service to do it. That is a major source of problems with Q jets. Generic rebuilds do not fix the throttle shafts. They are also known for being JUNK...IE. not calibrated correctly. Either rebuild yours or have it rebuilt, but do not buy an over the counter rebuild.

 

I agree with silver - I've never seen a commercially rebuilt unit that was worth the trouble of driving to the parts store for it. Get a good kit from NAPA, buy a correct NitroFill float (from NAPA) for it, and go through the carb yourself. If you need some assistance with procedure or technique, drop me a note and I'll send you my Q-Jet paper and phone number.

 

Lars, I was looking at a Chicago corvette catalog and they have a Carb rebuilding superkit which contains needle and seat, complete accelerator pump, gasket set, roll pins, clips, check ball, choke pull off hose, primary jets, idle mixture screw, pump return spring and vacum piston spring.

What is in the reqular rebuild kit. One retail for about 80.00 the other for 20.00. I am not worried about the diffference in cost, I want to do the job the correct way the first time. Should I purchase the more expensive super kit or go with the standard rebuild kit from Napa.

P.S. what is your Q-jet paper?

Ray


[Modified by Ray z, 8:40 PM 6/16/2002]

 

Ray -
The Echlin rebuild kit that NAPA sells contains everything you need, assuming that nobody has done any creative jetting on your carb. Most of the Echlin kits retail for about $25, and they contain everything you mention above except the jets. In addition to the kit, I strongly suggest buying the Nitrofill float (NOT the brass float) from NAPA and a new inlet filter. There are two types of inlet filters: one with a checkvalve, and one without. Unless you have some odd vaporlock and starting problems, I suggest you buy the filter WITHOUT the checkvalve. The only other thing you may need to buy (also from NAPA) is a new choke pulloff. Test you old one by installing a long piece of vacuum hose to it and suck on it: if you can pull and hold a vacuum, and the pulloff retracts as it should, you do not need a new one. If it leaks or does not respond, you need to replace it. New pulloffs run $13-$27 depending on year.
If you send me or post your carb number, I can tell you what jet sizes and rod sizes you should have. It would be a good idea to pop the top off the carb to see if these have been altered. You can buy new, correct jets from GMPartsDirect. I can give you all the part numbers you need if your carb needs to be set up right.
Verifying all these parameters are things that most automotive shops will not do, since they do not have access to the spec data. In other words, you can actually do a much better, meticulous job yourself to get the carb set up and running right. I'll be more than glad to coach you through the process if you need assistance.

 

I will take your advice and get the kit from NAPA and Nitrfill float.
My carb # is 7041205 FD
0091
This should be the carb for a 454/365hp 4-speed with A/C( not sure if the a/c changes carb or jets.) So basically my jets should be ok unless they have been altered. How can I tell if the correct jets or rods are in there, are they stamped with their size, or possibly color coded. Do you suggest I purchase a book on Quadrajets or is the rebuild pretty straightfoward.
And lastly I have Gunk parts and carb cleaner in the 3liter paint can. Can I soak the parts to clean them up before reassmbly without any damage to an internal parts of carb.
Sorry for so many questions but I want to cover all the bases, And thanks again for your input.

Ray