[loudandproud]

Im on a budget... a tight budget. Is it worth buying a decent shape used carb and rebuilding it (holley) or is it better overall to bite the bullet and buy new?

My fear is that the insides are gonna be pitted and all tore up and ill have no way to get it running right... Is this a valid concern?

Ive heard alot people *****in about getting them running right...

[eloc431962]

Depends on what exactly your budget is and what the carb will be going on and what are the engine specs also ?



Cole

[loudandproud]

350 SBC 4 bolt main
LT1 Rods
Dish Pistons
10.2:1 Compression
Vortec Heads, light porting
918 Beehives
Comp XR282HR Roller .510/.525 lift, 230/236 @ .050
RPM Airgap
1 3/4" Long Tubes

Nothing special... just a healthy runner...

Looking for a 750 vac Secondary's carb.

[eloc431962]

Holley 3310 i alway's liked and had real good luck with this carb. JMO. http://www.google.com/#q=holley+3310...w=1258&bih=682




Cole

[Richiehd]

I got me one of these Holley Refub on Ebay. Works perfect after the typical Holley adjustments, http://www.ebay.com/itm/360414145180...84.m1423.l2649

[spinn]

Getting away from holley . Try the Edelbrock 750 they are very easy to tune, and work even through heavy debri air, without fowling. The AFB is a serious flowing carb that can cover a wide variety of driveability in low vacuum throttle conditoins.

Hollies used in wide open racing work very good.

Personally have seen many bent , stripped, and cracked castings in used rebuilds. A majority can be bought for a decent worth while new price. Unless you know the guy or item.

[stich626]

go to the junk yard and get a q jet, rebuild it.. even with the throttle shaft bushings you'll have maybe 100 in it..

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by loudandproud

Im on a budget... a tight budget. Is it worth buying a decent shape used carb and rebuilding it (holley) or is it better overall to bite the bullet and buy new?

My fear is that the insides are gonna be pitted and all tore up and ill have no way to get it running right... Is this a valid concern?

Ive heard alot people *****in about getting them running right...

Damn right it's a valid concern!

If you look closely at the ads on eBay, you'll often see disclaimers like "running when removed, but...", or "...prolly needs a kit", or "I'm no carb expert, so..." and ALL accompanied by a no return policy. Are all these rip-offs? Of course not. But what they're doing in essence is selling you something w/o ANY assurance it's going to be usable in the end.

Personal experience: Bought two Q-jets in the last month.

First ad:

All parts move freely and seem to work proper

more than likely just need's a carb kit

SOLD AS IS

This was an outright lie, no two ways about it! The secondary linkage had been assembled incorrectly and the secondary throttle blades would only open about 1/4". As obvious as the nose on your face. This was NOT something that happened in transit, it could only have been done by taking the carb apart and reassembling it wrong and there was no way it could be said to 'move freely/work proper'.

Next carb:

This carb came on the 350 engine in my GMC truck. I had it rebuilt thinking I'd give QJ a try. I'm more experienced with Edelbrock, so I didn't run it long before I went back to that. It has been completely rebuilt by my machine shop. All new gaskets and seals, new float, new jets, new choke vacuum. *SNIP* I don't know these carbs, hence the low price. Its probably not dialed in after I messed with the settings. I'm confident its a solid carb for someone who knows how to tune these...

Now, at least this one- for the most part- was described accurately. He answered my questions, even included the intake-mounted choke thermostat and linkage and threw in the mounting bolts.

BUT

When received, the air valve wouldn't open. Odd, I thought. On closer inspection, the plastic secondary AV cam that lifts the hanger/rods up as the AV opens was melted. Not just singed a little bit, I'm talking melted and distorted to the point that it had jammed the AV from opening more than a little bit.

This would have been very obvious to anyone. Maybe the PO didn't know the AV were supposed to open- I don't know. But I have my doubts. I didn't ding his feedback- the carb was almost a giveaway, he didn't make a cent. $30 for the carb, he paid the shipping?? Heck, the new vacuum pulloff and the carb kit costs more than $30.00! But just the same, the ad was deceptive- either by ignorance or by intention. But either way, the result was the same. I have the parts to fix it so for me, no problem. To someone needing to buy the parts it would take $10-$20 more plus the wait for them to arrive.

