BB 69 396 L34 Carb 7029215

[HawkX66]

What do you guys have to say about this carb? There doesn't seem to be a date stamp on it which would lead me to believe it's an early 69 version, but there is also no date on the base plate. That could have been replaced, but I thought the early ones had the part number more centered (7029215). This one is stamped like it was going to get a date stamp, but it was missed or forgotten. Is that possible? Ever heard of it?
My understanding is the "R" stamp in red meant it was an assembly line piece. It looks pretty original to me, but I'm no expert. What do you think about it's value?

Thanks for any comments.

[bertfam]

Dave, is that the same carburetor from THIS THREAD?

My understanding is the "R" stamp in red meant it was an assembly line piece.

I've never heard that before and I've seen a lot of original carburetors without a red R, so I doubt that's correct.

But I'm also wondering if those base plates with the funky stamp are service replacements. It "could" be (not saying it is, but COULD be) some kind of inspection stamp for the base plate itself. Just another mystery we'll probably never figure out!

As for value, that's hard to say. It looks complete but worn, so it would have to be restored for sure, and that's going to cost a few bucks! Are you looking to buy it or sell it?

Ed

[HawkX66]

Dave, is that the same carburetor from THIS THREAD?

My understanding is the "R" stamp in red meant it was an assembly line piece.

I've never heard that before and I've seen a lot of original carburetors without a red R, so I doubt that's correct.

But I'm also wondering if those base plates with the funky stamp are service replacements. It "could" be (not saying it is, but COULD be) some kind of inspection stamp for the base plate itself. Just another mystery we'll probably never figure out!

As for value, that's hard to say. It looks complete but worn, so it would have to be restored for sure, and that's going to cost a few bucks! Are you looking to buy it or sell it?

Ed

Thanks Ed. I did buy it. I knew it would need a resto, but I liked the fact that it all seemed pretty original. Even with a resto, I should have less than $1,000 into it. I keep seeing them for $1,200.00 +. The Corvette guys keep killing the price on me lol. If I can find one with a decent date for my 69, I'll just flip this one. If I find someone that wants this one, I'd probably sell it too.
There were a couple of things missing on my original motor that I've been trying to replace over time. The carb was stolen off the motor back in the 80s from my backyard. The motor is just sitting in the corner of my garage under cover, but I'd like to have all the details complete if I decide to put it back in some day.

[HawkX66]

I went back and looked at some comments about the carbs and it said the "EH and the R were assembly line pick codes." Has anyone seen any known replacement carbs and did they have the EH stamped?

[bertfam]

Dave, EH is the broadcast code and that's what was used as the "pick" code. This is listed on the Chassis Broadcast copy under box 155 (1967 and 1968) or box 176 (1969). See example below for a 1967 Camaro SS-350 (DH code).

Where did you read about the R? I see no reason to stamp a carburetor with a red R since it would already have the broadcast code.

Yes, later service replacements could still have the broadcast code stamp, but most don't.

Ed

[bcmiller]

Dave you should have taken me up on my offer for that Quarajet from a Chevy pickup that was date close to what you needed.  Wouldn't have had the right numbers - but it would have looked original from 5 feet away - and it might have been a whole $25 plus shipping. 

[HawkX66]

Dave, EH is the broadcast code and that's what was used as the "pick" code. This is listed on the Chassis Broadcast copy under box 155 (1967 and 1968) or box 176 (1969). See example below for a 1967 Camaro SS-350 (DH code).

Where did you read about the R? I see no reason to stamp a carburetor with a red R since it would already have the broadcast code.

Yes, later service replacements could still have the broadcast code stamp, but most don't.

Ed

I just noticed you asked if it was the one from the other thread. It was.
The info I got on the R, was something over on Yenko.net. I'll see if I can get some info about where they got their info from. Might just be internet info...

Dave you should have taken me up on my offer for that Quarajet from a Chevy pickup that was date close to what you needed.  Wouldn't have had the right numbers - but it would have looked original from 5 feet away - and it might have been a whole $25 plus shipping. 

Thanks Bryon. I appreciate that, but I have several including a 7029201 that's nearly identical. This was just a case of me wanting the correct numbers in case I wanted to go full tilt original resto someday.

[bcmiller]

No problem.

[JoeC]

does it have the plastic choke fast idle cam lever?
I see the plastic lever on original assembly line Q-jets but replacement carbs have a metal lever.

[HawkX66]

Thanks Joe. It looks like it has the plastic lever.

[bertfam]

Dave, looks like yours was never modified for the 69-C-6 PRODUCT CAMPAIGN! That black cam "should" have been replaced with the 7038844 blue cam. Or IS it blue and just turning old? From the picture it appears to be black, but that could be due to the age of the cam, my monitor colors and my crappy eyes!

Ed

[HawkX66]

Dave, looks like yours was never modified for the 69-C-6 PRODUCT CAMPAIGN! That black cam "should" have been replaced with the 7038844 blue cam. Or IS it blue and just turning old? From the picture it appears to be black, but that could be due to the age of the cam, my monitor colors and my crappy eyes!

Ed

Awesome info Ed. Thanks! It's definitely black. Makes this even more odd to me that it doesn't seem to have a date stamp. I'm sure it's possible the base plate was swapped, but the "patina" of it is nearly or is identical to the rest of the carb. I would think it strange to have changed that out and not have the cam fixed also.
Without question, this one is very early it seems.

[HawkX66]

I just got some new info. Here's what the original commenter said about it. Seems legit, but I don't know how you'd confirm it without talking to someone that was on the line at Rochester?

