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National Carb $160.00 BBD replacement review

34K views 184 replies 26 participants last post by  jeepdog571 
#1 ·
Well I broke down and bought a NEW carb from National Carburetor to replace the BBD I rebuilt.

Mine was having some problems with the idle and needles popping out of the main jets and hanging up. I think it was too much cross matching parts from different BBD's I have laying around.

So when I heard about EMI's $160 BBD I had to try it out.

I ordered one for a 1980 Jeep 258. My engine is really a 76 258 with a 84 Intake and exhaust. Figured no sense getting the one with the stepper motor if I don't need it. And I have a 1980 motor I'm keeping as a spare.

My old carb would idle at 18 inHg @ 800 RPM when it was working otherwise it would kick and stumble dropping to 15-16 inHg.

Doing nothing but bolting on the new carb gave me 19 inHg at 1100 RPM.

After a little tweaking I got it down to 20 inHg @ 800 RPM.

The only trouble was the throttle stuck after installing the carb. The new carb came with a thinner spacer and the original springs would not pull down the throttle at idle. A new spring fixed that all right.

The original idle mixture screws were about 5 turns out with hardly no effect on idle but it was idling high. Dropping the idle down and turning in the screws to about 1-1/2 out turns made it sweet. Mixture was fully adjustable from rich to lean.



No Carter Name here


Bottom of Venturi matches the throttle bore. The Carter BBD does NOT.



Vacuum and idle speed without touching a thing


Top View. I wonder if they really put these on a dyno as the tag says


Total Itme to remove and install the new carb. 31 min...

Result, I'm happy. It runs without worrying if it's going to keep running past the next stop sign.

Need to run a long term test though. See if I'm still happy next month.

I took videos of the whole install if anyone is interested.....
 
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#3 ·
Thanks for sharing John. I'm thinking of going to them for a new YF for my Jeep. I would be interested in your install video.
 
#6 ·
Glad to see these are a good replacement! I just purchased a brand new NOS real Carter BBD pre-stepper from Allstate Carburetor and am anxious to see how it performs when I get my build done. I think I got the last one they had as the site now says "Call for availability" and it didn't say that before I ordered.
 
#7 ·
I've been interested in these carbs as well. Been mulling over the idea to replace my current genuine Weber 32/36 with a Weber 38DGS or a Carter type from National Carburetor.

While the Weber 32/36 runs good, it isn't great. A little to small for a 258 engine that is bored 0.30 over but gives decent gas mileage. And I figured since I already have the setup to use the factory air cleaner assembly, I would just purchase a Weber 38 but the fuel inlet is on the other side.

Going back to the stock Carter carb would lower my air cleaner assembly back down 1 inch to where it is suppose to be and I have a stainless fuel tube made for it from the filter to the carb. The tube has a drop loop incorporated into it so fuel is available between long periods of startup. This was always a problem with the Weber carbs rubber hose connections.

Couple of questions:
Is the EMI's a Chinese knockoff of the Carter?
Was it part # ND 2910 that you ordered?
What would be the difference between the ND 2910 for 1980 model year and the ND 2912 for the 1981-1984 model years W/Out the stepper motor?

Just saw your video and will say "God Bless You".... I heard you sneeze I think.
 
#9 ·
I've been interested in these carbs as well. Been mulling over the idea to replace my current genuine Weber 32/36 with a Weber 38DGS or a Carter type from National Carburetor.

While the Weber 32/36 runs good, it isn't great. A little to small for a 258 engine that is bored 0.30 over but gives decent gas mileage. And I figured since I already have the setup to use the factory air cleaner assembly, I would just purchase a Weber 38 but the fuel inlet is on the other side.

Going back to the stock Carter carb would lower my air cleaner assembly back down 1 inch to where it is suppose to be and I have a stainless fuel tube made for it from the filter to the carb. The tube has a drop loop incorporated into it so fuel is available between long periods of startup. This was always a problem with the Weber carbs rubber hose connections.

Couple of questions:
Is the EMI's a Chinese knockoff of the Carter?
Was it part # ND 2910 that you ordered?
What would be the difference between the ND 2910 for 1980 model year and the ND 2912 for the 1981-1984 model years W/Out the stepper motor?

Just saw your video and will say "God Bless You".... I heard you sneeze I think.
I really don't know were the carb was made but I didn't see one of the familiar Carter numbers or ID's cast into the housing. I didn't want to open it up yet...
Usually a knock off will have some differences from the original but these seem like you can just about interchange parts from these to an original.

I watched their video of old carbs being cleaned and tumbled but I doubt if that would of removed the castings. I wonder if you can order a rebuilt Carter BBD from them.

I got the #2910 because I have on old 1980 engine as backup but interesting. It should of had an hot air choke but this one came with an electric choke. My 1980 engine still has the cast iron intake manifold.

I would think that the 81-84 would have the electric choke.

You can always call them and ask.
 
#8 ·
John,

As you know, I recommend National Carbs a lot. If your BBD is anything like my Q-jet from them, I think you will too.

I also found their customer service to be excellent. They jetted my carb for elevation, for no extra charge. When I installed it, and started tinkering with it, I felt the secondaries were a little rich, so I called National carbs and they sent me leaner metering rods, again no charge.

