Re: [AMC-List] Alternative to Carter for AMC Spirit

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006, JOE FULTON wrote:

> I just bought a non-feedback rebuilt BBD carb for my
> 77 Gremlin.  The car still has to pass smog since it's
> a 77 model and I wanted to replace the original carb
> for that reason.  I have not had the car on the road
> yet, but it seems to run much better than with the old
> carb which needed a rebuild.   I ususally rebuild my
> own carbs, but with the many complaints about the BBD
> carb, I wanted one with a "lifetime" warranty.  I
> bought the carb from National Carburetor (in Florida I
> think).  It remains to be seen whether they will honor
> the warranty if needed.  

Well that's not good news. I was hoping National was as goodf
as they sounded -- didn't someone here have good experiences with
them?

But we all need to become (or find) good carb experts, since
they're as backwards today as hand-cranked engines or vacuum
tube radios.

I'm very, very happy with my Weber, and would buy another one
in a minute (though not cheap), but it's definitely a dying
art, and I wonder at per persistence (and also at the lack of
a decent bolt-on TBI carb replacement).


> I ususally rebuild my
> own carbs, but with the many complaints about the BBD
> carb, I wanted one with a "lifetime" warranty.  

After I bought my used Weber, I realized that most of my
carb-rebuild difficulties was because I was starting out with
a ruined, unrebuildable core! I've had old, old cars for so
long I didn't notice. The Weber was in fine shape, with a few
exceptions (worn squirter lever).

After 30 years of use, they're generally all worn out, rattly
throttle shafts, pits, corrosion, subtly mis-shaped emulsion
tubes, faintly bent tapered jet rods, .... if you were rebuilding
a 1980 carburetor in say 1985, it would be a no-brainer, like
it used to be.

I had a big pile of junk BBDs, tryin to assemble a good one
for my Hornet (before I gave up and bought the Weber).
I had 4 - 5 of them, and every one had severe problems.

But it wasn't a complex carb at all. If one had been
not-ruined, it would have been an easy rebuild.

Is it just Rambler-mentality, that we balk at buying a new carb
for $150 - $200 when we easily and knowingly spend that much on
brakes, whatever? (I think it's more that, I am clinging to the
outmoded idea that a decent carb can be had for cheap, still.)


I'm still planning on making stickers for the Hornet ("Rambler
Hornet" "4300cc" etc) and for the last few days have been
thinking I might add an italicised "carbureted" -- it sounds
today as exotic as "fuel injected" once did!
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