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Stock carb on a '76 K5?

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meanboyjr

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I've looked through all my reference material, but I can't seem to find what type (make/model) of carb came stock on my '76 K5 with a 350/350 & 203.

Any info would be appreciated! TIA.
 
meanboyjr said:
I've looked through all my reference material, but I can't seem to find what type (make/model) of carb came stock on my '76 K5 with a 350/350 & 203.

Any info would be appreciated! TIA.
Click to expand...

Should be a 4bbl Quadrajet. The third digit of the VIN specifies motor and carb; yours should be Y (e.g. CKY...) for 350 4bbl, as I don't believe the 350 came with anything else in that time.

Now, as to which flavor of Qjet came stock, that's trickier, and if yours has been swapped you may want to keep it as it has to match the choke setup, manifold, etc.

Are you trying to make the truck pass smog or something where it has to be letter-perfect, or just make it run right?

-- A
 
dremu said:
Should be a 4bbl Quadrajet. The third digit of the VIN specifies motor and carb; yours should be Y (e.g. CKY...) for 350 4bbl, as I don't believe the 350 came with anything else in that time.

Now, as to which flavor of Qjet came stock, that's trickier, and if yours has been swapped you may want to keep it as it has to match the choke setup, manifold, etc.

Are you trying to make the truck pass smog or something where it has to be letter-perfect, or just make it run right?

-- A
Click to expand...

I'm trying to find out which carb it is, so I can figure out why it's suddenly running rich! I have a new-ish Edelbrock carb sitting in the stash (in case of emergency) but I really don't want to swap it out. The truck has A/C and CC with all the associated bracketry.

The VIN starts CKL.

Thanks.

EDIT: I did some poking around and found out that the "L" code in the VIN for 73-78 trucks is for the 350. The "Y" code for those years is for the 454.
 
Last edited:
There is some confusion on the VIN engine codes and some references are just plain wrong.

For 73-78ish, Y is a 350 and Z the 454 -- trust me, I've got one of each sitting in my yard ;)

L is apparently also a 350, 4bbl -- V and M were the 2bbl.

I'm thinking Y and L are federal-vs-local emissions versions of the 4bbl.

In any event, adjusting most any Qjet should be the same. If you want to identify yours for sure, post up pix of it, front and both sides, with the air cleaner off. Worst case I'll go find my FSM and find the ID pix for 4MC and 4M and whatever the various subtypes are.

-- A
 
dremu said:
There is some confusion on the VIN engine codes and some references are just plain wrong.

For 73-78ish, Y is a 350 and Z the 454 -- trust me, I've got one of each sitting in my yard ;)

L is apparently also a 350, 4bbl -- V and M were the 2bbl.

I'm thinking Y and L are federal-vs-local emissions versions of the 4bbl.

In any event, adjusting most any Qjet should be the same. If you want to identify yours for sure, post up pix of it, front and both sides, with the air cleaner off. Worst case I'll go find my FSM and find the ID pix for 4MC and 4M and whatever the various subtypes are.

-- A
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info and the offer to ID the carb via photo. I will snap a shot or three when I get home.

I called a buddy of mine who owns a nearly stock '77. I asked him to check his registration and his VIN is also a CKL. He's running the same 350 4bbl/350/203 combo, although he knows less about the carb thing than I do (which isn't saying much). Odd about the "Y" code - two references I've checked stated the "Y" was a 454, but I'll take the driveway example over the Internet any day. Maybe it is a federal emissions thing, like you stated.

Anyway, appreciate the input. I'd like to get the appropriate rebuild kit, and I guess the Roe book would be a help, too.
 
meanboyjr said:
Odd about the "Y" code - two references I've checked stated the "Y" was a 454, but I'll take the driveway example over the Internet any day. Maybe it is a federal emissions thing, like you stated.
Click to expand...

