Quadrajet secondary butterfly spring question

STOP! Tell the old guy to look in the 21A and 21 Pontiac parts book which has the carburetor charts. Some of the carburetor parts are hard to find in the electronic parts catalogs like EDS and Bell and Howell (he's using one of these two).

Get your tag #, take it back to the old guy and tell him I said dust off those

76-81 Pontiac parts books, go to the back where they have an exploded view of the Q-jet which is Page 3-124 and 3-125 in the green pages of the Pontiac book I mentioned. That will help you point out what you want. Find your part on the illustration. That will give you the group #.

Now go to the white pages where they have the carburetor tag # listing. Find your tag #. Take the parts group you found in the illustration and look down the column for your tag #.

That would be your part #. NOW put that in the computer and see if it's a) available, b) superseded to something else, c) discontinued.

a) and b) are no brainers, order the part. On case c) have him check national dealer stock with a locator.

I come up with Cam kit, group #3.757 as GM #7035344 based on what he found. The illustration of the Q-jet is very clear and precise in that old parts book, so have him start there and see if he can find what you want. Make sure the cam kit is what you want by illustration.

Just because he's "old" doesn't mean he's too bright. LOL. Some of those "old" parts guys (not all of course) are lazy, old crotchety men counting down their time before fishing and retirement. LOL.

I'm not faulting the guy, but he needs to work a bit harder for ya :). Joe--ASE Certified Parts Specialist & 10th Ann.Club Tech Director '80 Carousel Red Turbo T/A, 27k orig. '79 "Y89" 400/4 speed 10th Ann. T/A, 57k orig '84 Olds 88 Royale Bgm 2 dr, 307 "Rocket" (lol), 143k and still going....

Didn't the OP say he wanted the air valve spring and NOT the cam kit?

Your best bet to finding a spring is a carb shop or salvage yard. The spring tension was made with turns of a screw so I'm willing to bet the QJet springs were all the same. If not, it could easily be adjusted to work properly.

Ditto on what he said and I've said twice now. Doug

Don't know about you guys, but I only put NOS or new on my vehicles and keep the junkyard stuff where it belongs---in the junkyard :).

Sure, used parts are fine, but who wants a 25+ year old dirty spring over a shiny new one if still available?

I NEVER let a parts person's lack of knowledge make me do what don't want. I have corrected many a parts person over the years in automotive and other industries alike.

Parts books aren't written to confuse folks at the counter---they are written so that even the "simplest" folk can use them. Joe--ASE Certified Parts Specialist & 10th Ann.Club Tech Director '80 Carousel Red Turbo T/A, 27k orig. '79 "Y89" 400/4 speed 10th Ann. T/A, 57k orig '84 Olds 88 Royale Bgm 2 dr, 307 "Rocket" (lol), 143k and still going....

True, and I've been in the GM books many times. GM usually only keeps parts for ten years. If they are fast movers they might keep them longer. Sometimes there seems to be no reason for why parts are not discontinued. I bought a new GM quarter panel for my '73 Z28 in '95.

I seriouly doubt an obscure Qjet air valve spring is available new.

Never know. The fuel pump to carburetor line for Turbo Trans Am is. So are many other "I didn't think it was still around" parts for older F cars. You'd be suprised.... Joe--ASE Certified Parts Specialist & 10th Ann.Club Tech Director '80 Carousel Red Turbo T/A, 27k orig. '79 "Y89" 400/4 speed 10th Ann. T/A, 57k orig '84 Olds 88 Royale Bgm 2 dr, 307 "Rocket" (lol), 143k and still going....

Here is how it works: GM makes parts for X number of years. Which does very by the part, some of which are the same from the 60's thru current (very few, yet some). Parts warehouses stock the parts. Dealers order inventory. It is up to the dealers how long they hold on to that inventory for.

Some dealers in this area would auction off old inventory, any more they don't. Some toss it in the trash (thankfully I know a tech or two that will dumpster dive). Yet other dealers will hold on to that inventory until it sells 25+ years later. Charles

Actually...

It works this way.

GM contracts with VENDORS that make their parts (Indak, LittleFuse, Budd Tubing, and countless THOUSANDS of others) for both production and service. What you get in the box may be leftover production parts or new runs of the parts.

GM does make some of their own parts, but that percentage has gone down over the years as suppliers shrunk and more and more got farmed out.

Their system tracks demand, source of supply, profit, cost, and other factors. If the part makes the grade, it stays. If not, it's obsoleted, or the tooling sold off to companies like OER and others who repop it based on GM blueprints.

Yes, I have gotten parts from dealers "looking to get rid of old crap". I got an NOS Power antenna for my '79 T/A this way for $25. ($250 on Ebay for this part). On the box was written, "Customer tried to return for credit. He didn't need it. If we cannot send it back, put it in the dumpster". Someone had the presence of mind to keep it and it stayed. I bought it 15 plus years later. What a find...

I also got the right NOS air canister for my TA's spare tire. The part is marked "GM mandatory scrapped" in their system. When I called the dealer, he tried to say 35 plus shipping. I told him that I knew the part was a mandatory scrap item and I'd give him $25 complete for the part, take it or leave it. It sits in my TA's trunk now. LOL.

I've picked up numerous pieces of yard equipment, toolboxes, tools, and other items (including a few cars) because people know I'm handy and get into stuff.

Shoot, I paid $35 for a 1200 psi gas power washer from a guy (who wound up being the dental hygienst's husband) because it didn't run right and was missing the gun.

My friend is a small engine dealer/repair man/parts store, and he had NOS fittings for the machine. My friend gave me a new gun for it with tips that he had saved from something else, the carburetor required $3 in gaskets to fix and a can of Gumout to clean.

I'm into the thing for $10 in parts and materials, and maybe an hour's worth of time and it runs just like it did in 1990 when it was made :).

Joe--ASE Certified Parts Specialist & 10th Ann.Club Tech Director '80 Carousel Red Turbo T/A, 27k orig. '79 "Y89" 400/4 speed 10th Ann. T/A, 57k orig '84 Olds 88 Royale Bgm 2 dr, 307 "Rocket" (lol), 143k and still going....

If you can't get any results from the dealers, contact Jon at

He's run a carb restoration (not a rebuild shop) business for years and has helped me get correct parts and tools from time to time.

Dave

I have an '87 QJet with the vacuum break mechanism. I'd like to get rid of it and use a spring mechanism (something I can adjust). Is there a kit somewhere that will make this conversion?