Technical Upgrade from Rochester 2G to Edelbrock 1406 worth it?

The times must have passed me by. When I was young, the first thing you did to ANY sbc with a two-barrel carb was to swap in whatever 4-BBL setup you could find. I thought this was a traditional hot rod forum, not a DIY car repair site.

 

For what it's worth...over 400 reviews with 4 star rating

 

Yea I know, I read some bad reviews in there too which of course makes it easy to be concerned. Some good reviews too though.

 

Haha, that's why I posted originally. I thought most were going to say dump that 2 barrel and put the RPM intake and Edelbrock 1406 for the extra 20 HP. I may do that anyways later but it wouldn't hurt to rebuild what I have now as a data point and to build some credibility up

 

Since you seem to have the right attitude, I 'll have to say that I really like 2G carbs. They're perfect on a flathead-powered street driven car with a hood (on a late Merc manifold). I will also say that I don't rebuild a carb these days with out rebushing the throttle shafts. As someone else said, they're all old and worn out.

 

I'll check the play but I'm assuming I'll need to do this. I have access to a drill press/mills at work if I need to rework something carefully.

 

A bad review is usually by somebody out of their depth.[or trying to extort a refund]


When you purchase a cheap "amazon" carb you will still need to adjust the mixture, idle, choke ,and possibly the float level. [so learn these skills on a $30 rebuild kit]

The worst that can happen is you waste $30 on a kit. And you end up buying a $100 "amazon" carb later.

Also Invest in a cheap Welding Torch "Tip Cleaner"

The horsepower gain of the 4 barrel is from the engine's ability to breathe better [usually further up the RPM range]
Most of the time the engine is running on the primaries of a 4 barrel.

It all depends on your long term plans for the engine. If you're going to "improve it" then the Edelbrock carb is a good starting point.
If the engine is tired , look for a late model Roller Cam donor engine and build a cheap torque monster

 

There's old & worn , then there's old & worn out , the trick is knowing the difference !

 

The 2GC to Holley adapters used to be in every parts store. I had them on stock cars and street cars, never a stumble.

 

2 Jet all day. Simple and reliable.

I'd rather spit fuel from my mouth into an intake than use an Edelbrock carburetor.

 

You really need to express your feelings about things more. I feel your holding something back.

 

My 2GC had a warped base I didnt notice until after the rebuild, spent some time smoothing in out w sandpaper on a piece of glass. Put it back together and it ran ok, so I put a new fuel pump. I guess the throttle arm was worn out cause then it started pissing fuel out of there.

So I did what I thought any self respecting Hot Rodder, looking for a few more Horsepower would do. I & chunked it & that cast iron intake in the flower bed as "yard art" & replaced it with an aluminum Edelbrock intake & Carb.

What an idiot I am, I didnt even think of spitting fuel from my mouth right into the intake. I could have saved some $$ & some HAMB points...

 

Fully agree with this. 2 Jet on a stock motor or even with a small cam is perfect. Simple as dirt to rebuild,tune etc. Got one on a 283 with points for quite awhile and it starts faster and runs as smooth as a brand new car.

If going the 4bbl route I prefer a Holley..just like the design and setup MUCH better.

Just my 2 cents of course

 

Purchased the Walker rebuild kit and Chem Dip from Oreilly. I don't think I'll be pulling the carb and doing anything until 3rd week December. The chopped shoebox underfloor brake booster replacement has higher priority.

Hopefully the bushings/float, idle mixture screws, etc. are in OK shape otherwise this will leak (pun intended) into January when I have time to inspect all those pieces and get replacements if I need to order from some online source.

 

I haven't seen a dip-kit around in eons. Some had the little basket for the tiny parts. At times I would drop the bigger pieces off to a parts store, they would soak them in whatever and I'd pick them up the next day. Everything was always clean as could be.

 

You're doing the right thing by rebuilding the 2G. Great carb for your requirements, easy to rebuild, and you learn as a bonus.

I don't see a downside.

 

Thanks! Yea its an additional $73 I just spent on the Chem Dip and Walker rebuild kit that could go towards the 4 barrel upgrade however, I'm going to rebuild for the experience, an additional data point for changes I've made to the truck since I got it in late 2016, and my thought is I hopefully won't make it run worse. There was a time I would gripe about spending an extra $73 but I've reached the point time feels like its moving by too fast and is what I'm more limited by.

 

Also wouldn't hurt later on after doing the swap having a good spare carb and intake laying around should you need it. So any work you do on the two barrel wouldn't be wasted in that sense

 

If its possible to rebuild it go for it.
I have owned one Edelbrock, im not impressed, vacuum leak and sloppy worn axles with fuelleak, I cut the mileage in half by switching to a Holley.

 

Get a few cans of aerosol spray carb cleaner (Walmart or O'reilly house brands work just as good and are sometimes cheaper) and a face shield or some safety glasses. It's more aggressive than the dip stuff and you can direct the stuff into the holes and passages and the pressure will help blow out any debris. Use it before and after you soak the carb and rinse it. Blow everything out with compressed air if you have it, or a final blow out with the spray. I sometimes use a piece of copper wire taken from an old extension cord or something to clear out stubborn gunk.
Good luck.

 

I checked the timing chain slop today. I saw about 8 degrees on the lower end and 9 or maybe 10 but nothing past 10. I had to try a few times and watch carefully with my tired eyes. I would estimate it to be closer to 8 though. This does point to it being a bit worn but I don't want to do anything to it right now. I'll have to check compression when the carb is back on at some point.

 

Carb came out, I'll get to taking it apart and cleaning it and putting it in the chem dip over the weekend. I'll have to see whether I need to buy a new float, and what else but at least have the Walker rebuilt kit for the gaskets.

 

It doesn't still have the nylon cam gear does it?

 

No idea, I'm assuming a stock 1975 sbc 350.

 

If it's untouched change that timing set. As in screw the carb get the plastic and aluminum cam gear out of there lol. Those things have taken out many a sbc

 

This truck sees maybe.. 150 miles .. on a good year when I'm in a good mood and not as super busy.. pathetic I know.. but when I get to Mission Bay with a paddleboard in the back of it there's a smile on my face. Do I gain a lot changing the timing set right now given sparse use? At 8 or so deg slack my guess is this will hold for a while for my use? I have so many other priorities, the carb was making it difficult for this truck to drive at all.

 

Google gm nylon timing gear failures. Timing set is like $30 plus mebbe a $5 gasket. If it is still a nylon cam gear (1975 350 would have a nylon gear originally) AND has slack its literally a grenade. Being an interference engine if the nylon teeth completely let go and it jumps time there goes your valves. Not to mention all the nylon chunks in the pan. Even if you only drove it an average of 1 mile per week at 60 mph.....id assume the engine is turning around 2200 rpms..... meaning that time bomb cam gear is turning 6000 revolutions total during said one mile trip not counting the time it spends idling. The 76 350 in my 53 still had the original nylon gear when I got it at 80k miles last year. Was literally the first intact nylon gear id ever seen despite tearing into literally thousands of sbcs over the years. Also the first intact one many of my buddies had ever seen. One older friend that has worked in the service department at a Chevy dealership since the eighties said it was a first for him and that usually you removed them from the oil pan not the cam lol. But yeah first thing I bought for my 350 was a new timing set

 

Slack actually makes a nylon gear even more of a durability hazard. Allows the cam to "kick back" on startup, shutdown and during any backfires. The teeth like to break off