Rochester/Man-a-fre carb kit questions (1 Viewer)

[offcamber40]

My 76 has an old rochester 2-barrel on it. The vehicle has been sitting for 12 years and the carb needs a rebuild. I was curious if anyone else runs this old carb and how it might compare to the new webers/ holleys in terms of performance. It looks like its a fairly simple design and I tracked down the rebuild kit, but I really dont fell like doing a rebuild if the thing is going flood/lean on climbs and sidehilling.

 

[SwampRat]

I'm not familiar with the rochester....but I have a 38 mil weber on mine and I'm not impressed with it. I've taken it to three different carb guys and we still can't get it to lean out, It may be the guy who I bought it from or it may be the carb...but I don't like it. Personally I'd rather have a rochester, then you might have a chance at finding odds and ends at the good ol' boy's junk yard while you're wheelin.
Woody knows someone who rebuilds the stock carbs and everyone who goes to him has nothing but the best to say about him........I'd wait and ask woody when he returns.

 

[CruisinGA]

If I were in your shoes I would go with a new stock Aisin. Predictable, well-engineered, and what the cruiser was meant to use. You could find one from a similar year and send it to Jim Chenoweth (the guy that Swamprat was talkin about) if you don't want to shell out the $ for a new Aisin. It seems that with the Webers you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, some just desmog, throw on the weber, headers and a Non-Smog early distributor and they get a few more horses out of it, others never get it right and its wasted money. I like to know what I'm getting into when I buy something thats as much money as a carb. I want it to work and not require years of fooling with to get it right.
A guy on the old SOR forum (STR) , who is not active here, had some experience with the Rochester's in old chevy pickups, I think I remember him saying that they were generally decent carbs, don't remember anything particurly good about offroad use, and he even found a place where you could get new parts I believe. I don't think its worth it sticking with the Rochester.
Maybe someone else here will have more specific experience/info on the Rochester?

 

[residualboulders]

I have a rochester carb with headers on my '79. If I had the chance I'd trade it for the stock carb, or get the Aisin as everyone seems to rave about them. I've been trying to get this rochester carb to idle right since I bought the cruiser and have been unsuccessful. Maybe its my ignorance or the way the previous owner installed it (seems pretty hokey). But my 76 had headers with the stock carb and it sure seemed to run a lot better. I think some things are better left as stock. Hopefully, one day I'll change it out.

 

[CruisinGA]

I have a rochester carb with headers on my '79. If I had the chance I'd trade it for the stock carb, or get the Aisin as everyone seems to rave about them.

Aisin is the Japanese company that made the stock carbs for Toyota, they also made some of the earlier pre-warn locking hubs, and other bits and pieces. So when I say buy a new Aisin, I mean buy a new stocker.

 

[Chef]

The weber's work well, with some caveats: put in a spring loaded needle and seat. Lower the float level a little past what's recommended.Get a purolator adjustable fuel pressure regulator. Webers want to see 3psi. I run 3 psi on the street, and 1/2 psi offroad. There is no beating the stock aisin. Webers' are a 38/38, and both bores open at the same time. No so great for gas mileage, or the best for low rpm throttle response. The aisin 2bbl has a small primary, and a bigger secondary, much like a quadrajet. Nice for mileage, and good for low end throttle response. I've helped guys tune rochesters, and I'd rate them as ok, but no better. Holley's suck off road...

 

[fresno-lc]

I run a rochester and like it like he said they are simple the dont break and a rebuld kit costs $10 mine idles fine just adjust the idle with the high idel screw. im going to take mine off and put tbi on soon.

 

[rusmannx]

i'm running the rochester too. it's taken me some time to getit running, but i've found it does the job quite well. my idle is quite low (mostly thanks to the DUI) and it's held up pretty well on the steep inclines.
if i had the money... i'd go with the fuel injection.

 

[offcamber40]

Rochester update:

Rebuilt it and installed it this weekend, it seems to be working OK, the rebuild kit was like $8.50 and it took about an hour and a half to tear down, clean and put back together.. I also rejetted it to lean it out slightly.. While I was doing this I also installed a non-US vacuum advance distributor, there had been a delco in there and wasnt advancing pproperly. I have no idea how to use the little octane selector on the side.. The car has a lot more power now and runs much smoother, although I am still having a problem when I hit the gas hard it misfires, hesitates and sometime bckfires through the carb.. The timing is right.. any suggestions? I'm going to try a hotter plug this weekend.. also I think there may be a small vacuum leak at the manifold gasket on the head.. could this cause a hesitation problem?

 

[fresno-lc]

points gaped rong? defently fix the vacume leek!

 

[Landpimp]

Aisin is the Japanese company that made the stock carbs for Toyota, they also made some of the earlier pre-warn locking hubs, and other bits and pieces.  So when I say buy a new Aisin, I mean buy a new stocker.

Actually Warn has been making hubs sense before Cruisers had Aisin hubs. Aisin(Asco actaully in the early days) hubs 1st appeared on fj55's in the late 1970's(1978 I think) then they were optional on fj40's, standard hubs even up till 1983(fj40's) were drive plates(like a 80 series) Fj60/2 in the US all came with Aisin hubs, which are a better hub than the Warn.
Warn hubs were never put on Cruisers at the factory in Japan, always a dealer or port option(AFAIK)

Johh

 

[CruisinGA]

OOPS my bad, I saw someone with a later FJ with autolocking Aisins and assumed since Aisin was the Toyota supplier they preceded Warn. My bad.