Bart - if you would like more history, give me a call some time. I have the beginnings of carpal tunnel, and don't like to type too much at once.
A couple of comments on your last post:
On the Carter AFB parts vs e-clone parts: Carter produced 505 different AFB's. Within this group, there are THREE DIFFERENT STYLES of main jets and NINETEEN DIFFERENT styles of metering rods. There are also 10 different airhorn gaskets.
So you have the following odds on the e-clone parts working in a genuine AFB:
Airhorn gasket - 1 in 10
Main metering jet - 1 in 3
Step-up (or metering) rods - 1 in 19
Other major differences include: accelerator pumps, primary and secondary throttle shafts, and MAIN BODIES!
EDIT: Just to prove a point, I just checked. We make 111 DIFFERENT kits to service the various genuine Carter AFB carbs!
There are more Dr. Goodpliers than there are Mr. Goodwrenches!
As far as the comment on the Carter TQ: I have more than 150,000 carbs in my inventory, and the Carburetor of my choice on my own very high performance GTO is a thermoquad.
Carter has had some bad carbs (AS, RBS) but the TQ is not one of them. The TQ does have a poor reputation due to the ignorance of some who attempted to work on them without looking at instructions.
Jon.
