Mystery R2 Carb... any ideas of what or why?

[bige]

Cheaper than you think. I paid less than $60 with shipping and if you look at the completed listings on ebay there aren't many high dollar Chevy Carbs. The tops have nothing to go bad so you can buy a wreck of a carb and still get what you need.

I think carbs are still "mysteries" to a lot of people and if it isn't shiny and brand new they go cheaply, except for the R2 AFB's. I bought a Edelbrock 650 Thunder Series on ebay for $75 a few years ago. It had some grease on it and bent throttle linkage. It would have been a great deal except after I straightened the linkage I was checking it and it flipped out of my hands and landed on the front fender of the Avanti parked some 3 feet away. Ripped through the cover and put a 2 inch gouge in the fiberglass. So, altogether the carb cost me about the same as a new one $400 bucks. BTW, I have it on my El Camino now, never even opened it up.

ErnieR

[bige]

Here's a usable top on a Corvette carb on ebay...http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/65-CO...Q5fAccessories

I was mistaken in saying the tops are identical. There's one hole in the back ( see picture ) that would need to be plugged. I would fill it with Alumalloy and then glass bead the top. Anyway, picture of my real R2 top and Corvette top side by side, only the most astute observer would have to notice the hole filled in the back to tell the difference.

I see that all 3721 SB Corvette carbs for sale do not have the same top. See the picture of the carb looking straight down. It's those four holes alongside the vent tubes that are present on R1's but not R2's.

Also, the choke heat tube, the 1.5" tube coming off the back is pinched shut on an R2 left open you would send boost to the choke.




ErnieR