Also, I do believe they run their carbs on a dyno. Mine had a distinct smell of fuel straight from the box.

Matt
 
#14 ·
I just ordered the ND 2912 today for 1981-86 Jeep CJ's.

It was $209.95 without core. After reading their warranty and core return policy, I do not think I can give them my OEM Carter as a core exchange since the ND 2912 is a carburetor without the Stepper Motor. My original is a Stepper Motor model and the core MUST BE exactly what core was sold.

I called them and they confirmed the return core must be of same one sold, no exceptions!
 
#18 ·
I ordered a rebuilt Rochester 2 bbl. for my DJ5L, '82 AM General 151 2.5L, from National Carb. in Jacksonville, Fl. They were a little slow in shipping it as it didn't pass the dyno test on the first try. The guy on the phone told me on a Tuesday they were going to rebuild it again, and according the the UPS tracking, they shipped it to me on the next Thursday.

When I got it, it was an exact copy of the original carb. that I had. Easy installation, and everything hooked up with no mods necessary. It even had a new fuel filter installed in the inlet. I got it cranked easily, and had to adjust the idle down as it was set to about 1100 rpm. The 2 things I had to do to it was use a screwdriver to slightly bend a choke linkage rod that was hanging just a little, and as this carb has a "fixed" adjustable electric choke, I had to dremel a little notch off of the choke mounting surface to be able to put a little more choke into it when it was cold.

After I did the above tweaks, I have been very happy with it. Runs much smoother, cranks much easier, fuel mileage, about the same.

I saved the original box and shipped the core back to Nat. Carb., and they promptly credited my CC for the $40 core.

The only thing I can say that I was a little miffed about is they charged me about $7.50 for the box and packing material that it was shipped in. It was not required that I ship it back in the same box and use the same shipping material, but it was really convenient to do so. I would recommend them for there products.
 
#19 ·
I went and looked at their website and it looks like what they are selling is a REMANUFACTURED Carter, I see no mention of NEW.


I know there's several vendors out there that you can buy the new Carter look-a-like that's pictured and they range in price from the $160 mentioned here up towards $300.


I'll pick one up this fall to put on my plow Jeep and see how it goes. For my driver build I'll be running a brand new real Carter that I picked up recently from Allstate Carburetor.
 
#20 ·
I went and looked at their website and it looks like what they are selling is a REMANUFACTURED Carter, I see no mention of NEW.

I know there's several vendors out there that you can buy the new Carter look-a-like that's pictured and they range in price from the $160 mentioned here up towards $300.

I'll pick one up this fall to put on my plow Jeep and see how it goes. For my driver build I'll be running a brand new real Carter that I picked up recently from Allstate Carburetor.
i Really think this is a look-a-like as there is no Carter name or model numbers anywhere.

But we'll see how well the look-a-like works and lasts.
 
#21 ·
I will be following this thread for sure. It is nice to see someone still servicing our old equipment.
 
#24 ·
Same here, paid with payPal.
No order confirmation or notice of expected ship date. Wasn't even sure they got my mail address. just a receipt from payPal
I called them to be sure they had the order. It doesn't leave you with any warm fuzzy feeling.

But about a week later it was on my doorstep all ready to go ...

definitely could use some modern order confirmation system, even if it was an email or something.
If your payPal address is different than your home address, i guess you could be in a little trouble.
 
#27 ·
Just ordered mine a few days ago............2 things made the sale for me.......saying it is actually checked and ran on a real engine.......and that it is recalibrated for todays fuels ........

Same story here.....no confirmation and no ship notification.....we will see when it appears......went for the lifetime warranty for few bucks more....figured it might make them go the extra mile on it.
 
#31 ·
and that it is recalibrated for todays fuels ........
What would this mean to me as I'm only running non-eth fuel at this point? I have two stations close by with this. Then there's always the high possibility will need eth gas on the road somewhere.

Thinking it may be easier and cheaper to do a carb swap rather than fiddle with unknown history of my recent acquisition. It's got random misses during idle, and I'll tinker a bit after more pressing projects right now.
 
#29 ·
Keith,

Is this the tube that you where referring to in your first post? If so, is it your original, or is it a new tube that you purchased from inline tube?

Motor vehicle Machine tool Automotive wheel system Gas Engineering


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#30 ·
Keith,

Is this the tube that you where referring to in your first post? If so, is it your original, or is it a new tube that you purchased from inline tube?
Yes, and I have both. The original one and a new one I purchased.

The drop loop stops gas from draining out after sitting for awhile and allows the engine to start-up quicker. I hope I still have those two vapor vacuum hoses attached to the old Carter as I believe they do not come with the new carb.

Good news on my end, my wife sent me a picture of the package that arrived yesterday from National Carb. New carb has arrived so it looks like I will be installing this weekend. Need to get a few parts for the manifold in order to convert back to OEM from the Weber 32/36.
 
#35 ·
John,
Thanks for the write up. I'm not at this point in my restore yet but will hang onto the thread for when I get there. I was planning to have my original carter carb rebuilt. I'm fortunate to have a local carb rebuilder where I'm at, so I'm going that route first. We will see how it goes, but if it doesn't go well I have this thread. Thanks again.

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