I replaced the 1406 Edelbrock carb on my stock 1973 351 CJ intake with the identical unit figuring since this would be my first carb it would make the easiest swap. I also have a Ram air set up and did not want anything higher as I just have enough clearance now.
I pleased that now all the hard starting issues and most of the rough idle issues are gone. I did not want to try and rebuild the older one and experiment. Now that I have it off and the car running I will rebuild it and learn more about the operation of the carb. Good experience for a beginner. The rest of you experts can laugh
I'm just happy I finished the job with only a few extra parts and a running car!
So, here's my question if I can explain it properly. The old carb was sitting on an original EGR spacer. The hole for the EGR valve was plugged off. I discovered all this when I got the carb off. I could see there was a spacer or adapter under there but I did not know what type it was. I had ordered Edelbrocks kit (2696) to adapt a square bore carb to the spread bore manifold in case I had needed it. This kit is for GM cars (quadrajet) I believe and did not line up with my stock manifold. Not only didn't the bores line up (I think the secondaries were blocked) but that hooked j shaped hollow section next to the bores on top of the manifold (which I assume was part of the EGR system) was left basically uncovered. The old spacer covered it completely and the gasket was also correct. I did not use the adapter kit and stuck with the original EGR spacer.
From the EGR spacer to the manifold I got the correct gasket from a local store (lucky there as the old gasket was shot of course) and that lined up fine as expected.
Now, from the bottom of the Edlebrock carb to the stock EGR spacer the secondaries are partially blocked. I also could not find a correct gasket and had to use the same type the prior owner did - a square gasket that came with the carb. This is probably not optimal nor is the misalignment between the secondaries and the spacer I would think. Again, this is how the car was before. If it can be better now is the time for me to do it.
There is a question in here somewhere......so, other than changing the manifold or going with another carb completely, is there a better spacer for the stock manifold to the Edelbrock 1406 and/or correct underside of the carb gasket to the stock EGR spacer or is the set up "good enough" the way I have it now. The car was like this when I bought it. It now starts beautifully (old carb was probably dirty) and on the road seems to run fine. I'm sure the restriction on the secondaries isn't helping and I would think that a gasket that goes around each of the bores instead of surrounds them would be better as well.
Thanks for reading my novel.
Jeff
I pleased that now all the hard starting issues and most of the rough idle issues are gone. I did not want to try and rebuild the older one and experiment. Now that I have it off and the car running I will rebuild it and learn more about the operation of the carb. Good experience for a beginner. The rest of you experts can laugh
I'm just happy I finished the job with only a few extra parts and a running car!So, here's my question if I can explain it properly. The old carb was sitting on an original EGR spacer. The hole for the EGR valve was plugged off. I discovered all this when I got the carb off. I could see there was a spacer or adapter under there but I did not know what type it was. I had ordered Edelbrocks kit (2696) to adapt a square bore carb to the spread bore manifold in case I had needed it. This kit is for GM cars (quadrajet) I believe and did not line up with my stock manifold. Not only didn't the bores line up (I think the secondaries were blocked) but that hooked j shaped hollow section next to the bores on top of the manifold (which I assume was part of the EGR system) was left basically uncovered. The old spacer covered it completely and the gasket was also correct. I did not use the adapter kit and stuck with the original EGR spacer.
From the EGR spacer to the manifold I got the correct gasket from a local store (lucky there as the old gasket was shot of course) and that lined up fine as expected.
Now, from the bottom of the Edlebrock carb to the stock EGR spacer the secondaries are partially blocked. I also could not find a correct gasket and had to use the same type the prior owner did - a square gasket that came with the carb. This is probably not optimal nor is the misalignment between the secondaries and the spacer I would think. Again, this is how the car was before. If it can be better now is the time for me to do it.
There is a question in here somewhere......so, other than changing the manifold or going with another carb completely, is there a better spacer for the stock manifold to the Edelbrock 1406 and/or correct underside of the carb gasket to the stock EGR spacer or is the set up "good enough" the way I have it now. The car was like this when I bought it. It now starts beautifully (old carb was probably dirty) and on the road seems to run fine. I'm sure the restriction on the secondaries isn't helping and I would think that a gasket that goes around each of the bores instead of surrounds them would be better as well.
Thanks for reading my novel.
Jeff
