Need to have my Holley Carb rebuilt/restored who is recommended?

[Drew Pojedinec]

I'd like to have the carb rebuilt/restored

Apples and oranges Rebuilt = make it work. Restored = make it original. Vastly different costs with the same outcome.

Air Fuel Spark Prices
-4v Rebuild  $450
-4v Restoration $950

My personal favorite is to do halfway restored for survivors.
Just replate the hardware, and carefully clean the castings.

Drew, what do you think of this 735 carb? It runs great now for 2 years  and no adjustments from being built. Carb was test run after rebuild. I want your honest opinion on it. Thanks. Gary

If it runs great, you are happy with the looks, that is good enough for me.
If it is for a concours car, Bob makes some mentions that have merit.
Often "restorers" don't actually do any of the plating or chromate work. As such it is often done very uniformly in one color. This is a large part of why I learned to do plating before I started taking on customer work.  Doing everything inhouse allows for me to nitpick my work.
Other than that, I prefer to not pick apart someone else's work publicly.

[shelbydoug]

It's pretty. I'd like it better with the ink stamps also but it is so good, I'd be seeking perfection if I went that far.

It doesn't bother me that some things that could be silver or clear cad are done in yellow cad.

It is very, very nice.

[Bob Gaines]

It's pretty. I'd like it better with the ink stamps also but it is so good, I'd be seeking perfection if I went that far.

It doesn't bother me that some things that could be silver or clear cad are done in yellow cad.

It is very, very nice.

FYI it is zinc dichromate (gold) and clear zinc (silver) they were not plated cadmium . They are two different process's and looks.

[Special Ed]

Gary on your carb the inner throttle shaft lever that  controls the front bowl vent was originally black oxide  or some blackish finish. Most restorers miss that detail as when u replate the whole throttle shaft assembly everything gets goldish plated since these levers were all pressed in together after they were plated separately when carb was first assembled new.  I always paint the inner lever black again after the throttle shaft is replated to try and get that original finish look again to be concours correct or some kind of dark finish black oxide or whatever. I have some new holley throttle shafts here that i bought years ago and they are made just like the originals with correct finishes on the levers and they were like $75.00 so if u want to be 100% concours correct this is the only way it can be done unless Drew P. knows of a better way to get that original finish on the throttle shaft levers?

[Bob Gaines]

Gary on your carb the inner throttle shaft lever that  controls the front bowl vent was originally black oxide  or some blackish finish. Most restorers miss that detail as when u replate the whole throttle shaft assembly everything gets goldish plated since these levers were all pressed in together after they were plated separately when carb was first assembled new.  I always paint the inner lever black again after the throttle shaft is replated to try and get that original finish look again to be concours correct or some kind of dark finish black oxide or whatever. I have some new holley throttle shafts here that i bought years ago and they are made just like the originals with correct finishes on the levers and they were like $75.00 so if u want to be 100% concours correct this is the only way it can be done unless Drew P. knows of a better way to get that original finish on the throttle shaft levers?

Ed ,I figured out it is black chromate. It is the same process as the gold chromate (zinc dichromate)but it is black.

[Special Ed]

Just looked at an nos 69 cj dated carb here and lever looks like it  could be dark phosphate finish either way not an easy fix after the whole shaft assembly has been replated.

[shelbydoug]

Sometimes trying to have a discussion with you guys is like trying to talk about diamonds to a gemologist.

However I've never heard one say that the diamond is too shiny?

At this point, for some inexplicable reason, I see the logic in the lyric, "black is black, I want my baby back"?

[Royce Peterson]

Not Drew but from that one angle and one picture it appears to be a nice looking carburetor done with good workmanship. From a historical stand point however it looks like the restorer did all the hardware zinc dichromate regardless of if it was originally clear zinc or not. That covers quite a few different things. The idle mixture screw covers are missing and no ink stamps that are seen from this angle originally are present.

Kinda weird to have the dash pot bracket installed with no dash pot???

[Bob Gaines]

Not Drew but from that one angle and one picture it appears to be a nice looking carburetor done with good workmanship. From a historical stand point however it looks like the restorer did all the hardware zinc dichromate regardless of if it was originally clear zinc or not. That covers quite a few different things. The idle mixture screw covers are missing and no ink stamps that are seen from this angle originally are present.

Kinda weird to have the dash pot bracket installed with no dash pot???

Right 

[Royce Peterson]

Apparently that many question marks results in a smiley which was not my intent.

[shelbymann1970]

Not Drew but from that one angle and one picture it appears to be a nice looking carburetor done with good workmanship. From a historical stand point however it looks like the restorer did all the hardware zinc dichromate regardless of if it was originally clear zinc or not. That covers quite a few different things. The idle mixture screw covers are missing and no ink stamps that are seen from this angle originally are present.

Thanks. I have the idle mixture screw covers just not on it. The car isn't going concours anytime soon but still wanted to know what is incorrect plating wise.  The way the car runs cold, medium and hot is zero issues. But from what I paid to have both carbs done with missing some parts I'm extremely satisfied.

[shelbymann1970]

FROM DREW
If it runs great, you are happy with the looks, that is good enough for me.
If it is for a concours car, Bob makes some mentions that have merit.
Often "restorers" don't actually do any of the plating or chromate work. As such it is often done very uniformly in one color. This is a large part of why I learned to do plating before I started taking on customer work.  Doing everything inhouse allows for me to nitpick my work.
Other than that, I prefer to not pick apart someone else's work publicly.


No problem. I believe my carb guy uses the same plating shop to plate his carb pieces in bulk for the carbs he has on hand(mostly a Chevy guy who does all including other brand of carbs).  Like I said in my post to Bob what I paid I'm OK with some things not being plated 100 percent concours as my car is a day 2 car and I have no interest of tearing the car apart and doing a full blown concours resto at this stage in my life(saving that for a future 68 GT500). I just wanted to know what for future detailing. I need dash pots for both my carbs. Who has them?

[shelbymann1970]

Not Drew but from that one angle and one picture it appears to be a nice looking carburetor done with good workmanship. From a historical stand point however it looks like the restorer did all the hardware zinc dichromate regardless of if it was originally clear zinc or not. That covers quite a few different things. The idle mixture screw covers are missing and no ink stamps that are seen from this angle originally are present.

Kinda weird to have the dash pot bracket installed with no dash pot???

The brackets were on my carbs when I bought them. Car runs good the last 2 years without a dash pot whether it is starting it in the winter like I did recently or in the summer and no stalling issues when driving. Anyone have dash pots?. Here is my box I gave to my friend to deliver initially on how my carbs looked. The left one had the wrong front bowl on it as some guy screwed me back in 1991 through Hemmings on having the wrong bowl and other issues. I paid 150 bucks and got screwed so threw it in my cabinet for 30 years. Both had their carb tags though. 911 and 931 stamped on carbs.  Thanks.