Hello all

Well my name is Katt and I just became the proud owner today of a 1973 Cutlass, 4 door with 97000 original miles on it. I had about an hour drive home in it and it was like driving on a cloud, heavy rain and wind did not effect it, the only reason I even knew it was windy because our rooster tail of water was being blown sideways lol So far I love it. It is idling a bit rough, so I am toying with just buying it a new carburetor for. This is going to be my cruiser for all the shows/cruises around here so only the best for my baby Any suggestions as to what carburetor to get for that sexy rocket 350 and is there a good place to gets parts for them online? It was raining hard today, but if I can I will get pictures of it tomorrow and post them.

Thanks!
Katt

 

Welcome kattotonic,why do you want to buy a new carburetor?Because idling rough may or may not be caused by the carb.Post pics if you can.

 

Well part of it might be dealing with the same issues on my darn GMC truck and I got carb burnout lol I was actually hoping the weather would be nice enough for me to tinker with it and see if I can figure out what is up. I can tell you it runs smooth down the road, just idles darn rough and is hard starting, even warm. If the rain lets up I will get pictures, I want to show it off

 

If the carb is a concern to you....maybe a rebuild kit is in order. Maybe $60 at the part store. Does it shudder? Vaccum leaks???

Good luck....pictures are always nice.

Alex in Idaho USA

 

Welcome Katt, post some pictures of your ride when you get a chance. Your rough idle may be cured with a simple tuneup.

 

Welcome aboard.....

Hey you're not katt from Minneapolis are you?

 

"90% of all carb problems are in the ignition system" once said a wise man.

Welcome
Factory QJets are available for not too much $.
Rebuild kits are cheap

I recommend ensuring the ignition system is in good order first- cap & rotor, plugs, wires.
Nice new PCV valve.
Verify that the power brake booster isn't leaking too bad- still has vacuum ~10m after shutting the engine off- remove check valve from booster and listen for vacuum. A bit of silicone lube on the check valve makes reinsertion and later removal easy.

Check the vacuum signal at idle, google search should bring up a clue page to decipher readings and needle motion. Sounds like the carb may just need the choke adjusted, and some vacuum hoses replaced to minimize vacuum leaks. Since the carb's functions are all vacuum related, any vacuum leaks will affect the proper functions. Ditto for late timing or other causes of low vacuum.

Can we assume that you have HEI ignition?

 

Vaccum leak sooo did not even think about that lol And no it does not have a HEI ignition. I was thinking of putting one in, I did that for my 67 Chevy truck and it did wonders for it. I am in Oregon, darn rain. I was thinking of a rebuild if all else fails, only ever rebuild a VW bug carb, but I would assume it really is not much different. I did post pictures, the darn rain let up enough so I could. Of course once I started poking around in the engine compartment is started back up again

Katt

 

All that rain is better than the 5' of snow we have up here, Hey enjoy that rain!!! Nice 73 looks clean under the hood, new master cylinder etc, Hopefully the timing chain was replaced, Check for cracked/ spongy vacuum lines, pull a few plugs, I'm sure you will figure it out, lots of help here maybe post a pic with the breather off.

 

Thanks! Yea I know snow sucks. The boyfriend lives in Sudbury, so I hear all about it. Yea I need to get the timing chain check. Dad is a snap on dealer so I got good connections I am just going to go through everything and replace whatever needs it. Oh I did forget to add, I paid 650 for it and it was bought new in Missoula Montana, the same town I was born and raised in! It even still has the dealer badge on the trunk.

 

Awesome deal for 650. Sudbury is 5 hrs north of me and they have a lot more than us lol. My kids played in a hockey tournament their in jan. Oh they have snow!! Good luck with your new ride, I don't think it will take much to get it running well.

 

Hey...I am in Idaho and know that your rain usually makes its way here! Nice color on the olds. Good with the repair job.
Alex in Idaho USA

 

Oh more to share, so I look in the glove box, not only is the original owners manual is there in the plastic cover from the dealership, so it all these papers like warranty guide to service, a maintenance guide,consumer info.... to name a few. I love things like this, it's like a little piece of history of the car, that you rarely get.

 

Nice score for the money. Send your rain down here.

 

Welcome! Nice car!
Looks like a sweet ride!
Thanks for posting pictures!

 

Welcome to CO Katt! Tune up and the carb base gasket would be good places to start to look for your issue. Always something to do on these old rides but least you know there pretty easy to work on. What are your plans for it?

 

Well I grew up around cars, if I was not out helping my dad build a dune buggy, I was at a car show or drag race with him. Always wanted a car to do cruises, show and shines in, but never had the cash for the top end classics. So when I found the 73 I realized it was pretty straight and with a little elbow grease we can be cruisin this summer lol Slowly I would like to get it all shiny and pretty, but mostly stock. well except for those dual glass packs I would like running out the back to make it sound mean lol I been calling it my Prius eater so it has to sound like it can eat one, right?

