87 GW Carb replacement

[garyjaeger]

My 87 GW's carb is in need a rebuild. I'm debating rebuilding it with replacing with an Edelbrock or Holly. I think with the Edelbrock I'd need to replace the intake manifold as well? Any suggestions or experiences one way or the other?

[tgreese]

My 87 GW's carb is in need a rebuild. I'm debating rebuilding it with replacing with an Edelbrock or Holly. I think with the Edelbrock I'd need to replace the intake manifold as well? Any suggestions or experiences one way or the other?

Any aftermarket carburetor that is not a direct replacement must be set-up and tuned for the specific application. And it's a bit pointless to fit a 4V carb to a 2V manifold. If you're up to that, one of the 4Vs might be for you. Plus an aftermarket carburetor (not original, not a 2V, not a 2V manifold, not an approved manifold, not an approved carburetor) will not pass smog in California, I predict. The OEM carburetor can be rebuilt by you or a factory (remanufactured exchange - keep the tag if you have one!) or you can find a carburetor shop that will rebuild your core. They are still out there.

Personally, I would never sink hundreds of dollars into a hot rod carburetor - instead I would go fuel injection. Again, you need to be aware of the smog test requirements. Howell sells a throttle body fuel injection kit (TBI) with a CARB (California Air resources Board) approval number, but I'm not sure it covers 1987. Others have done this conversion in CA and pass smog - maybe they will comment (Tony?).

[joe]

My "opinion" is rebuild the 2150. It's a good carb for the 360. It's not hard to rebuild at all. Key is cleanliness. As when torn down use a 1 gal soak/basket carb cleaner like Gunk or Berryman's. Rinse off well, blow out the water from all the passages with compressed air. Reassemble. Do not just spritz everything down with spray carb cleaner. If the rebuild kit you buy doesn't come with a new powervalve, buy one. Also DO NOT buy a $$$ rebuilt carb from an autoparts store. 60% chance it's badly done. If you just feel the need for a 4v, forget Edelbrock and go with a Holley. And yes you will need to buy the correct 4v manifold.
Rebuild the 2150.

[garyjaeger]

Got it, thanks guys. Good advice. Any recommends on who supplies a good quality kit?

[ZackN920]

I had a Walker kit that seemed good. Had a good power valve in it as well. (I don't know what it's rated and/or if its a single action or dual. I just know it works great with my engine) Lots of extra's in it to fit the various different 2150 carburetors. Also had extra things like E-clips which are very easy to accidently lose.
It had the part #
5301D
159517
Made in USA.

Good luck finding one now though. I looked it up a bit ago and it seems that kit is no longer made and is hard to find.
They do still make a kit, but I wouldn't be surprised if the modern one uses offshore parts.

When you look for a kit, go off of the numbers on the carburetor tag. They all have different numbers that will give some information. Retailers will take the # and try to match a correct kit to it.


It was through the numbers on my tag, that I found out my carb had been changed. My GW is a 1990. The carburetor is from a 1984...