Jmerrill010

84 Camaro 305, unknown mods

okay well I've been having problems with my carb. among other things. I had the unfortunate luck of having my car stuck at AAA for three months and they only got 1500 worth of emission parts done. But the guy working on it said that my car seems as if is has been modded in the past and I'm not entirely sure what has been done. But the rochester carb on my car seems to go bad rather quickly, and even has melted a little bit presumably from backfiring.

Since my car is emission controlled I cannot use a performance carb (I already purchased one online and found out the hard way that I can't use one because A) it's illegal and B) it doesn't fit )
Is there anything that can be done besides buying a stock-quality carb that I've constantly been told doesn't hold on its own that well??

Base91

iTrader: (1)

There's nothing wrong with Rochester carbs in general. Fiddly to rebuild but they are better street carbs than a lot of so called performance carbs. If anything anywhere in your engine bay is melted, even just a little, you probably need to look at more than just the carb. What exactly do you mean when you say the carb "goes bad"? What about the timing etc. etc. etc.? You may need to open up the engine to see what's been done so you know what you're working with.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

I don't fully understand your predicament? If your carb is toast, you can probably get your local parts store to order in a stock replacement (CC-qjet). They aren't available up in my neck of the woods, but likely can be purchased there. Or you can rebuild yours, replacing what is broken. No reason why it can't work. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with a stock carb on these cars, if that's what you're asking?

What's the back story here? Did the car ever run right? Why is it with AAA? What are they trying to fix?

Jmerrill010

carb was just working badly, not entirely out of commission.

The car was at the AAA shop on a fluke, but it was going in to a shop for exhaust work and to pass inspection. The car was a semi-reliable daily driver from Nov 2010-Apr 2011. Problems while running mostly included stalling from bad timing or distributor (or both), and turning over but not starting with foot on the gas.

But I guess I should word my question more directly:

Do I have a choice in any carbs other than the Rochester models? I've looked online and there seems to only be edelbrock perf. carbs, but they're all illegal for my car.

Base91

iTrader: (1)

Holy crap. No wonder it doesn't work properly. Amazing that it works even a little. Fix it or get a new one. That would eliminate the carb as a source of problems. You still may need to open up the engine if a new carb doesn't fix the outstanding issues. Again, timing?

naf

iTrader: (7)

Emissions wise, you have no other option than the computer controlled qjet. A reman ccc-qjet can be had from a number of sources. Summit to Autozone.

Jmerrill010

Yeah when I saw that for the first time I was astonished...and still was able to drive with no change in quality for months.

But alright I guess I have to get the qjet if there's no other option......


But I'm pretty sure the carb was just one of a series of interrelated problems dealing with the fuel system. I have yet to tackle the most common fixes which are likely to shapen everything up. Thank you for the quick replies, now to send the Edelbrock back and order the Champ! Ahh

Base91

iTrader: (1)

As with most complex issues fix what you absolutely know if wrong first then diagnosing the other problems will be easier.

scooter500

iTrader: (1)

Check out the classified boards section of thirdgen.org -- there is at least one carb for sale right now and if not getting everything being sold offer something less... might get a good used carb for 30... 40 bucks.

Searching google shopping for various combos of "nos e4me rochester quadrajet" brought up reasonably priced rebuilt and new old stock carbs.

Sorry to see that picture of your melted carb. Never heard of or saw anything like it.