I posted a few weeks ago looking for a Portland area carb shop that can handle Q-jets.  Since then I've been thinking about possibly going the reman route.   The big national parts houses still carry them, it seems.  $250 + $50 core charge.  Hmmm....a professional rebuild and I could possibly be getting close to that number.  And then there's the worry that my old one is a bit warped from over-torquing the hold down bolts at some point (I was fighting some symptoms of a vacuum leak before I tore everything apart).  

It's been some years since I was in the auto parts business but I never saw an assembly line rebuilt carburetor of any brand worth a darn.  Most rebuilding businesses farm out their cores to shops that generally just clean and replace a few parts and box it up and send it out.  Using a Q-jet as an example...they give one part number for many applications and it really suits few, if any specifically.  The defect rate for such carbs was horrendous.

Well Slinger not much has changed! Someday the Q-jets will all be gone and life will be easier..if they would have been built with a little more care things would be better now..your right also on how the carb needs to be built and tuned to the car..the rebuild kits they sell now are awefull..only good for a few gaskets..I have heard of one other member here getting a carb that was rebuilt from a well known company and cost a whole lot more than what you are looking at! I saw him at CFC and he told me he swapped the rebuilt one for a new carb! Not sure what brand. I know that with all the ones I have rebuilt and tuned for cars over the years that it takes time and patience and know how..if you don't have that available to you then it might be easier to buy a new carb altogether. oh and Slingers right about the clean cores thing..love that saying!
Rich

Try these :
http://www.savastuning.com/

or,

R H Carburetor Service - (503) 256-4515

11125 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97220

 

Thanks for the info guys - this is the kind of testimony I was looking for.  I was wondering if they used a "one model fits all" type of mentality -- sounds like it.  Reading sources like the Corvette Black Book shows that there was a lot of variability in carb model numbers, even in a single year. One can only guess that that variability makes it to difficult for the reman companies to try to exactly match every application.  

Great decision as I want to keep mine stock as well..when the Q jet is set up and working perfect it's a tough one to beat..I love it when the secondary's open up! One thing is going to happen, you will get frustrated and possibly pushed to the point of adding another boat anchor to the collection ..but if you keep at it you will learn a lot and be happy with it in the end.
Good luck
Rich

Luckily for me there is a local shop here in Tucson that will rebuild and bench test Q-Jets. They are a top notch shop. I bought a carb-in-a-box for my 70 L-46 (and sold the '75 carb here on C3VR) and they rebuilt it for me, and even brought it right up to factory specs, changed all the jets, tubes, and pins for $200. It really runs sweet now. Well worth the $$.

I don't think I have ever taken a carb out of the box and not had to go through it to make it work properly.  I always prefer to rebuild the exsisting carb when it is possible, and most of the time it can be done.  

Hey Dave076 Another source for a rebuild is www.customrebuiltcarbs.com Tel # (732) 356-4333 JPD1stVette2010-09-28 16:36:12