 

Well here's an update. Pulled off the air cleaner and guess what? Not one but all three vacuum hoses were off, brittle with age, some actually broke off. Including the one to the tranny, so he thought it needed a service, really all it needs is that hose hooked up to shift right. So off to the parts store to get some hose!

 

I hope your vacuum leak doesn't suck a Prius up along the way to get your hoses, That would be on heck of a job pulling that out.

 

Really nice looking car for $650. Damn good deal. And another 4 door stays out of the wrecking yard, nice to see. Once you replace all of your vacuum lines that should do alot for your idle.

 

Nice....sometimes its the little things.....

 

Yea it is hard enough pulling the parts out of the grille lol Well showed pictures to my dad and he was impressed, he liked it. So we might do cruises together this summer. He has a VW Thing he is currently restoring. So now armed with 5ft of hose I am ready to fixed it. Never hurts to have extra hose lol

 

So now armed with 5ft of hose I am ready to fixed it. Never hurts to have extra hose lol


A little more vacuum and a little extra hose could come in handy for sure .

 

I will have to agree with you on that one Katt. I have had cars with nothing in the glove box and cars with all the stuff like yours does. It adds more interest to the car when it has a history that you can see, feel and read about. BTW, I notice that you are already posting and welcoming others, good job and thanks for doing your part. Now officially I would like to say, Welcome to CO.

 

Thank you! Well I try, I mean everyone was so welcoming when I popped on, I should do the same. I find myself wanting to get another olds as a daily driver though *sigh* That will have to wait, got 4 cars already lol

 

So I noticed I have no dome light cover yesterday. Where is a good place online, besides eBay lol to get one? It's a little thing, but it drives me nuts. At least the headliner is in wonderful shape.

 

Nice looking car. Sure got a good deal on that one. I entered cutlass parts in search pain of internet. Some of the places I found were: thepartsplace.com, inlinetube.com, fusick.com. There are more out there, good luck.

 

Welcome,
I recently found a '73 4 door in a yard & pulled some nice parts off it. Let me know if you need anything for yours.
I think your dome lens is the same as earlier years, just a round one, about 3" across? If so, pm me your name & address & I'll ship one to you no charge.
Also, I'm not seeing any pictures of your car?

 

Original parts group has been getting more parts for the 73-77 cars over the past few years you may try them, I picked up a new hood ornament from then recently for my 76. Very nice and original I have to say. Dome lens 73-77 Opgi part # C240725 $30.99

 

Oldspackrat is a good source for used parts. I didn't know he had your year parts but he sold me parts I never thought I would find.

 

Katt your hooked up now nice parts here for your ride, Just pour a Gin 'n' Kattonic and blast oldspackrat a PM can't get any easier than that. A dome lite shipped free no charge..... Pfffft I'd pour a double!! These guys are awesome here Katt your in good hands.

 

Ohhhh shiny goodies and there are pics of it in my album. It needs a new grill, it is missing teeth lol The previous owner put lights in where they were missing, yea good idea but the purist in me shudders lol I am getting into it today, since it is not suppose to rain, so I will know if I need more then the dome light. I need to see if it has all it's seat belts too. Thanks!

 

Ok,
Now I see the pix, that looks like a really solid car! Yours is a Cutlass S, the grill I have is for a Supreme, different ones dang it!

 

Darn. It is a really nice car, now that I spend more time on it today, it is in such good shape. That is my luck on the grille though lol. Oh and the dome light works! When you open the doors on the passenger side lol

Well maybe someone on here can help me. So I went to replace my vacuum hoses today and decided I should get a new check valve that goes to the erg valve and the other check valve. Well it seems no one at my local parts house has no idea what they are and do not have them. They may still work, I just thought since I was replacing the hoses I should replace those too. Any suggestions of where I could find those?

 

Good find! My first car car was a 73 4 door, welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks! Spent Sunday replacing all the vacuum hoses and then drove it around town. It is soooo smooth down the road. Even got a compliment on it from a guy that had a 70's station wagon. Still need to replace the belts and as a precaution because it looks like it might be the original one, I am going to replace the water pump. Don't need it going out on me in the middle of a cruise. But I adore the car even more now that I got to drive it a bit more, even drove it to work today to show it off lol

 

OldsPackrat is the man! I got my dome light cover today and it looks like it has always been there. Thank you!

 

Your in good hands here Katt, Happy to see your enjoying your new ride, Take good care of that olds, wish you the best of luck with it.