My q-jet is fubared and I dont really feel like fixing it again. Id like to get one from jet but moneys tight and I was thinking about gettin one from the parts store in town. can anybody tell me if they are decent quality or Im I just wasting more money?
CK5
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rebuilt q-jets?
- Thread starter big dan
- Start date
crap shoot...
Getting a "good" rebuilt carb is a crap shoot..no matter who's brand,many of the ones I sold at parts stores were absolute JUNK..of course,a few ran perfectly too..the lack of good cores to rebuild is the biggest problem,the second is most companies use untrained third world labor to "rebuild" them...many of the ones I sold had loose throttle shafts right out of the box--others were re-bushed,but they mucked the casting up in the process..many of them looked like junkyard take offs that were cleaned up and repainted ,and simply had a "jiffy kit" and a new float put in...you can do that for 25 bucks or less,why pay hundreds for one that will likely flood over the first time you start it up,and will have to fix yourself,or bring back under warranty??...
We recently got FIVE "rebuilt" carbs for a customers jeep 258 six banger..ALL of them leaked,flodded,ran like crap,or would not adjust when you tried setting the idle mixture--and we tried a few different brands too!..owner finally bought a NEW Holley 2 bbl and an adapter from Jegs,and it runs PERFECT now,better than it ever did,according to him!..
AC-Delco still makes brand new carbs,but the last Q-jet I priced over 10 years ago was over 500 bucks!..
--that'll buy a real nice aftermarket carb..--I'd go to a boneyard and search for a good core,maybe you'll get lucky and find a rebuilt one on a truck--I see lots of vehicles here in boneyards with rebuilt alternators,starters,carbs--its like the owners put everything they could blame any woes on it,and when the vehicle still didn't run good,they got pissed and junked it!...
Getting a "good" rebuilt carb is a crap shoot..no matter who's brand,many of the ones I sold at parts stores were absolute JUNK..of course,a few ran perfectly too..the lack of good cores to rebuild is the biggest problem,the second is most companies use untrained third world labor to "rebuild" them...many of the ones I sold had loose throttle shafts right out of the box--others were re-bushed,but they mucked the casting up in the process..many of them looked like junkyard take offs that were cleaned up and repainted ,and simply had a "jiffy kit" and a new float put in...you can do that for 25 bucks or less,why pay hundreds for one that will likely flood over the first time you start it up,and will have to fix yourself,or bring back under warranty??...
We recently got FIVE "rebuilt" carbs for a customers jeep 258 six banger..ALL of them leaked,flodded,ran like crap,or would not adjust when you tried setting the idle mixture--and we tried a few different brands too!..owner finally bought a NEW Holley 2 bbl and an adapter from Jegs,and it runs PERFECT now,better than it ever did,according to him!..
AC-Delco still makes brand new carbs,but the last Q-jet I priced over 10 years ago was over 500 bucks!..
--that'll buy a real nice aftermarket carb..--I'd go to a boneyard and search for a good core,maybe you'll get lucky and find a rebuilt one on a truck--I see lots of vehicles here in boneyards with rebuilt alternators,starters,carbs--its like the owners put everything they could blame any woes on it,and when the vehicle still didn't run good,they got pissed and junked it!...
diesel4me pretty much stated the facts about reman carbs. Until just recently, I sold parts as well as running the parts operation for a busy shop and his statements are very true. I have ordered in carbs ([cough]Tomco[/cough]) and had to scrape off dirt that had been painted silver with the customer looking on with an uneasy look on his face (rightfully so). The reman carbs that I had the best luck with were the Holley reman units (sold several of these over the years). Just recently I got one for a friend/long time customer that had a very unique, very bastard unit of a q-jet on his '76 Olds that was not responding to anything that was being done to it. I acquired a Holley reman unit for a car that was a year or two newer and proceded to tear it apart and check it out using all of the Kent-Moore J-tools specified in the service manual. I did not believe it even when I saw the results, but it was almost perfectly adjusted. All of the angles and clearances were nearly perfect. I think I only had to adjust one or two items (and at that, just a tiny amount). That being the case, I would give the nod to the Holley reman unit, but being a reman carb, you never know until you run it.
Always have a fire extinguisher handy when using reman carbs.
Always have a fire extinguisher handy when using reman carbs.
supersize75k5
OrganDonorRacing.com
pauly383 might chime in,
he gets his from I5 carbs in sothern california and has spoke highly of them
he gets his from I5 carbs in sothern california and has spoke highly of them
diesel4me said:
For my info,
Are you also referring to the likes of Summit, JET, or Sean Murphy, or more the "store brand" rebuilds......
The reason I ask is that I've got a "rebuilt in '99" on my '74 blazer that was there when I bought the truck. I'm looking to re-carb based on the new 383 I put in and I've been thinking about an SMI carb..... I don't want to get screwed on the carb.
Thanks,
-Ben
pauly383
Daddy383
Yup good carbs at I5 Auto , about 100 less than a stage 1 Jet ( when I bought mine ) . After 3 years my electric choke needs adjusting now , but its a bi-metal and they fatigue 
are they an "online" type of place?
rebuilt" brands"
I sold A-1 Cardone carbs, Tomco,"Champion","Cardo" and some Holley rebuilts..I will say the Holley ones did have less "comebacks" than all the others ..I usually steered the customer towards a NEW Holley or Edelbrock,Carter AFB or just helped them rebuild their old carb themselves..(never heard of SMI,they mightbe ok?..)
