Carbs - rebuild or buy new
Guys....looking for some $.02......
My 1976 454 Marine Power engines in my boat need to have the carbs "fixed". The floats have been sticking and it's gotten a bit hard starting. Carb rebuilds are about $250 these days up here in NW OH.
So...got to thinking.......should I just rebuild or spend a $100 or so more each and REPLACE:confused: them with some new Holley's or other brand. They are the original carbs!
Thanks for any insight you can send my way......
Todd
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
I used have each carb rebuilt every other year. then I got smart and got a neww edelbrock marine carb - didnt had to rebuilt since purchase.
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
Rebuilt is a big variable. some shops machine the core and re manufacture it. others replace soft parts only. New edelbrocks sound like a good idea.
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
Are they Quadrajet carbs? QJs can be very troublesome and had several known problems, including floats that wouldn't float, casting plugs that didn't plug, and secondary air valves that seemed to be delivered new out of adjustment. When you add that to ham-handed 'tuners" who make adjustments or substitute parts to make "more power" (and which usually has the opposite result) you can end up with something that isn't going to work very well unless it's gone through in some detail and by someone who is familiar with the QJ issues and is prepared to correct them. A rebuild kit is, in all likelihood, not going to do anything useful unless the other issues are dealt with first.
You CAN make a QJ work fine but bolting on a replacement Edelbrock would be less stressful. However, i would suggest that whatever replacement carb you decide to use, it should be bolt-on with no weird linkages to fabricate, no manifold machining, no trying to figure out how to get a choke to work, etc - just remove the old carb, bolt on the new carb and connect everything.
Good Luck
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
quadrajets run so nice though when they are done right. they are a great piece of engineering
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
edelbrock, no holley.
I believe edelbrock purchased rights to the Qjet then made several improvements, cant go wrong with Edelbrock.
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
Quote:
Originally Posted by
67hat34c
I believe edelbrock purchased rights to the Qjet then made several improvements, cant go wrong with Edelbrock.
Correct. And while at it, why not throw on a higher performance intake? They can make a pretty decent bump in power, with no real downside other than initial cost.
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
Unless you are going for more horsepower, I don't think a high rise manifold is going to give you very much, probably not enough to justify the cost of the new manifold. If you go with a new carb, give your supplier the specs on your engines, and get the correct size carbs. Oversizing a carb typically will burn more fuel with little increase in power. Newer always seems better, but a correctly rebuilt QJ works just fine.
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
This is meant in pure jest: Come on, man up and rebuilt 'em yourself.....even my wife can rebuild a q-jet unassisted (I was on the other side of the world).
Re: Carbs - rebuild or buy new
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Boatnut
Unless you are going for more horsepower, I don't think a high rise manifold is going to give you very much, probably not enough to justify the cost of the new manifold.
I wouldn't go high rise for a boat like this...but with PERFORMER MANIFOLDS (power band is idle to 5500 rpm). Performer manifolds are dual-plane, low-rise intake manifolds with a 180° firing order and patented runner design that you won't find in other brands. This patented design greatly improves torque over a wide rpm range for excellent throttle response, especially off-idle through the mid-range. Performers are ideal for passenger cars, trucks, 4x4s, tow vehicles and RVs. There are EGR and non-EGR versions. (stolen from the Edelbrock site). I ran one of these on my Donzi Sweet 16 that had a v8 transplant. Loved it.