Hi everyone!
New member from Sweden here, thanks for letting me join!
I recently purchased an old fire truck, a -57 Chevy 6500 heavy duty truck that has a 261 engine. The truck has been sitting for a long while, so I'm slowly working my way towards bringing it back to life. I have managed to get it running ever so briefly, but the carb is being... Uncooperative... I have tried taking it apart, cleaning it thoroghly and putting it back together, but sadly it had little effect.
Now, as I said I'm from Sweden so local parts are pretty much nonexistent and buying overseas tends to be costly with shipping and import taxes adding on to the initial cost of purchasing parts... I'm on a pretty tight budget as it is when it comes to this project, so I was wondering if anyone has tried any of the many chinese clone budget carbs available on Ebay and Amazon? I have seen some of them available from european sources which greatly reduces costs compared to buying and importing genuine goods from the USA, almost to the point where it becomes more economical for me to buy one of these clones rather than investing in so much as a rebuild kit for my original carb... Assuming of course that the chinese copy cats work worth a darn.
Here's an example of carbs I've been looking at:
https://www.amazon.com/Partol-Carburetor-Chevrolet-Engines-Barrel/dp/B073W9QM3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GAQXCKA3VN7J&keywords=chevrolet+292+carb&qid=1671106300&sprefix=chevrolet+292+carb%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-1
From what I understand it's basically a chinese repro of a Rochester 1MV Monojet which were used on the Chevy 250 and 292 inline six engines, and I have heard that those are potentially worth considering as a substitute carb for my 261 engine.
So, what's the verdict? Has anyone actually tried one of these chinese carbs out, or are they generally regarded as trash and not even being worth the <$100 price tag? I have read a bunch of online reviews from people who have bought these clones, as well as watched a some youtube video reviews, and many of the people who took the plunge actually seem to have been pleasantly surprised by what they got. At least considering the price tag.
I'm not expecting them to be as high quality or perform as well as the real deal, but to me the main thing is getting my hands on something that will work better than what I already have without breaking my economy. If these chinese carbs at least provide decent value for money they might be worth to consider, at least for me. Any thoughts?
Also, apologies if the question itself is considered heresy. I assure you I mean no disrespect, I'm merely trying to learn more and explore what my alternatives are when proceeding with this project.
Here are a few pics of my truck in case anyone it interested:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6sOZhWUld8Well met!
/Anton
