I have a few questions for you Rochester/Carter Quadrajet gurus:
First off, I apologize for the length of this post, however the more I studied this issue the more I learned, and reviewing old posts on Team Chevelle REALLY helped, in addition to my reference books.
I am going through my 1967 Chevelle SS 396 325hp Engine (Non A.I.R.) with TH400 that I bought in November 2022. Mostly original car, original engine in the car (I doubt it’s ever been out of the car. At some point the car was obviously refreshed with new paint (well done), and I’ve been going through the engine parts codes getting familiar with it. It has an ungraded HEI Distributor, but I thought everything else was original, until I looked closely at the Carburetor.
Now, first of all, I’ve never been a fan of the Quadrajet, preferring Holley Carbs like my old L78 Chevelle had….zero issues with the Holley! I know from experience that Quadrajets can be temperamental and difficult to tune properly, especially the early models. Maybe my car had a temperamental original Quadrajet from the factory?
I did some research, and I believe the correct carb for the 396/325 A/T with no Smog should be Part Number 7027216 4MV (but I’m not certain..please see below)….I know the early versions in ’67 were plagued with problems…likely the original Carburetor for this car was an earlier version. The car’s build date was May 19, 1967 (Atlanta Build). The Engine was a Tonawanda build with correct numbers, with assembly date of May 10. I couldn’t see the casting date on the block but the part number is correct, as well as the stampings on the passenger head. Based on my 1967 L78 Block there is about a month between the casting date and the engine build date in Tonawanda, so I am assuming the casting date may be in April (but not really important).
According to my Chevrolet By The Numbers book, 396/325HP A/T w/o A.I.R. (3rd Type) would be p/n 7027216 (as mentioned above), however that model may be too late for my car’s engine build date (not certain like I said earlier).
Therefore, the other two models would be:
p/n 7027200 (Early)
p/n 7027210 (Late)
396/325HP A/T w/o A.I.R….for all three models I am considering.
Well, after finally getting into what carb is actually on the engine (the original manifold is still on the car) the engine appears original with correct p/n’s….original orange paint even. However, the carburetor is stamped Made In USA, but it’s a Carter built Quadrajet, not a Rochester. The p/n is 7029202 with accompanying A9 and DH Stamps. Looking this p/n up shows the carburetor as being 350/255 300HP A/T. This would be a 1969 Carb built by Carter. This p/n in the book is shown as 7029202 4MV. My engine does indeed have a divorced automatic choke assembly, just like my L78 did with the Holley.
I have read that when demand was high carburetor builds were farmed out, Carter being one company. I also read that there were problems with earlier Rochester Quadrajets, so many were likely replaced under warranty by factory replacements. Later Quadrajets corrected certain issues with earlier models, especially regarding the plunger-style fuel valve and secondary-air- valve dash pot assemblies (per the book: How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors by Cliff Ruggles).
So, my questions are (based on the above):
1. Could this be a factory warranty replacement, although I am questioning the part number? If it was however, I doubt the carb would present as well as it does. Looks too clean, but it does show some wear. See pics.
2. Can the performance of these carburetors be manipulated by simply re-jetting, etc.? Could my carb be the same spec. as any of the above referenced part numbers for 1967 by simply re-jetting or otherwise modifying it….by a previous owner or mechanic?
3. Is this definitely the wrong carburetor on this engine? If so, even if it ran great, I would change it! It’s the only thing that isn’t numbers or date correct for the assembly date of my car and engine. I see the carburetor as a normal maintenance item, like if the original carb wasn’t functioning well, the best thing to do was simply remove it and put on a more reliable carburetor!! I’m fairly certain this is likely what happened. And, possibly, the person doing the work didn’t care or didn’t know that this carb wasn’t spec’d for the Big Block, but a Small Block.
4. I may simply get used to driving it with this carburetor while I get used to it, and address other items like rebuilding the original radiator (it has a slight leak).
5. Any recommendations where I might get a date correct Quadrajet for my engine build date of May 10, 1967? By reading through old posts on this forum, I saw where someone mentioned that the stock carb for the ’67 Chevelle SS 396/325HP Engine was p/n 7027201 for the Manual Trans Cars and p/n 7027200 (Early Version) for the Automatic Trans Cars. Now, with my car’s engine build date being May 10, 1967 wouldn’t my engine likely have had the Late Version (or p/n 7027210?).
6. So, which of the above referenced part numbers that I listed for my 1967 engine/transmission design & build date would be correct to look for? 7027200, 7027210, or 7027216?
7. Finally, where do I look for one? I’m not really interested in having a totally restored and replated example as that can get expensive, and would it have the best internal in it anyway? In other words, can a freshly rebuilt carburetor be assembled with the necessary upgrades being included thus eliminating the prior design flaws?
I would be more than satisfied continuing to use what’s on there now, but the way the car starts and the automatic choke operates presently isn’t all that great anyway. Once totally warmed up it’s fine, but it reminds me of why I hated Quadrajets back in the day…temperamental! I know these carburetors can be just fine and tuned for more performance, etc., but I really want my car to have the correct code carb on this engine. It’s no hot rod but shows very well as an original example…not a ton of them around these days! I just want it to start easily and idle and drive well!
