bretly

So it appears I either need to get my 4bbl thermoquad rebuilt or purchase a remanufactured one for my 83 b350 with a 360.

1) I decided on remanufactured on after taking some advice. Has anyone had any luck with alliance or united reman co?
2.) I realize some parts are just no longer available to me like the vacuum solenoid and other emission parts such as a cvscc valve. The question here is do these go by other names / have universal replacements or if they break down am I just stuck with a van that will never run?
3.) If I would switch to an entirely different carburetor could the those parts be pulled from the equation altogether?

I want to keep this thing as close to stock as possible if I can. Any help or recommendations here are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Bret

RacerHog

In my opinion.... It's kind of a crap shoot... Carters are a specialty to do, as far as I have found. Meaning not every carb rebuilder will get them rite. you have a few choices. I would recommend you call and talk with the vendor before shipping it to them for overhaul, you need to be sure they feel confident of doing that job.
But: United Carb Remanufactured, National Carburetors, Tomco-Inc, And The Carb Doctor, are all good sources at this point.
The worst part of the whole rebuild is if the bowl is warped or cracked. These are getting hard to find and if you fine them in good shape, go for a good price.
The only options beyond that is a replacement QuadraJet, or a Carter AFB replacement, or swap in a Holley that is not a smog legal option.
Just my 2 cents... Keep us posted...

bretly

I have found a few ready to go remanufactured ones already, those being on summit racing or rock auto. I was just going to send my core back. From the reviews I have read they seem to be pretty much plug and play with possibly a little bit of tuning needed. Although from what I also have read it appears just best to keep the thermoquads as close to spec as possible.

I think the $250 investment here might be a better idea than to attempt to have a local mechanic rebuild it at $80 or more and hour plus install. I can just install it myself and if it isn't tuned properly then take it to someone to tune. My main concern with a different carb is how the vacuum and emissions egr systes would work. I'm a bit of a novice, but I would remove all of that stuff if it were up to me. Emissions and basic inspections are not at all required where I'm currently living. Not sure what that would mean for driving it in another state which is definitely going to happen sooner or later.

Thanks for your help

RacerHog

Your Welcome.... Keep us posted if you are stratified when you get it done...