So "Let the buyer beware" is the operative phrase here. If you cannot see it with your own eyes, assume the worst. There are good looking carbs sold as rebuilt units on eBay, and some of these carry a warranty. But you'll always be paying the shipping to buy it and to return it if there's a problem. If you don't have spare parts to fit whatever carb you buy, you could be in for a rude awakening. New small parts can quickly add up to more than a better carb would have cost outright.

There are a few cheap-ish options. One is a Holley reman like mentioned already. Good carb for a better price than new, and I would trust them as much as a new carb. I believe most of these were returned to places like Summit and Jegs by buyers who didn't know how to install it, etc. so were returned as "defective". Even if there had been a problem, after being gone through a second time (once when new) these carbs have a better chance at working than a new one IMO.

Summit sells a new knock-off of the Holley 4010 for a fair price. Annular boosters, vacuum secondary or DP, 600 or 750 cfm. All squarebore.

My 1967 Honest Charley's catalog has new Q-jets for $75, if your time machine is working...

[chevykid90]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

Summit sells a new knock-off of the Holley 4010 for a fair price. Annular boosters, vacuum secondary or DP, 600 or 750 cfm. All squarebore.

I have really only had experienced the 4010 Holley carb and I find them very easy to tune. I love that carb for some reason, I honestly think its the fact that there are no gaskets below the fuel level and to change out jets take seconds and you do not have to drain the fuel. I have 2 of them, and I just bought the Summit brand (Reman) 750 CFM mechanical secondary for $245 for my SBC 400 build. IMHO I find them awesome carbs, some people beg to differ tho...

[Irelands child]

This past Sunday I went to swap meet and the first thing I bought was a 600 cfm Edelbrock 1405 and $20 cheap. Looking at it, it looked like it had just been pulled from an engine as part of the base gasket was still stuck on it. It had one piece of linkage that was slightly bent, but now fixed) - and was dirty. Got it home and disassembled. Totally as shipped as far as jets, etc - a bit cruddy inside, but after full inspection it needs only a gasket kit, an accelerator pump (maybe) and an in and out wash and polish. So for my $20 carb plus another 10 to 20 bucks for parts, I'll have a good reliable spare instead of spending $275+/- for a new one.

I looked at a great many other carbs, Holleys as well as the Edelbrocks. I have to say that there is a reason for so many Holleys at swap meets - most look like junk, and when you take a better look, they are nothing more but spare parts. Most are in the $100 plus range, depending on the version. The Edelbrocks, $75, are generally in better condition, tho some of them are 'sick' as well

[Studebaker]

It's not just Ebay. A few years ago I bought a performance Quadrajet from what was always a reputable company, (so I thought) they even advertised that every carb was tested on a flow bench. It was expensive, This one must have really flowed some fuel, because it was missing the metering rods. No way they flowed this carb! Buyer beware.

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by Studebaker

This one must have really flowed some fuel, because it was missing the metering rods.

That would be funny if it didn't happen to you.

[eloc431962]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

That would be funny if it didn't happen to you.

I bought one of those so called used carbs before that he said was running fine when he took it off, told me he just took it of like a few months before and had it all wraped up and in a box, well took it home tore it apart and all that powder just fell out eveywhere well waht wasen't stuck like concrete to the carb itself. "Just saying"
And to top it off while i was attemting to clean it up i noticed the base was cracked think that was the real reason he took it off to srtart with. IMHO


Cole

[cobalt327]

Yep. Seems like a common thing.

This was one thing I and others had brought up in an earlier thread about buying, rebuilding and reselling carbs- the expense of good cores and the lack of cheap cores.

Unless a guy had a deal where he tool ALL the carbs a 'yard got in for 50¢ each or some deal equally as cheap, the losses that would result from buying bad carb cores from eBay, etc. would raise the cost of a rebuilt carb so high that you'd be right up there w/all the other rebuilders at $275-$300-plus.