Thanks for your help on this.
John
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First off, I apologize for the length of this post, however the more I studied this issue the more I learned, and reviewing old posts on Team Chevelle REALLY helped, in addition to my reference books.
I am going through my 1967 Chevelle SS 396 325hp Engine (Non A.I.R.) with TH400 that I bought in November 2022. Mostly original car, original engine in the car (I doubt it’s ever been out of the car. At some point the car was obviously refreshed with new paint (well done), and I’ve been going through the engine parts codes getting familiar with it. It has an ungraded HEI Distributor, but I thought everything else was original, until I looked closely at the Carburetor.
Now, first of all, I’ve never been a fan of the Quadrajet, preferring Holley Carbs like my old L78 Chevelle had….zero issues with the Holley! I know from experience that Quadrajets can be temperamental and difficult to tune properly, especially the early models. Maybe my car had a temperamental original Quadrajet from the factory?
I did some research, and I believe the correct carb for the 396/325 A/T with no Smog should be Part Number 7027216 4MV (but I’m not certain..please see below)….I know the early versions in ’67 were plagued with problems…likely the original Carburetor for this car was an earlier version. The car’s build date was May 19, 1967 (Atlanta Build). The Engine was a Tonawanda build with correct numbers, with assembly date of May 10. I couldn’t see the casting date on the block but the part number is correct, as well as the stampings on the passenger head. Based on my 1967 L78 Block there is about a month between the casting date and the engine build date in Tonawanda, so I am assuming the casting date may be in April (but not really important).
According to my Chevrolet By The Numbers book, 396/325HP A/T w/o A.I.R. (3rd Type) would be p/n 7027216 (as mentioned above), however that model may be too late for my car’s engine build date (not certain like I said earlier).
Therefore, the other two models would be:
p/n 7027200 (Early)
p/n 7027210 (Late)
396/325HP A/T w/o A.I.R….for all three models I am considering.
Well, after finally getting into what carb is actually on the engine (the original manifold is still on the car) the engine appears original with correct p/n’s….original orange paint even. However, the carburetor is stamped Made In USA, but it’s a Carter built Quadrajet, not a Rochester. The p/n is 7029202 with accompanying A9 and DH Stamps. Looking this p/n up shows the carburetor as being 350/255 300HP A/T. This would be a 1969 Carb built by Carter. This p/n in the book is shown as 7029202 4MV. My engine does indeed have a divorced automatic choke assembly, just like my L78 did with the Holley.
I have read that when demand was high carburetor builds were farmed out, Carter being one company. I also read that there were problems with earlier Rochester Quadrajets, so many were likely replaced under warranty by factory replacements. Later Quadrajets corrected certain issues with earlier models, especially regarding the plunger-style fuel valve and secondary-air- valve dash pot assemblies (per the book: How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors by Cliff Ruggles).
So, my questions are (based on the above):
1. Could this be a factory warranty replacement, although I am questioning the part number? If it was however, I doubt the carb would present as well as it does. Looks too clean, but it does show some wear. See pics.
2. Can the performance of these carburetors be manipulated by simply re-jetting, etc.? Could my carb be the same spec. as any of the above referenced part numbers for 1967 by simply re-jetting or otherwise modifying it….by a previous owner or mechanic?
3. Is this definitely the wrong carburetor on this engine? If so, even if it ran great, I would change it! It’s the only thing that isn’t numbers or date correct for the assembly date of my car and engine. I see the carburetor as a normal maintenance item, like if the original carb wasn’t functioning well, the best thing to do was simply remove it and put on a more reliable carburetor!! I’m fairly certain this is likely what happened. And, possibly, the person doing the work didn’t care or didn’t know that this carb wasn’t spec’d for the Big Block, but a Small Block.
4. I may simply get used to driving it with this carburetor while I get used to it, and address other items like rebuilding the original radiator (it has a slight leak).
5. Any recommendations where I might get a date correct Quadrajet for my engine build date of May 10, 1967? By reading through old posts on this forum, I saw where someone mentioned that the stock carb for the ’67 Chevelle SS 396/325HP Engine was p/n 7027201 for the Manual Trans Cars and p/n 7027200 (Early Version) for the Automatic Trans Cars. Now, with my car’s engine build date being May 10, 1967 wouldn’t my engine likely have had the Late Version (or p/n 7027210?).
6. So, which of the above referenced part numbers that I listed for my 1967 engine/transmission design & build date would be correct to look for? 7027200, 7027210, or 7027216?
7. Finally, where do I look for one? I’m not really interested in having a totally restored and replated example as that can get expensive, and would it have the best internal in it anyway? In other words, can a freshly rebuilt carburetor be assembled with the necessary upgrades being included thus eliminating the prior design flaws?
I would be more than satisfied continuing to use what’s on there now, but the way the car starts and the automatic choke operates presently isn’t all that great anyway. Once totally warmed up it’s fine, but it reminds me of why I hated Quadrajets back in the day…temperamental! I know these carburetors can be just fine and tuned for more performance, etc., but I really want my car to have the correct code carb on this engine. It’s no hot rod but shows very well as an original example…not a ton of them around these days! I just want it to start easily and idle and drive well!
Thanks for your help on this.
John
