Should You Rebuild or Replace Your Carburetor?

Fuel injection, introduced in the early 1950s, had mostly replaced carburetors by the early 1990s. Some classic car owners swap out vintage carburetors for a modern aftermarket fuel injection system that provides better power or fuel efficiency. However, if you want to keep the engine bay looking original, a carb is the way to go.

Compared to fuel injection systems, carburetors are complex and prone to failure. Valves break, metal rods wear out bushings, jet orifices get clogged, and pumps fail. If one carburetor part fails, another will likely follow.

Before assuming that a problematic carburetor needs rebuilding, consider a good old-fashioned cleaning. Sometimes, the parts get sticky and gummed up, often from infrequent use, and a decent cleaning will cure your ills.

You might need to soak the entire carb body for a few hours or overnight to help loosen baked-on deposits. After soaking, use an aerosol carburetor cleaner to clean out the narrow passages. Use a variety of brushes to clean gasket surfaces and the jets. Do this work over a plastic tray—a paint tray works well—to catch the fluids as you spray and to catch any loose parts flying away under the aerosol pressure. After you’ve cleaned all of the surfaces, wipe everything down with clean, lint-free shop towels and reassemble the carburetor.

If a cleaning doesn’t get the job done, you still have three great options.

Carburetor Rebuild Kits

Carburetor manufacturers recognize that pieces can wear out over time, so they offer rebuild kits. These kits contain all the pieces that typically need replacing. They are produced to the exact specifications as the original parts.

Rebuilding a carb is easier than you think. Take your time, watch a few videos, and follow the directions. Keep track of all the small pieces. In a day, you will have a rebuilt carburetor.

All carburetors have the same basic design: a housing, air horn, throttle valve, venturi, discharge tube, and fuel bowl.

While logic might dictate that a four-barrel carburetor is more difficult to rebuild than a one-barrel unit, that’s not necessarily the case. The Rochester Quadrajet is easy as pie to rebuild, while some Carter one-barrels are super finicky.

One of the biggest challenges in rebuilding older carburetors is that the pot metal body warps. When this happens, it can cause leaking around the base and throw off the linkage adjustments. Although many sources recommend discarding a carburetor and replacing it with a new unit, it is possible to straighten out the pot metal in a home oven.

Rebuild kits for the most popular carburetor choices cost less than $75.

Opt for a New Unit

You might consider buying a new carburetor rather than rebuilding one. Typically, you can find an exact replacement for an existing carburetor without worrying about how it fits or if you need extra adapters. Buying a new carburetor provides an opportunity for upgrades, like adding options for an electronic choke or swapping to a four-barrel carburetor.

Basic carburetors run around $500, but the price increases if you want extra chrome or shine. If the balance of your engine bay is bright and shiny, a matching carburetor completes the look. Holley and Edelbrock have been making carburetors for ages and usually have a model that fits nearly any ride. Besides, local mechanics will be most familiar with these popular brands.

Go With a Rebuilt Carburetor

Numerous sellers on eBay Motors offer remanufactured carburetors. The offerings can be basic rebuilds or a Concours-quality rebuild with new, freshly coated, and flow-tested parts. This is a way to install a better version of the same carburetor model the car originally left the factory with. At a minimum, a rebuilt carburetor should have been thoroughly cleaned, new parts swapped out, and then flow-tested to ensure proper operation.

Many builders offer carburetors that are date-code-correct for your specific vehicle. Depending on the quality and details, the price will probably start at around $200 for common rebuilds. Some vendors even offer a core credit if you send in your old carburetor. The Carburetor Man offers an extensive selection of restored Rochester, Holley and Carter units for domestic muscle cars.

There’s yet another option for acquiring a rebuilt carburetor: Keep your existing carburetor and have a local mechanic rebuild it. Many towns have a few veteran mechanics who can make that old carburetor appear new. Seek out recommendations. If you see a car on display that showcases a slick carburetor, ask the owner who they use.