I have a Tri power manifold and carbs correct date code. They have been sitting on shelf 45 years. I'm going to go through them and sell. ? is should I have carbs dipped or would it hurt value if powder coated to match original color? I saw a color mix formula that matches original holley color.

 

Here is my take on this. Sell as is….. Anytime I see something “Restored” I have a lot of questions and honestly it scares me alittle given personal experience. If your date codes and all that match up having them rebuilt would mean little to me and I would end up having them gone through anyways.

 

Don't throw good money at this you will never get it back, sell the Tri-Power in it's current state.

 

Agree wholeheartedly with Kossuth and Mr. D -- don't do a thing and sell as is. You may inadvertently destroy some aspect of it so that a restorer passes on it. Powder coating is a prime example that will ruin the parts for a true restoration. Those guys re-dichromate the carbs to attain the proper color.

As for "going through them," a buyer is probably going to tear apart the carbs anyway to ensure they were rebuilt correctly with good quality parts. Save yourself the cost and trouble.

 

I'll echo the above posts. Don't try to "restore" the carburetors yourself. As others have said, you'll probably just damage them. Sell as is, or have them restored by a known carb restorer. I have two sets of restored Holley 3X2's. The last set cost about $1100 to resstore. I think their cost for a restoration starts at about $970. Mine cost a little more because the orginal set was missing a few pieces. They look like new. Actually, the fuel bowls look like new duplicates. Even though the fuel bowls are new, they are duplicates of the original fuel bowls and are not for sale to the general public. All of the levers and rods are nicely re-cad plated. You can tell the main bodies are the same, the originals were slightly pitted from corrosion and the pits are still there, so I feel they are the same bodies. All three carbs are di-chromated at the same time, so they are the same color.

 

Here is my advice and my experiences.....There is a company on ebay that restores them and they start at $800. I havent heard back from Holley yet so I may have to call them again. I have a set that needs restoration and I wouldnt want to buy a set that has been restored by someone and not a professional. There is so much that is wrong with the old castings that needs to be addressed and unless you do a lot of research and put alot of time into them, then you wont have a quality rebuild. As for the painting, none of those look remotely close to the dichromate so it actually hurts the resale. Powder coating would ruin them. That paint is so thick and would hide all the numbers.

I agree, just sell them for what you can get. If you want to be honest with the buyers, take off the float bowls and show how much corrosion is on the inside and if the metering plates are ruined or not. And show the throttle plates openned and closed. Most of that stuff generally needs to be replaced anyway. And some parts suppliers are having trouble getting parts. If they havent been touched then chances are all the threads are good so you dont want to ruin those. I've been through a couple of sets and the damage that other people have done to restore them with mismatched threads on bolts and wrong parts just about ruins the main bodies. And if the throttle plates are stuck, they can be soaked to help free them but forcing them breaks parts.
good luck with the sale...hopefully we will see them listed here. The demand is growing slightly but they are a lot of work.

 

Thanks for all opinions / advice everyone. I've rebuilt cabs in the past been in this business, hobby racing for over 50 years. The dichromate coating is one thing I cant do. I know this setup is rather expensive restored. What's a fair price unrestored? I also have a TI tach drive distributor.

 

Here’s the tricky thing with stuff like this. Supply and demand and having the right buyer. Being you have date matched components you could damned near name your price to somebody that’s looking for a whole setup for a build date correct restoration which the tri-power had been previously ditched. To that person your setup is worth a lot. To somebody that’s just looking for period correct its worth a fraction.

Personal experience here: I was browsing through Craigslist a few years back and came across an interesting ad. Basically the gentleman was cleaning out his brother in law’s garage after he died. Walking into this garage was stepping back in time to the late 60’s hot rod era. I homed in on several Quadrajet carbs that were laying in a pile. I picked up 4 carbs for $50. Basically alittle over scrap value. They were rough but 2 of the 4 were very interesting to me. The first one had a casting code of 7027201 with a date code of H66. I’ll let you figure out what is significant about that carb but I got almost $1,000 for just that one carb on eBay. I guess somebody was doing a restoration and needed that model/date code. The second carb is 7027203 with a C67 date code. I only got $100 or so for that one and it was in way better shape that the first. The third carb which I still have is a 7029201 (sorry don’t know the date code off hand). That one I’m considering having rebuilt by Lars and put on my brothers 68. While not “correct” per-say for a corvette it’s definitely of the right era and type. Thus it would perform just as well as the original and unless somebody were really looking wouldn’t know it was the wrong carb. If I were to sell this I would probably get close to the same money as I got for the first if not more. The fourth is just a mid 70s truck carb.

So again it’s all about what somebody is looking for at that moment. As for what I would ask for your setup, just doing some real quick looking (30 seconds worth) I’d expect to get something around $2k for it. Maybe Im way off but that’s my gut feeling at the moment.

 

You mentioned experience building carbs, and I don't doubt your claim, regardless, a buyer wanting to dichromate the bodies is going to have to take them completely apart anyway.

What are the dates of the components and can you post a few pics? Does the distributor still have the aluminum tag, just above the clamp ring, on it?

 

Browse ebay. Unrestored carbs not including the intakeare on there from $1000 to $1800. None of them are moving. Restored units are $1800 and ridiculously above. None of them are moving either. I saw one set that was just off an engine running great and swapped for numbers correct for $1500. I was considering that unit. It lasted a few weeks and was gone. Same description for $1800 is still there.
If you include the intake again its the condition. Im not looking for numbers, just a solid set to get running as good as new. My first set cost me additional $600 for a second set just to get 3 decent carbs. And that was with replacing everything internal and an additional center base plate. Those run just okay.
I just bought a better set from a nice guy here and im sending that set in to get done, maybe by holley. Im hoping to stay under a grand for that restoration. They are pricey and you have to take them apart to see how bad they are internally

 

I will get dates off carbs, manifold and yes dist still has aluminum band. Unfortunately I took pics but they didn't come out. I will post new pics in a few days .