Need Carburator

[Ruben]

Anybody knows where I can get a Thermoquad Carburetor for my 77 Clipper?
Has anybody replaced theirs and want to sell me the old one?
The previews owner replaced it with a Edelbrock and tossed the original. I'm trying to  recondition my 77 Clipper as close to original as possible.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Ruben

[Den]

I may have one, I'll take a look this weekend.

Dennis

[junebob]

Ruben-
Thermoquad Carbs. - There are several articles on this web sight concerning ThermoQuads and Replacement carbs.     Also in the older news letters there is a wealth of information on the subject. I personally am an advocate of a PROPERLY PROFESSIONALLY REMANUFACTURED Thermo quad. Other than newer racing equipment, properbly prepared units, I know of none of the substitutes that will work better than the origonal QUAD.     Bob  # 10

[Ruben]

Thanks everybody, but I've already found one through Dave at www.thermoquads.com. Dave seems to be very competent and knowledgeable on thermoquads.
Best regards
Ruben

[cat]

Hi Ruben #456

 If you get a rebuilt TQ from Dave's, Please let us know how satified you are.  A stock rebuild using your core is $175.00 and he claims a possible increase of, Gulp!, 15 horsepower and 2/3 mpg increase.  That's a mighty claim.  Again, please let us know.  (The heck with the hp.increase, I'd be happy with the mileage gain.)

[junebob]

Thermoquads.
Dave at thermoquads .com sounds to good to be true.Hopefully this is not the normal "If it's to good to be true,IT IS "    situation.We on the websight are waiting anxiously on this one.Bob #10

[Horst]

Hate to pile on the "negative" karma here - but an increase in 2 to 3 miles per gallon, AND at the same time an increase of 15 horsepower is virtually impossible without EXTENSIVE adjustments to other parts of the engine/drivetrain - and even then, in my humble opinion - highly unlikely - unless the unit was running horribly, and only getting 5 or so miles a gallon (I've seen em that bad folks...) well then an increase in horsepower and mpg in the range claimed by this rebuilder are probably attainable.

But to take a 440 Dodge that is running good, and getting 7 to 8 mpg, and say that after this rebuild it will get it 9 to 11 mpg - and increased horsepower - I have trouble with that - physics don't add up.

On another note - my Edelbrock carb is FAR superior to my OEM Carter - which was a two barrel - and the jets on those Carters are huge - so you burn a lot of gas simply idling. On my Edelbrock - the primaries are smaller and more eficient - so if you cruise easy and stay out of the secondaries - you're mileage is indeed much better - in my case about 1.5+ mpg improvement overall.

[Den]

I just had to give this one a try, since I had the stocker kicking around. Will let you know. Dave is rebuilding as we speak.

Dennis

[Tyler Hoodenpyle]

JuneBob, have you had any work done on Thermoquad in the Portland, OR area?  I live in Vancouver and don't know of any around...

Tyler
ACOC #3441

[Ruben]

First report on my new carburetor.
I received the carburetor a week after the day Dave promised it.
Installed it today, and run great! all I had to do was adjust the idle down a little bit. So far it's running so much better than the old carburetor, with plenty of power and no hesitation. I'll report later on road performance and mileage.
Ruben

[Ruben]

After 1,123 miles using 142 gallons, my rig is getting very close to 8 miles to the gallon.
I can tell you I'm Happy, not only with the gas mileage, but with the performance. It climbed so much better than before.
I don't know what Dave did to this carburetor, but I'm really happy with my Clipper now.
I think Dave's claims have some merit!

[Horst]

Thanks for the report Ruben.
8 mpg is pretty darn good for a 440 Clipper  -  with the 4.11 rear end and the weight we carry around - you'll be hard pressed to improve on that without gear splitters, etc.
How fast do you typically cruise on the freeway?

[Den]

I should have my DAVE'S carb back this week, and hopefully installed this weekend.

Den

P.S= Are gear splitters really that great ? :?

[Horst]

There's arguments both for and against them.
You'll have to drive your Clipper about 72,000 mostly highway miles to get a "return" on your investment. This is an in my head, very rough estimate, based on:
-Gas - $2.00/gal
-Gear Splitter from Gear Vendors (www.gearvendors.com) - about $3,800 (the unit, tax, installation)
-An improvement of 1.5 miles per gallon at highway speeds

That being said - if I had the money - and I was taking my Clipper on my dream "see the USA" journey, and there will be many days where I'd be logging 400-500 miles per day on our nation's great highways - heck yeah I'd get one! Not so much for the mpg gains - but for the RPM drop of 22% at the same speed - saves a bit of wear and tear on the drive train (although this is in fact a point of contention, because you move out of the sweet spot of the torque curve, etc. - some of the gear-heads here will comment on this I'm sure.)
In any case - you would drop about 600rpms - so if you're normally cruising at about 3000rpm on the freeway - now you're cruising at 2400rpm or so - quieter, smoother, more relaxing. Also, the "extra" in between gears (1.5, 2.5) are great in certain hill conditions - both going up and coming down.

[Horst]

correction - you'll have to drive your Clipper 100,000 to get a return on your investment (I did the origianl calculation based on a 2mpg improvement - but Gear Vendors claims only a 20% improvement in mpgs - so at 8mpg for a Clipper - a 20% improvement is 1.6mpg - which I rounded off to 1.5.

I'd still like one though!