Vintage Musclecar Parts

08/30/2026

I've said it before and I'll say it again--oftentimes a perceived carb problem is actually in the ignition system.

I got a call from a client a week or so back about a stalling issue they were having with a QJet I'd serviced for them not too long ago.

The car was a new build and was recently completed, and they were having an issue with it sputtering and stalling after a relatively short run time--basically just long enough for the engine to come up to full temp. As soon as it cooled off it would fire right back up again.

As I've been down this exact road more times than I can count, I inquired as to what ignition system the car was running. It had a factory distributor with a popular aftermarket points eliminator kit--as I suspected.

It took a bit of prodding, but I finally convinced them to either swap the distributor for one with points, or temporarily reinstall the points in the existing distributor.

Below is their follow-up email (edited for privacy):

Subject: Qjet

Message Body:

"Eric, I talked to you yesterday about the stalling issues I was having. I took your advice and put points back in my distributor. It seems fine so far. It had to be a bad module in the breakerless SE electronic system I had.

Thanks ###"

Again, this is definitely not my first rodeo.

Thankfully this one was a relatively easy one to resolve.

08/27/2026

I remember the day and exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

With music being one of my top 3 passions (and with SRV being one of my primary guitar influences), that news hit really hard.

To this day, his music (and blues music in general) is a double-edged sword to me. The line between joy and grief can be surprisingly narrow.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19GXQfvWTA/

RIP Stevie Ray Vaughan — Passed Away on This Day in 1990
⠀
Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stephen Ray Vaughan) (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was one of the greatest and most influential electric guitarists of all time. With his extraordinary tone, ferocious attack, remarkable technique, and deep connection to the blues, Vaughan revitalized blues guitar during the 1980s and inspired generations of players around the world.
⠀
With Double Trouble, Vaughan created landmark albums including Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand the Weather, Soul to Soul, and In Step. Performances such as Pride and Joy, Texas Flood, Cold Shot, Scuttle Buttin', Lenny, and his breathtaking interpretation of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) demonstrated a guitarist capable of combining enormous power with exceptional sensitivity and control.
⠀
On August 27, 1990, Vaughan was killed at just 35 years old when the helicopter carrying him from Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Wisconsin crashed shortly after takeoff. Today, on the anniversary of his tragic passing, we remember an extraordinary musician whose influence on blues and rock guitar remains immeasurable.

08/26/2026

Hollley LIST 4557 for Hans Littooy's '70 L78 396/375 Camaro.

This one came in for a full restoration.

Ink stamps will be added now that live testing is done, the ink will wash off during post test cleaning if the stamps are applied beforehand.

08/25/2026

A quick cheat sheet for Melling and/or Elgin small block and big block Chevy factory performance replacement camshafts:

1966 L79 327/325 and 327/350:
Melling 22200

1967-1969 302 Z28 "346" or "30-30":
Elgin E-901-P
Melling 22410

1970 LT1 350/360 (Camaro/Nova), 350/370 (Corvette):
Elgin E-904-P

1966-1970 L72 396/375, L78 427/425 and LS6 454/450:
Elgin E-905-P
Melling 22396

To the best of my knowledge, these are true "blueprint" camshafts an not "modernized" profiles with a deceptive nostalgic name.

Speed Pro/Sealed Power also offered these at one time, but I've no experience with them nor do I know if they are still in production.

Enginetech also offers at least a few of these grinds as well, but my personal experiences with Enginetech products have not been positive, so I can not personally recommend them.

$1.00 worth of free advice re: `67-`69 302 Z28 engines:

The factory 346/30-30 camshaft was way too big for this engine and gives up considerable lower RPM performance and driveability for a modest upper rpm power increase.

Consider the following: Only 1 year later, Chevrolet went to the 350 LT1--a larger displacement engine, but at the same time they also reduced the cam timing on the intake side but retained the same exhaust lobe as the 346 camshaft. That should tell you something--not to mention the LT1 was/is definitely no slouch.

If you're dead set on 100% originality, then the 346 cam is your obvious choice. However, if you'd like considerably improved street manners with a similar idle and only a slight loss in upper RPM power, I strongly advise going to the 1970 "178" LT1 camshaft.

