71 el camino problem

[Classic_V8]

Alright so my el camino was giving me a hard time starting so my dad thought maybe the carburetor was too rich. He adjusted the idle screws and now the engine is sputtering. It'll sputter and when trying to move it, it shakes bad and eventually dies. We tried re-adjusting the carb but that doesnt work. We noticed that the carb leaks a bit of gas. The sputtering problem is similar to the one we had weeks ago, in which we had to replace the ignition coil which was the problem. For some reason it seems liek taht again. But unsure? Can it be coil again or is it simply carburetor? or something else?

[Blue Bowtie]

Which carburetor does it have?

[Classic_V8]

its a really old carb. its a rochester 2 jet (2 barrel). just today a mechanic tried another coil to see if it was that but it was still doin the same thing. so now it looks like its gonna be the carb. i guess he said the leakin is from the carburetor being flooded..maybe somethin is gettin stuck. he took it to clean it out. hopefuly it works. the carb is really old, so im thinkin bout gettin an edelbrock 4 barrel? good idea or no?

[Blue Bowtie]

its a really old carb.

That carb is a lot younger than I am, and I still work reasonably well. Likely, it's a 2GC. It can be rebuilt, but they are not the greatest for fuel mileage. Then again, it was 1971, and Sunoco 280 (105 octane with lead) was 47¢ a gallon.

If you're up for replacing an intake, a newer carb may work out better in the long run. If you get the edelbrock that is a Carter AFB clone, fuel mileage won't be much better. If you get an Edelbrock QuadraJet clone, mileage should be noticeably better.

The real question will be "where are you going to stop?" If you pull the intake, the cam is right there staring you in the face. With an older engine, a new timing chain is always prudent, and replacing weak valve springs only makes sense, so you get to the point where replacing the cam becomes within reason. Then, if you're going to pull the heads to replace springs, it's only reasonable to want to touch up the ports and valve bowls.

You see where that can lead.

[Classic_V8]

yeah i see where u are going. but then again the engine is not that old. it hasnt had that many miles ran on it because it was used as a daily driver. yes the carb is Rochester 2GC. so i shouldnt get an edelbrock carburetor? this is what i had planned: edelbrock 1400 (600 cfm) with performer manifold. but i do want fuel efficieny overall because im a student. my friend has a quadrajet carb and ti works great, but where would i get one of those? i know they're not made anymore, right?

[hotrod_chevyz]

Originally Posted by Classic_V8

yeah i see where u are going. but then again the engine is not that old. it hasnt had that many miles ran on it because it was used as a daily driver. yes the carb is Rochester 2GC. so i shouldnt get an edelbrock carburetor? this is what i had planned: edelbrock 1400 (600 cfm) with performer manifold. but i do want fuel efficieny overall because im a student. my friend has a quadrajet carb and ti works great, but where would i get one of those? i know they're not made anymore, right?

You can get them good as new rebuilt by holley.

[silicon212]

Edelbrock still makes them, new. Back in '89, GM sold all of the tooling and rights to the Quadrajet to Edelbrock and they've been making them ever since. In fact, any new one will be an Edelbrock product. You can get one new at Checker/Schucks/Kragen.

They are a bit more expensive than the 600 (the AFB clone) but then if economy is what you're after, the Q-jet is your only choice. You will need to replace the intake due to the fact you have a 2GC/2GV.

[bobss396]

Years ago I replaced a sick 2GC on a 350 with a Holley 2 barrel using an adapter. I plumbed it for a manual choke, never ever had a problem with the set up and it always idled nice and was decent on gas. Just another low buck option. I still have the carb with the works boxed up for future projects.

Bob

[pbernal]

Originally Posted by Classic_V8

Alright so my el camino was giving me a hard time starting so my dad thought maybe the carburetor was too rich. He adjusted the idle screws and now the engine is sputtering. It'll sputter and when trying to move it, it shakes bad and eventually dies. We tried re-adjusting the carb but that doesnt work. We noticed that the carb leaks a bit of gas. The sputtering problem is similar to the one we had weeks ago, in which we had to replace the ignition coil which was the problem. For some reason it seems liek taht again. But unsure? Can it be coil again or is it simply carburetor? or something else?

Hey, I had a similar problem with my 71.I replaced coil and all that and engine still sputtered and ran really bad.I found that one of my plug wires was bad.I had replaced them but one was getting no continuity.Its something to check.Good Luck.
Pbernal