Another carburetor question...

[Sandra H.]

Guidance needed on what carburetors I might need to hold onto, while I decide which others to sell. (Need to start drumming up some money to further the restoration.)

My '62 Corvette currently has a 3 barrel Holley on a motor with somewhere in the neighborhood of 400+hp (sorry I can't be more precise than that).
Is there any good reason why that particular carburetor was used?

If a crate 290hp motor gets put into it, is a Carter 4-barrel going to be the best choice?

Here's another dumb question.....how can I tell out of several Carter's which one is the one to keep? Most all appear to be unused.

Help would really be appreciated.
Sandy

[Stuart F.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

To start with, Sandy, it would help if you could locate the model numbers from either that which may be embossed or stamped on the main body or on a separate metal tag. Along with the model often times is the mfg. date. You may have some valuable hard to find Corvette carbs or, sorry to say, just some oddball ones with little or no market value.

That's the place to start.

Stu fox

[Bruce B.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Sandra,
If you go with the 290 HP crate engine my choice would a 600 or 650 CFM Edelbrock Performer carb. A very reliable no problem carb.
They are available from most suppliers such as Jegs, Summit and Corvette Central. Also check Ebay.
It might not fit the intake manifold that your Holley is on so that needs too be checked.

[Sandra H.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

I'm not sure if this is the number that identifies a carb....but this is the first one...Carter AFB 2812S.
Can you tell me what it is?
Sandy

[Stuart F.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Sandra;

Yes, that is the AFb (Carter) Model Number. I'm not that familiar with all the model numbers, but I do have a list and I will get back to you on it. Perhaps someone else has their listing handy and can comment. One thing is for sure, it is a pre-63 Carb - possibly a 62, but the number doesn't ring any bells (at least not tonight).

Do you have any others? Now that you know where/what to look for, we can make some progress.

I agree with Bruce that if you are going to go with a new carb, the Edelbrock is a good choice. Holley's are a pain in the bottom and the only way I would ever consider using one is in a situation where it was original to the car. For performance, they really need to be tuned by a professional with the proper equipment, and even then in most cases they don't offer much performance advantage. In the old days, the old Q-Jets were my carbs of choice - easy to set up, modify, and get good "dump" performance.

Stu Fox

[Sandra H.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Hi Stu,
I have good reason to believe that carb is the one that came on the original engine (the one I can't locate) when bought new in '62....if I understand the "filing system" of parts in boxes here.

I'm taking note of what Bruce is saying....

By the way, I'm just curious, but how do you all feel about the 350/330 crate engine? However I'm getting ahead of myself.

Another Carter AFB carb has a metal tag with 4033S on it.
Others are a Motocraft D2ZF AA, a mystery Carter AFB (can't find a number),
something with #C4AFDG and 2 Holleys (not sure which numbers on them are the identifiers).

I suspect most of these are just paperweights, but need to know for sure.

Thank you,
Sandy

[John H.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

I'm not sure if this is the number that identifies a carb....but this is the first one...Carter AFB 2812S.
Can you tell me what it is?
Sandy

Sandy -

Per the Gary Hodges charts, that carburetor didn't have any Corvette applications, and my other references don't show an application on any other Chevrolet car lines. Maybe someone else has a Carter reference that can identify it. Clem might have a reference, but he's in Florida at the PRI show.

[Sandra H.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Thanks John,

That blows my theory on the "filing system" of boxes here.....back to the chaos theory.

Sandy

[Stuart F.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Sandra;

I found a listing for the 4033S model, and that is for a 60 Pontiac. The closest numbers to your 2812S that I could find were models 2814S and 2815S which were both 57 to 60 Cadillac models. This is not too far off as many applications ran in number series, and it was common back in the day to substitute Caddy Quads (I did it myself) in order to get a larger Venturi/butterfly area carb that looked stock on the outside. I used a set of El Dorado WCFB's in drag racing with my 292 small block 57 Chevy Post (circa 1959/60). They had a different mounting bolt pattern (square) so I had to use adapters which I liked anyway in order to raise the carbs up. I used them only for top speed runs in stock eliminator, not in stock class competition. They ran both primary's together and used air idle screws. Found them also great on oval track racing as well.

I'll keep looking for more reference listings, and perhaps someone else can add information for you on the others "paper weights".

Stu Fox

[Bruce B.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

The 2812S AFB was used on 1958 thru 1960 DeSoto cars with 318 cubic ince V8s.
Does anyone remember the DeSoto?

[Michael W.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Others are a Motocraft D2ZF AA,

Early 70's F*rd Mustang w/351

[Stuart F.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Way to go Bruce! Oh yes, we remember the De Sotos. Was the 318 what we now know as the small block? I'm more familiar with the mid 50's models as a friend of mine had one with a Hemi, but I don't recall the displacement. I remenber it had an awful sloppy transmission, something like part stick and part automatic and was a dog.

Well, at least we've identified Sandra's AFB's for her. I would not know where to start with her other treasures.

Stu Fox

[Wes S.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Sandra:
I put one of those 290 crate motors in my '62. Has plenty of of power to get you in trouble, will chirp tires in all forward gears. The dip stick tube is on the left side of motor. Down side is taht its made in Mexico. That ZZ motor has dip stick on rightside of motor which will conflict with fresh air tube.

[Sandra H.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Thanks for the ID on some of these.....although no big surprises, they did fit Ron's life style.

He couldn't leave anything alone, so everything within his range got modified. Got in BIG trouble one day when I caught him with the hood raised on my brand new Chev pickup. A counseling session made clear what he would be missing in his life if he touched it.

He had a hot little fast back Mustang and I believe the 2812S might have come off the race engine that is in the Corvette now.
There had to have been a reason why it was isolated with the original tach and a few other parts off the car.

Thanks so much Wes for backing up the 290hp engine. When you describe it that way it sounds perfect......something that would be fun.
When the time comes I will be interested in what kind of exhaust pipes would be really good and a few other things too.

Doesn't sound like the "paper weights" are of any particular value? Will probably just keep them.......Grandson might need them for some of his projects.

The Holleys and unidentified Carter will remain a mystery for now.......

Thanks for the help....as always it's really appreciated. I'm finding it rather enjoyable chipping away at all that needs to be learned.

Sandy

[Gerard F.]

Re: Another carburetor question...

Thanks for the ID on some of these.....although no big surprises, they did fit Ron's life style.

The Holleys and unidentified Carter will remain a mystery for now.......

Sandy

Sandy,

The Holleys are usually easy to identify by the numbers on the Air Horn:



The first line is the GM application number. The second line is the Holley list number, and the third is the date code.

Just from the list number, the application, GM or other can be looked up in a Holley catalog.

Just post the numbers on the Holleys and you will find your application, and whether they are paperweights or not.