One big problem with rebuilts is this..your store carries one brand (lets say Tomco,as an example)..your store gets a "deal" from another rebuilder,like
A-1 Cardone,and they agree to "drop" the Tomco carb line,and take on A-1 Cardone...what usually happens is the "new" line buys all the "Tomco" carbs you had in stock--and put them in A-1 Cardone boxes with their part #'s on it..this happens EVERY DAY across the nation!--so you never REALLY know just WHO's carb your actually getting!--just because the sticker says "A-1 Cardone " on the box,or carb,does NOT mean that is what's actually IN the box!..
This causes endless frustration for everyone involved..the "new" line of carbs get a bad rap,if the "reboxed" ones fail early,or flood,etc..the store's manager has ulcers over the comebacks,and the CUSTOMER is often left in the middle,without a vehicle to use until the mess gets straightened out!..I've had my life threatened a few times over things like this when I worked the parts counters..
.. thats why I told many to buy NEW carbs,like a brand new AC-Delco Q-jet,or an aftermarket one,and go thru the agony of making them fit with adapters,re-doing the detent cable and throttle cable brackets,etc..usually ended up better off...
BigBen said:
I sold A-1 Cardone carbs, Tomco,"Champion","Cardo" and some Holley rebuilts..I will say the Holley ones did have less "comebacks" than all the others ..I usually steered the customer towards a NEW Holley or Edelbrock,Carter AFB or just helped them rebuild their old carb themselves..(never heard of SMI,they mightbe ok?..)
One big problem with rebuilts is this..your store carries one brand (lets say Tomco,as an example)..your store gets a "deal" from another rebuilder,like
A-1 Cardone,and they agree to "drop" the Tomco carb line,and take on A-1 Cardone...what usually happens is the "new" line buys all the "Tomco" carbs you had in stock--and put them in A-1 Cardone boxes with their part #'s on it..this happens EVERY DAY across the nation!--so you never REALLY know just WHO's carb your actually getting!--just because the sticker says "A-1 Cardone " on the box,or carb,does NOT mean that is what's actually IN the box!..
This causes endless frustration for everyone involved..the "new" line of carbs get a bad rap,if the "reboxed" ones fail early,or flood,etc..the store's manager has ulcers over the comebacks,and the CUSTOMER is often left in the middle,without a vehicle to use until the mess gets straightened out!..I've had my life threatened a few times over things like this when I worked the parts counters..
.. thats why I told many to buy NEW carbs,like a brand new AC-Delco Q-jet,or an aftermarket one,and go thru the agony of making them fit with adapters,re-doing the detent cable and throttle cable brackets,etc..usually ended up better off...
I got mine from Sean Murphy and have been happy so far...just thought I would chime in...
That's good insight to have on the store brands.
I can only imagine how hard that is to explain to customers... and then to try ot keep them satisfied!
So there may be a difference between a Tomco, Cardone, etc. rebuild vs. a Summit/Jet/Holley/SMI rebuild......?
BTW: SMI = Sean Murphy Induction.
http://www.smicarburetor.com/
It shouldn't be this stressful to pick a carb!
-Ben
noahrob, thanks for the info. That helps me along my decision path.
I can only imagine how hard that is to explain to customers... and then to try ot keep them satisfied!
So there may be a difference between a Tomco, Cardone, etc. rebuild vs. a Summit/Jet/Holley/SMI rebuild......?
BTW: SMI = Sean Murphy Induction.
http://www.smicarburetor.com/
It shouldn't be this stressful to pick a carb!
-Ben
noahrob, thanks for the info. That helps me along my decision path.
I ordered an auto parts store cheapie for my 460 about 18 months ago. It was from Autozone. The cheapest one (application wise) at the time was for a "1970 Camaro 350" with the 300 horse engine. That is what I bought. When I bought mine, I got it for $99. I've had no complaints with it, and it is still on the truck.
I would have preferred to get one from say a "1972 Cadillac 472 or 500" for jetting reasons due to having a similar sized engine, but with the Ford's front mounted distributor, it was better to use the Chevy style side fuel inlet as opposed to the BOP & Cadillac front fuel inlet...it makes your fuel line mounting setup a PITA on a Ford...and if it would ever leak, it is right by the distributor...not the best of ideas. Also, I'm cheap & went with the cheapest rebuild Quadrajet I could find.
Roy
I would have preferred to get one from say a "1972 Cadillac 472 or 500" for jetting reasons due to having a similar sized engine, but with the Ford's front mounted distributor, it was better to use the Chevy style side fuel inlet as opposed to the BOP & Cadillac front fuel inlet...it makes your fuel line mounting setup a PITA on a Ford...and if it would ever leak, it is right by the distributor...not the best of ideas. Also, I'm cheap & went with the cheapest rebuild Quadrajet I could find.
Roy
hack500
1/2 ton status
hmm, just have to reply... but not all caddy q-jets have the fuel inlet straight out the front - mine(from a '75) has one from the side.
been away for a while and didnt notice all the replies. mostly I was wondering about parts house rebuilds, like autozone. I need one for this weekend cause Im going to a mud race and need one quick. Ive found one from a member here that is a good one but it wont be here in time so Im gonna get a $12 quick kit for mine and hope it makes it through the weekend, then Ill get a good one on it in a couple of weeks. thanks guys.
