The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop New or rebuilt carb...

Howdy 'bolters... the carbuerator on my 65 GMC 230 engine is starting to go... It's a little one barrel, with a manual choke... It's weeping at the gaskets and the linkage is really worn...
Where can I get either a high-quality rebuilt or new one?... I've never rebuilt a carb before, so I hesitate...
If I have no other alternative, where can I get a "rebuild kit"?
Many thanks, Pete

Try to stay away from a rebuilt. Most of them
are no good. Of all things do not turn in your
old carb. till you are sure the other one is
going to be o.k. These are simple to rebuild
if you have any mechanical expertise. You might
pick up a used one to use for parts at a salvage
yard or swap meet. Kits are available at any
parts store very reasonably priced.

The carbs I have rebuilt from kits don't generally work all that well, and many others atest to similar experience. Rebuilt carbs from parts store aren't usually much better than the ones you rebuild yourself. The Holley/Weber 5200 two stage 2 barrel is an excellent choice for a stock or mildly built 230. I have one the 25o in my truck, and 3 on the shelf for parts. You can get a Holley factory rebuild and an adapter from Langdon's Stovebolt motor company at http://www.stoveboltenginecom.com

Boo Radley

Anyone with more than 3 brain cells to rub together can rebuild a carburetor. Just be sure the carb you're trying to build is the right one for the engine it's on. If the carb part number is wrong, the best rebuild in the world isn't going to help.

Start with a complete disassembly, and a good soaking in a professional-quality dip cleaner, followed by a thorough flush with hot water. Then put a LARGE volume of compressed air through every passageway in the carb, to dislodge the crud that the cleaner softened up. The air does the cleaning, the solvent just softens the deposits! Reassemble with the correct adjustment specifications, and you're good to go! The only carbs I haven't been able to build successfully have had major wear, or wreck damage.
Jerry

What kind of carb you got?

I'll atest to that Jerry although I think I may have 4 brain cells. Yep, I done rebuilt me a Rochester 1 bbl. Had never rebuilt a carb before and by golly, it was derned easy. The problem I had is that the Rochester 1 bbl is a piece of garbage from the get go. This of course I learned after the fact. Think about finding yourself another carb.

I'll atest to that Jerry although I think I may have 4 brain cells. Yep, I done rebuilt me a Rochester 1 bbl. Had never rebuilt a carb before and by golly, it was derned easy. The problem I had is that the Rochester 1 bbl is a piece of garbage from the get go. This of course I learned after the fact. Think about finding yourself another carb.

Back when I was turning wrenches for a living, we did all of our own carb rebuilds. It is not that difficult, at one time I could do a Rochester one barrel in less than 15 minutes, save for the overnight soak in the cleaner. I am not proud of some of the rebuilds we did in that shop, I have learned a lot about linkage and housing wear since then.

You say that your linkage is worn, which is an issue with the Rochester carbs and the linkage design that Chevy used. The pot metal housing of the carb wears fast, and Chevy's linkage placed loads on the carb linkage itself, accelerating the housing wear. This means that a good rebuild of a Rochester carb involves bushing the linkage holes in the housing. Otherwise you do not fix the reason the carb needs rebuilt, the leaks.

The best solution is to find a professional carb rebuilder who does not have an "assembly line" of workers that shoves the carbs out. You need one who treats each carb individually, checks the tolerances and fixes it right. The price is not cheap, but you do end up with a quality product.

For more info on this try visiting Jon's website http://www.thecarburetorshop.com or searching this forum using his name Carb King.