So, I've been having cold start issues for a while. I have to pump the gas 10 to 15 times to get the car to start and once it starts I need to stay on the gas for a few minutes. If I take my foot off the gas it will stall. Once it's warmed up it runs great and will re-start with no issues. The local shop I take it to suggested saving up for fuel injection. They said they wouldn't suggest putting money into the carb that I have. I started doing some research on getting my current carb rebuilt or possibly buying a 'new' carb. The number stamped on my carb is 7045483, anyone have an idea of what year/make this was originally for? My car has the original 350 engine, but was born as a 2 barrel, single exhaust. Somewhere along the way since 1972 one of the previous owners turned it into a 4-barrel, dual exhaust and added a mild cam. The 7045483 is the carb they put on. Looking for some advice: 1 - get the current carb rebuilt 2 - buy a 'new' or rebuilt carb... if so which one? 3 - save up for fuel injection, possibly the Holley Sniper EFI Quadrajet so I can keep my intake manifold. 4 - none of the above.. deal with the cold start issues
I can't find that number in my Buick listings. Breaking the number down according to Cliff Ruggles' book, 704 is 70-75 carburetor 5 is last digit of year, 1975 4 denotes California carburetor 8 denotes Division, Checker or Marine (4 would be Buick) 3 is usually transmission but not always, even numbers for Automatic, Odd for Manual. I think it's a good bet that the carburetor is not correctly calibrated for your engine. It's probably the biggest mistake made with the Q-jet. Q-jets were calibrated for the engine they were destined for, so they will not run correctly on another application. Guys blame the carburetor but it isn't so. I recommend you get in touch with Ken Gies on V8. His screen name is techg8. He can advise you further on whether he can re calibrate it for you. Ken is Everyday Performance in the Vendor section, http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?forums/everyday-performance-llc.172/
Sounds like possibly your choke is not working. It also sounds like your local shop doesnt know much about carbs or old cars. There are plenty of Quadrajet rebuild services (several of them here) to choose from. I believe that carb is a '75, not buick Rebuilding it and setting up the choke should be in the basic skillset of any shop, but times have changed. Try Everyday Performance and Quadrajet Power amongst others.
Shops who lack the knowledge and skills to correctly repair what you have will try to push you on to something else. Does anyone really know how expensive, complex and complicated it is to replace a carburetor with an electric one or TB (Throttle Body) set-up? These are NOT fuel injection systems, they are electric carburetors. A real fuel injection system will have 8 bungs in the intake with 8 injectors pointed toward the intake valve, and the intake is dry, not wet flow. They also require an in tank high pressure pump, high pressure lines, return system, ECM, 02 sensor, and all associated hardware required to "upgrade" to fuel injection. You can with some systems just run a fixed "MAP" and bypass a real system that continuously monitors all engine functions and self-adjusts plus learns, data-logs, and allows you to write your own MAP's and save the changes, etc. Anyhow, even if that was a low cost viable option why not just fix what you have for a fraction of the cost? I would suggest finding someone who understands how to adjust a choke, choke pull-off, and set your fast idle speed for instant cold starts in any weather and fast warm-up. When it is a all set up and done correctly the only real difference between a cold start with a carburetor vs fuel injection or one of these electric TB style systems is that you will have to "pat" the throttle once to set the choke and maybe one or two more times to put enough fuel into the intake so it roars to life when you hit the starter....FWIW.......Cliff
Perhaps someone has a suggestion for a good mechanic in the Pittsburgh area for carb work?? Worst case it shouldn't be more than $500 to get a carb rebuilt and tuned-- a fraction of the cost of a fuel injection conversion. (That's a $2,000 project by the time you update tank/fuel lines, add an oxygen sensor, etc.)
Post a few pics of what you are working with. Maybe a keen eye watching can give some useful advice and you can make the repairs yourself......
I definitely want to stick with a carburetor, I'll post a few picks of what I have within a few days. I don't have any experience working on carbs, so unless it's something pretty basic I would be looking to having rebuilt by someone who knows what they are doing.
Having it rebuilt is exactly what I had done with my QuadraJet in my Wildcat. It wouldn't idle, or mostly even start. I found an old-school mechanic, told him the problem and asked for a complete tune-up. He found damage and had to rebuild my carb completely. Now, two pumps and it goes. In cold weather, maybe two more pumps, but she always goes and runs like a top.
Your California born emissions Carb is made to spec's that are 50% away from where they need to be for your motor now concidering the Cam change, 10% Alky cut fuel since the Carb was made and especially if the car is now duel exh.
So should I be looking to get a different Quadrajet more suited to my car rather than getting any work done on the current carb?
You could make that one work. Since it is a '75 model, I would check and see if it has the single power piston metering rod set-up vs. the dual. Singles can be a pain. A later model with dual set-up is more user friendly.
The one you have is probably ok. They can be reconfigured as long as someone else has't gone in and ruined it first. Having it rebuilt is probably good, BUT likely won't fix your issue. You seem to be saying the carb performs well once the engine is hot. If this is so, the basic setup of the carb is probably ok for your engine. The system that allows the car too start and run when it's cold is the choke. The choke is pretty simple as it blocks part of the air intake, causing a richer mixture until warm up. There are two basic types of choke AFAIK. 1) The old school divorced choke, which relies on a bi-metal coil on the intake manifold and a rod that adjust the choke position. 2) The newer electric Choke that is mounted on the carb itself and has a wire running to it (same idea, but the wire heats the coil). Look at the guide Larry linked to. Shurkey did a great job and pretty much ALL the info you need is there. You can fix this. One other warning! If the previous owner blocked the heat riser passage in the manifold (this allows exhaust gas to heat the intake and speed the opening of the choke) and the carb has a divorced choke, that could be your issue.
Mine is so simple but is their a wire going to the round electrical choke on the passenger side where the orange plug is?
That's messed up. An earplug jammed into your choke thermostat is never a good sign. So, you could either just post an ad in parts wanted column here for a good already running Qjet that fits your car (Which car is it again?), or find a local person who knows these carbs and have it set up. Your carb has a LOT of doodad's and gewgaws on it (technical talk). Mine look a lot simpler. Less vacuum pull offs, less linkages, No earplugs ;~)
