First of all, I don't have the complete info yet, but will soon. My Sisters Grandson has a chance to take in on trade on a motorcycle a 348 Tri-Power intake. It has the front and rear carbs, is supposed to be original ~1958 and is cast iron. Most linkage is with it...no air cleaners. I told him to get me the numbers off of it, as well as a some pictures.... Any rough idea of value on this ? ...also I assume this will fit a 409 ? Thanks for any help, as if he does this deal I will wind up selling it for him. Cheers, Bob
If the front and rear carbs are the correct ones, probably about $300-350. I actually need one for my wagon. I have seen the intakes alone go for the $100 range at local swap meets.
Bare intake isn't worth a lot. I had one for sale for 100.00 for a long time and never sold it. Front and back carbs are worth more than the intake. The intake will fit the standard port 409, not the high performance heads.
Bob I would think that they are a little pricey these days, especially if they have correct front and rear carbs. I wouldnt want to give more then say 300-500 for one the way you described but I'm am a tight bastard.
Yep, mint bare intakes go for a max of $150, usually more like $100. Having the correct (if they are in fact correct) end carbs makes it worth a little more. Look for idle screws, there should be none on the end carbs. The middle carb can be just a regular 2G Rochester, so not having that isn't a big deal. If it has the correct end carbs and is in good condition, I would say the $350 to $500 is reasonable. Don
Way off topic here but this statement reminded me of something I heard the other day that cracked me up...."That guy's so tight only dogs can hear him fart".
Uh huh, the end two carbs are just "dumpers". You essentially run off of the center carb all the time and add the two end ones when you floor it. That is when they begin to contribute. Here are true tripower bases laid out. You can see that the end ones do not have idle mixture screws on the front, and also the shaft arms are less complicated . True end carbs will also not have chokes, but will have accelerator pumps. Don
"most linkage" would make a difference depending on what that means, plus I'm not sure what they came with but there should be some kind of fuel block or at least a T fitting to split the fuel lines off to the 3 carbs, that'd make a difference too. The Pontiac ones have a special water neck just for tripower, not sure if Chevy had that. Sounds like a $400 unit give or take. Another point to make, I know the '58 heads are '58 only, so I wonder if the intake is also '58 only? I'm not sure what made the '58 heads different, but it'd be something to look into. Not sure if that would be good or bad for value or not, but it might affect interchangeability.
The intake will work on any standard head W engine. The difference in the 58 and later heads is that the 59 up have a couple of extra cooling passages around the sparplugs. Gotta keep the heads and blocks matched up unless you want to plug some passages.
Carbking posted recently, that the 58 348 tri-power carbs are different than 59-up as the 58 uses front fuel inlets, not side inlets. So, I would assume those are the same as 57-58 Olds carbs, without filters inside the inlets.
What makes a '58 head, only 58 is the early heads didn't have a water jacket around the spark plugs. The later heads did have this provision and if you try to use a later head on an early block you'll end up with water on the floor. They don't match. The intake will work on 348s across the board.
Don, those are side inlets. The ones that Carbking said were 58-348, he says they would be front inlet. I doubt I'll have time to remove a carb, but I do have a bare 348 trip intake, and a few Olds J2 setups to compare bases....I thought they should be the same base sizes. unlike the later ones in the mid 60s
I have a set of 57 J2 carbs bolted to my spare 348 intake, they appear the same with front inlets Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Chevy carbs are side feed...... Olds are front feed Here's both .....original carbs on original manifolds...... Both of these I did in house from unmolested original setups Tony
Chevrolet: 1958 (3) small carbs with front fuel inlets 1959~1961 (3) small carbs with side fuel inlets (like the ones Don and Tony pictured) 1957 Olds (3) small carbs with front inlets, F & R have vertical throttle return 1958 Olds (3) small carbs with front inlets, F & R have coil throttle return 1957 Pontiac (similiar to 1957 Olds) 1958 Pontiac (similiar to 1958 Chevy & Olds) 1958 Cadillac (similiar to 1958 Chevy, Olds, & Pontiac) All of the above are SIMILIAR (same size, different arms, different venturii, different drilling on throttle bodies). Link to 1957 Pontiac, note vertical throttle returns (same on 1957 Olds), and front inlets: http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/1957passengerside3x2.jpg Jon.
Thanks for the J2 info, Jon. I have a bunch i need to look at now. Some of mine have the vertical springs, but not all of them. I never noticed the coil returns before, that I can recall.
Found it: <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr height="14"><td align="RIGHT" width="32">1961</td><td align="RIGHT" width="24">8</td><td align="RIGHT" width="38">394</td><td width="5"> </td><td width="136">AC</td><td width="64">Rochester</td><td width="92">2-GC</td><td align="RIGHT" width="52">7019058</td><td align="RIGHT" width="151"> </td></tr></tbody></table>
Ah, you are not trying hard enough I tried google and got a hit on Jon's ID page on his website: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR height=14><TD align=right width=32>1961</TD><TD align=right width=24>8</TD><TD align=right width=38>394</TD><TD width=5> </TD><TD width=136>AC</TD><TD width=64>Rochester</TD><TD width=92>2-GC</TD><TD align=right width=52>7019058</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Edit, you DID try harder
Clean it up, paint it up, polish it up so people can see how nice the intake and linkage looks. Then get some low dollar chrome air cleaners on the carbs. Then if it looks pretty good (which it should), run an ad stating the carbs need rebuild and ask $850.00 I have seen setups like this go for $1500.00 in "A1" condition. My advice cost NOTHING and that is exactly what it's worth. Specs