78 K30 Carburetor Issue

[tucsonjwt]

I just put a US Carburetor Qjet rebuild in my 83 454 and it seems to work OK. Of course, I knew that the "automatic" choke would not work properly because they never work for me, so I used my existing manual choke and that works fine. I got this carb because it was the cheapest, but I will have my original Qjet rebuilt by a good shop, probably Sean Murphy, and keep it in reserve. The US Carb is far from being a show piece - components look generic and lack the factory dichromate, teflon, and other coatings of OEM parts.

I have had many carbs for my squares over the years, and have never had good luck with the Edelbrock, and former Carter, carbs. The quality of the components was not as good as OEM and did not hold up very well over time. Plus, I don't think they make a Qjet spread bore direct fit, so you have to deal with adapters for their square bore base plate and jigger the linkage and air cleaner connections. So far, a high quality OEM Qjet rebuild seems to be the best option.

With all of the carbs, I highly recommend a manual choke. The factory chokes of any type (hot air, divorced, or electric) can never be adjusted to work properly in both cold and hot engine conditions. If you adjust them to close when cold, they don't open fully when warm. Or if you adjust them to open when warm, they won't fully close when cold. I have tried different types of coils in the choke housing with no success. I am sure many posters here will say they never have any trouble with their choke, but I have not been so lucky. For a $12 investment I know for sure when the choke is fully opened or closed, or I can keep it partially open if conditions warrant that.