When I wrote the VIN decoder for my page, I found a number of conflicting sources. I suspect that somebody screwed it up once and lots of other folks reused that same info without double-checking it. I suspect that the "wrong" set of letter codes are for the passenger cars of the period and that's where the mistake crept in.

I seem to recall the LMC catalog being detailed but slightly off, and maybe a Chilton's or Haynes book being outright wrong, but then my memory isn't what it used to be :haha:

-- A
 
After much delay, I finally got a chance to take pics of the carb.

BlazerQjet004.jpg


BlazerQjet001.jpg


BlazerQjet002.jpg


BlazerQjet003.jpg


Thanks for the link to the carb decoding. The number stamped on mine is 17054931. About the only thing I can tell for sure is that it is a '76 or later Q Jet. The rest of the code doesn't make sense, at least according to the info on the webpage. I double and triple checked to be sure I had the correct number, so if anyone could shed some light on this, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.
 
It is definatly a Quadra -jet. It is the stock or close to stock carb for your truck.
In the third pic at the rear of the carb body there are a bunch of numbers stamped in the body. Hard to read from the pics but from what i can tell it is a 1976 -1979 year carb. Not sure tho the numbers are pretty blured.

Copy down the #s and post them up they can be seaily decoded.
The # should look something like this. 1705614xxx
 
Thunder said:
In the third pic at the rear of the carb body there are a bunch of numbers stamped in the body. Hard to read from the pics but from what i can tell it is a 1976 -1979 year carb. Not sure tho the numbers are pretty blured.

Copy down the #s and post them up they can be seaily decoded.
The # should look something like this. 1705614xxx
Click to expand...

Yep...I listed the carb numbers in my last post: 17054931. I will add that there is a four digit code next to it: 1659.

I've been checking the web for more decoding info and it's all somewhat confusing, since different sites have a different way of breaking things down for these carbs.

I'm tempted to order a remanufactured Q Jet from Jegs, and swap it in so I can have a running truck...well, one that runs without belching black smoke and stinking of rich exhaust. That way, I can do a rebuild at my leisure (sometime in the next decade). I believe this is the one I want...

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/15803/10002/-1?parentProductId=752437
 
Well, one thing that many people don't realize is that you can't just put a new or rebuilt carb on a motor and expect it to run right. Fuel injection is closed loop and can correct for different altitudes, cams, whatever. Carburetors are basically all mechanical and 95% of the time they aren't setup correctly out of the box, IMO you'd be better off rebuilding yours rather than spending lots on a rebuilt one (rebuild kits are only $40 or so and they're easy, just take your time and take pictures so you remember how everything goes back together)
 
38377k5 said:
Well, one thing that many people don't realize is that you can't just put a new or rebuilt carb on a motor and expect it to run right.
Click to expand...


+1

I would just go down to your local napa with the carb numbers in hand and get a rebuild kit and new float. You should be able to have it rebuilt in a day max taking your time and allowing good soak time as well.


Cheers,

Rufus
 
jms said:
check this out
Click to expand...

Sonofagun. I'll be saving that one to the hard drive.

Ok, so the vote is for the rebuild. I really wasn't expecting to slap the Jeg's carb on and drive away, as I figured there would be some tuning time involved. It just seemed easier to order the thing and have all the messy work done already. When I had the time, I could tackle the rebuild on the original carb, and add it to the rapidly growing pile of parts that I'll use on the Blazer (or sell for a tidy profit) "someday".

But with the cost of the rebuild kit around - or under - $40, doing anything else seems stupid.

Thanks for the tips and input.
 
Nice link JMS, way better than the one I came up with!


There may also be some better rebuild guides out there but this one is not bad and runs you through the steps with decent photos so that you know what you are getting into. These carbs are relatively simple, you should not have any issues rebuilding your stock one. I do recommend however that you get a new float as well. They have a nasty habit of developing pin holes on metal ones or getting soggy and no longer "floating". that can cause the motor to run rich.


http://www.4wheelnoffroad.com/qjet.html

Cheers,

Rufus
 
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