| Impala Carburetor Rebuild |
My Impala has a 283cid small block V-8. It was equipped with a 2-barrel carburetor, Rochester 2GV. It had been rebuilt at least once previously from looking at the screws. The following pictures show the carburetor as it was originally, was removed, and disassembed. Then how it was cleaned and reassembled and finally reinstalled.
This was the third carburetor I have rebuilt. The first two were a pair from a '63 Corvair, but that was a long time ago. I took the pictures in case I could not figure out how something went back together. I didn't need them, but it is a record of what I did.
The problem was that the thing leaked gasoline. It leaked from the fuel filter. It leaked along the cover to float bowl seal. The car ran well at speed, but did not start well. From a cold start, it required quite a bit of pumping. From a hot start, it was usually flooded and was quite likely to stall unless the throttle was kept open. My garage is attached to the house, and after returning from a drive, the house soon smelled of gasoline. This was something that needed to be fixed.
I bought a cheap rebuild kit from NAPA. The Rochester 2G, 2GV and 2GC carburetors have been used for years. The rebuild kit included instructions for installations for the mid-50's until the late-70's. It also was popular in marine applications.
The rebuild process is pretty simple:
This particular version of the 2GV was warmed by exhaust gases flowing throught a passage at the base of the carburetor. From the looks of the gasket, I think the exhaust passage was leaking into the intake. There was also a lot of carbon buildup, which I cleaned out. The front mounting studs are in this passage, and the passenger side stud was clearly eroded. The studs are sealed with copper washers. These were quite distorted. I pounded them flat, but they still leaked upon installation. It required an extra tightening to be sure they were no longer leaking. My fear was that I would break one of the studs.
She is a lot better than she was. On a cold start, one pump to set the choke and it starts right off. No more pumping, no more cranking. From a warm start, same thing. She really starts quick now. There is a little hesitation on acceleration from a stop, but I have not looked at the ignition system yet.
The final pictures under the hood show a 38 year old vehicle that has been treated well, but is unrestored. She has been a driver and maintained with great care to that end, but she is not show quality for sure.