"if you have both in your hand, its hard to tell..but if you read the side of the carbs it either says "rochester quadrajet" or "quadrajet by carter"...
since GM used both Rochester and Carter q-jets..the big R is an identifier to help assy workers to choose the right carb for the application ..its not either or..its to choose the correct one and how that was determined isnt clear..or no one has told me in a way i that ibelieve it"

[bertfam]

No, that's not correct. The guy on the engine dress line could care less if it was a Rochester built Q-Jet or a Carter built Q-Jet. He grabbed a carburetor based on what was indicated on the chassis broadcast copy (EH in this case), and installed it on the engine. A big red R would mean nothing to him.

I've seen a TON of original Q-Jets over the years and can't remember see ANY of them with a red R. A better explanation would be that it meant Rebuilt or Refurbished!

Ed

[HawkX66]

No, that's not correct. The guy on the engine dress line could care less if it was a Rochester built Q-Jet or a Carter built Q-Jet. He grabbed a carburetor based on what was indicated on the chassis broadcast copy (EH in this case), and installed it on the engine. A big red R would mean nothing to him.

I've seen a TON of original Q-Jets over the years and can't remember see ANY of them with a red R. A better explanation would be that it meant Rebuilt or Refurbished!

Ed

I dunno Ed. I've seen a million qjets too, but not too many early 69s. I'm just wondering if it has something to do with it being such an early 69 carb. I guess it really wouldn't be any different than a 68 though. Maybe it's R for refurb, but how would that work with the fact that it has the black plastic cam? If that means it's a production line piece, I seriously doubt they're putting refurb carbs on production cars.
Something to also think about. The carb would have to be disassembled, or at least the carb linkage would have to be off, to be able to stamp it where it is.

[KurtS]

I've never seen repairs noted like that. Maybe a little paint mark......

Whatever it was for, it wasn't common.  The stamp doesn't fit in the area very well. And that's paint, not ink. The paint stays around a lot longer and yet noone has seen it before...

[bertfam]

Well, I contacted Lars Grimsrud about this and here's his reply. (He gave me permission to post his reply but only if I added that "This is only an educated opinion on my part since I have no factual information to back it up".)

I've rebuilt over 700 of these carbs, and many of them have been original, untouched carbs. I've never seen a red "R" on any carb, and I agree with your comment that there is no way that it's a pick code for the assembly line worker to install a "Rochester" carb.  They wouldn't have cared, since the Rochester and Carter built carbs were used interchangeably. I've never seen a true Rochester carb with an "R" code.  It's more likely that it's an inspection stamp or an indication that the carb may have been "reworked" after some issue was found on the line.

As for MY opinion, when I worked at Oak Systems in the late 1970's, early 1980's manufacturing cable TV converter boxes, we did something similar. If a box failed the final test, it was reworked, tested and then shipped if it passed the tests. The technician that reworked the box, stamped their inspection stamp on the bottom of the box and it was noted in the boxes history sheet that it failed the initial test and had to be reworked. We kept history sheets on every box made in case it came back for warranty replacement. This gave us a way to track problems.

I believe that your carburetor failed a test at the Rochester plant, had to be reworked, then re-tested and finally shipped to one of the vehicle assembly plants. At some point during the rework/final testing phase, it was stamped with the red R to indicate it had been reworked. Kurt has stated that it's paint and not ink, and it DOES look like the PTB ink stamps Norwood used on the firewall, so he's probably right. Either way, it's rare!

I also contend that the strange code stamped on the base plate is an indicator that the base plate itself was replaced. (This also explains why there's no date stamped on it.) The code is probably the reworker's stamp or perhaps an inspection stamp.

Again, this is only MY opinion but Lars did agree that it made sense. But without a LOT more carbs showing up with a red R, and/or that funky stamp on the base plate, we may never know for sure.

By the way, if you're not familiar with Lars, do a Google search and you'll find he's probably (in my opinion), THE leading authority on the Rochester Q-jet! He even has a WIKI PAGE!!

Ed

[HawkX66]

Thanks Ed. I have definitely heard of Lars ,but I'm surprised to see him say he's never seen one with the R. We've been talking about this over on Yenko.net also. Check out this link. There are pics of several original qjets with the same stamp. Your theory about being reworked is very plausible IMO. I've worked on several electronics assembly lines when I was young. Whistler was one. We wouldn't scrap a unit if it just needed to be recalibrated or something.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=793522&highlight=ink+stamp

http://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1352046#post1352046

[bcmiller]

I have never seen a red R like that before. I have dozens of 67-74 Quadrajets. I have had hundreds in my hands and seen with my own eyes.

There is a carb restorer from Denver that I see once in a while. If I remember I will ask him in June.

[bertfam]

I can't comment on other divisions since I know very little about what was done over there, but from the posts it seems like it was more common to see the R on RAM air cars!! I don't buy the "prototype" theory though. I still believe it's probably something to do with reworking a carb that failed final QA.

But again, these are all just theories and until we find some kind of documentation stating what it is, it's all just guessing.

Ed

[HawkX66]

I can't comment on other divisions since I know very little about what was done over there, but from the posts it seems like it was more common to see the R on RAM air cars!! I don't buy the "prototype" theory though. I still believe it's probably something to do with reworking a carb that failed final QA.

But again, these are all just theories and until we find some kind of documentation stating what it is, it's all just guessing.

Ed

Agreed on all accounts. After seeing the pics of all the ones with the date stamped and on production cars, the prototype theory I'd have to say is busted for sure. I'm just glad to see it's not just on my carb like it might have been done by an a/m rebuilder or something. I'd still like to dig some more and see what turns up.