carburetor rebuild kit or new carburetor?

[Indigo Crow Weaver]

Howdi~
My 1977 Champion needs to have a new carburetor and my friend said I should get a kit but my mechanic doesn't know where to get one and suggests dropping in a new carburetor (with a cost difference in the hundred's). Do you folks know where to get a kit for a '77 dodge chassis?
Thanks.

[brians69d24]

Can you post a picture of your carb or tell us what kind it is? Then we can better advise you.
brian

[Oz]

Definitely need to know the manufacturer (Holley, Carter, etc.) and the model number, which should be on the carb itself.  Virtually every carb out there has a rebuild kit and there's a gazillion suppliers for them, usually both local or on the web, typically Summit or Jegs or other carb supplier.

[jkilbert]

Like Mark said we need to know what you have. Most Dodge's came with Carter Thermoquads on them. You can get kits for just about any carb made. Some Mid-late 70's thermoquads had plastic main bodies, which is really junk. My '77 Brave had that and leaked like a sieve. I replaced it with an Edelbrock 650cfm 4bbl. You'll find that alot of us here have switched to the Edelbrock. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with a good rebuild job, just make sure what you're starting with is worth rebuilding.


john

[Indigo Crow Weaver]

Thanks guys... I'll have to go see if I can wrangle that doghouse thing off and take a look and will report back.  W%

[Stripe]

jkilbert is correct on the 77's using a carter thermoquad carburetor with the exception of some 318's that were equipped with a two barrel Carter, model BBD, carburetor.
If yours is a two barrel, you can get a rebuilt one from here

http://www.guaranteedcarburetors.com/index.html

I found finding a rebuild kit for mine was not easy.

I purchased a rebuilt (VERY WELL rebuilt) Thermoquad from them for my 440-3 on my rig for $228 + shipping. They give you the choice to pay a core charge if your not going to return yours or no core charge if you promise to ship the old carb as is when you pull it from your rig (I.E. Not disassembled) and provide you with a return shipping label for you to ship it back to them (no charge, just take it to any UPS store or hand it to a UPS driver.  They adjust EVERYTHING on that carb before they ship it, so it is Plug and Play. Mount it to your engine, reattatch any cables, hoses and or levers and bam, it's already to go. No adjustments.  Mine worked like a charm, the rig started right up!

Now if yours is a two bbl(barrel), then you get away far cheaper than I did. $158+shipping same model (BBD) two bbl Carter.   You may also pay less on shipping than I did as I had mine shipped all the way here in WA State and they are in FLA...

I hope this helps.  If you need help on determining the carb model, on some Carter carbs, they had to sets of numbers printed on them, one was on the TOP of the carb, and the other was on the front.  The number on the front is the one you want to reference.

Good luck, and if you need help, we are always here.

CMM500