Rebuild a carb VS buying new

[akd67]

My carter carb is in need of rebuild/replacement.Gas is flowing out of the accelerator pump and its sat a lot. I priced a edelbrock 500 cfm (#1403) at 275$ and a rebuild kit for the old carter at 30$. The edelbrock is pretty much a carter so Im thinking about trying to rebuild the existing one. Our shop at work has the tank for cleaning the carb but Im wondering if there would be any advatanges to just buying a new one.Comments?


Edit: Car is driven on the street only. Weekends mostly.

 

[LMan]

Id rebuild the old one. Only takes about an hour, and its ed-yew-kay-shun-al!

 

[94CobraPace]

For $30 bucks on a rebuild kit, go for it. If it is bad, then you can get a new carb.

 

[65 project]

I would look the carb over very carefully, making sure the butterflies work freely and checking for worn parts. I had a 4-barrel autolite that I put a kit into that still didn't work right after I was finished. The car ran, but the secondary wouldn't kick in like it should have. After pulling it out and checking it futher, I discovered one of the flow tubes was worn away just a little bit. I ended up buying a Holley avenger which was like going from night to day. Power is not a problem now.

 

[SuperDave]

It is mostly a matter of mind over matter: if you don't mind (buying a new carb), it doesn't matter.

As stated above, some carbs are simply worn out. In addition to the above check the throttle shaft for wear. If it is egg-shaped it will cause problems. I've had good luck rebuilding carbs but some should be tossed rather than spend time and money on them.

Follow any rebuild kit instructions CAREFULLY!

 

[akd67]

It is mostly a matter of mind over matter: if you don't mind (buying a new carb), it doesn't matter.

Thanks all. I'll try the rebuild and if it doesnt work out I still learned something. Spent more on other stuff and got less out of it.