Hey guys, so I finally got back from the police academy and lo and behold, my car is a gross polluter. I got it looked at and it seems that my troubles stem from a leaking carb and faulty distributor. The hacks want about 1700 to fix it with stock parts. I want to punch them in the face. My question is this:

On my 1987 LG4 305, (and keep in mind I know crap about cars) can I get an aftermarket carb and distributor and install them without breaking my piggy bank open? I've been looking through the carb forum and it seems like they're quite a bit of hassle with the computer systems and what not. I can't just throw an Edelbrock carb and MSD distributor on there and call it a day? Use small words, please

Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Oh and are there any carb options that would keep me street legal in California? I still have to smog it after I figure this mess out...

 

No unfortunately there is no other carb and/or dist that is legal on that car, besides the stock ones (or exact replacements).

They're really not much "hassle"; 4 bolts hold the carb on, 1 bolt holds in the dist. Pretty manageable really. Not sure why so many people seem to have so much trouble, but w/e. Don't let it scare you.

 

A replacement distributor runs about $150 from AZ. My advice for a factory replacement Qjet carb would be to check Jet Performance or Cliffs High Performance. They will run about $450 though. You should also be able to get one from Summit or Jegs for $250 or $300 though I haven't checked the prices in about two years since I got mine from Cliffs.

These are the only real options you have other than rebuilding your stock units yourself because nothing else will pass the emissions rules.

 

Ok. Thanks a ton for the input, guys.

It didn't look like too much work to replace the carb, but I kep reading about how much of a pain it is because of removing the computer or some such thing. I found these two, which I think will work, but I can't find if they're California CARB exempt/legal. Any help there?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLY-64-70087/

http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/1403/10002/-1

 

That Q-Jet from Summit doesn't need an E.O., forget the other one.

 

Yeah, it's gotta be a stock replacement carb (carb in the Summit link), not that Edelbrock carb. ONLY the computer controlled QJet is emissions legal. There are no bolt-on computer controlled performance replacement carbs on the market, let alone anything with an EO exemption number.

Weird thing about the picture of the Summit QJet..... it's got no secondary air valve blades installed! I sure hope it comes with them in reality becuase the secondaries definitely won't work without them!

 

If your smog guy is lax you can get away with a aftermarket, I know a guy with a edlebrock 600 on his '84 T/A and passes legally. arn't the smog guys not supposed to touch anything under the hood anyways?

 

Thanks for all the responses, guys. One more question...

Let's say that for some reason, I don't have to worry about smog issues. Since I still need to replace my carb, what is a good carb to get for the streets? I have a LG4, but I'm not looking to build a monster engine. I don't know what CFMs to look for, electric or manual choke, etc etc. Any help is great. Thanks again!

 

The best carb is still the Qjet and they come with electric chokes. You don't need to have the emissions hooked up to use it. In fact, you can remove the Smog pump and EGR, if you keep the EGR plug plugged in, the car won't even know it's gone and you won't throw any codes.