Going with ANY bigger cam in a 302 is the fastest way to a miserable driving experience for anything that's on the street.

If you're lucky enough to find a NOS CRANE blueprint cam of any of the above, you've hit the jackpot.

Regarding lifters: For solid flat tappet installations, I consider an EDM lifter absolutely mandatory such as Crower 66900X980-16 or a quality equivalent, that's non-optional.

For a hydraulic flat tappet, I strongly advise a Crower 66000X3-16 "cool face" lifter or a quality equivalent.

Yes, you can find cheaper versions of these lifters, but IMO lifters (or valvetrain components in general) are the LAST place you want to try to pinch pennies.

Take the above for whatever it's worth to you--or not worth to you.

08/24/2026

Yes, I deleted the last post.

I'm tired of trying to help.

Learn your own lessons the hard way. I tried.

08/24/2026

Wrap-up on the jimmied-up Holley metering block;

Note that this was not an original '67 dated carb, it was a late service replacement that had little use--for what now should be obvious reasons. They came in for a full restoration btw.

The double-stamp ID on the block identified it as being a service replacement unit, original blocks (up to around late 1970 anyways) only had the metering block ID number stamped on them, "5257" in this instance as the application was a '67 427/400HP car with a Power Powerglide transmission.

Since it also had "3888" stamped below the ID number, that denoted it as having come from a service 3888 unit. Fwiw, the 5257 block was only used on the'67-'69 427/400HP Powerglide installations, '67 utilizing a 3888 Holley and '68-'69 utilizing a LIST 4056.

With that cleared up...

I wound up fabbing up an aluminum plug from a section of dowel rod. I measured the depth, cut it to a little longer than the required length, then drilled the discharge passage through the center of the plug and pressed it into the metering block (slight interference fit). I trimmed it to length with an end mill and verified the function before reassembling the carb.

08/22/2026

Carter 4034 for Tom McGinley '66 389 GTO.

Tom originally sent in a Carter 4248 which he'd been running on the car, but that carb is for a '66 Tempest with a 326 and California emissions which is definitely not ideal for a 389.

We sourced this core from everyone's favorite auction site and had it shipped in. Aside from being quite crusty, it was actually a surprisingly nice carb and appears to be a relatively low mileage unit as the primary throttle shaft didn't even need to be bushed.

It took several trips through the clean line to get the gack off of it, but the end result was worth the effort.

The reason it's mounted backwards on the test engine is because my fuel line won't reach the driver's side rear corner of the carb where the fuel inlet is located.

08/21/2026

PSA;

Over the last few months I've had someone (whom I've not done business with previously) inquire about a carb I have available. I'll let you figure out the demographic as to what the carb fits, the following should make that relatively evident.

They requested pics of the carb and my asking price which I of course provided. They replied that they were interested but the price was a bit out of their range, which is fine, I completely understand that.

I replied that I would consider a reasonable offer.

They replied back with a serious lowball offer--and I mean serious lowball.

That's not a way to get on my good side. At all.

As it was clear we were too far apart, I didn't bother with a counter-offer.

Recently they again inquired about the same carb, but in a bit of a left-handed manner. (I'll leave it at that)

I replied with another offer slightly below my original, and provided a link to a very similar unit that had recently sold on everyone's favorite auction site--for the exact same price I'd originally quoted them the first time they'd inquired about the carb.

They again replied with a *slightly* less objectionable offer--BUT!!--they also wanted me to cover shipping (in this instance well over $100.00) AND make the transaction "off the books" so they could avoid paying their state sales tax on the purchase.

Suffice it to say that's NOT going to happen. I bit my tongue (figuratively speaking), politely declined their offer and left it at that.

If you haven't yet figured out the demographic, you haven't been following this page for long.

Sadly, issues like this continue to present themselves to me with this specific demographic despite the rather drastic measures I *temporarily* took a few years ago that made a dramatic improvement in said situation--and left a significant portion of said demographic with a notable case of butt-hurt amongst their "upper echelon" (sic).

My patience and tolerance has not improved since then...and I'm once again considering implementing the same measures I did previously--but this time it would close the door on this entire demographic--including existing clients--for good.

I do not suffer fools gladly. I'm too old for this bu****it.