Thermoquad Rebuild

I have a 4973 S thermoquad to rework and need some recommendations for the rebuild kit and where to get it.

It is from my 71 Road Runner and has worked well since the last rework about 15 years ago. Thanks.

http://www.carburetion.com/CarbNumber.asp?Number=4973S

"the carb shop" in Eldon Missouri (Google it), not cheap but he mfrs his own rods/jets which tells me he's probably pretty good but you could very likely get by with any parts house kit but confirm the bowl ain't warped and the wells in the bottom are still sealed up good, My worry would be getting some rods/jets to work with

Napa carrys the kit. Not in stock usually. They are real easy to rebuild I've done several piece of cake!

If you can get a Tomco rebuilding kit, that's my recommendation. I like the Tomco because instead of using a pointed rubber seat needle, their kit has a round disc thinga-ma-jibby that works phenominal! It's been many years since I purchased one, but in the past, I rebuilt 4 Thermies and logged over 80,000 miles on daily driven Mopars with any problems.

Thanks for the recommendations, but I need some more help.

I’m rebuilding the carb because of a sudden flooding problem. The car would start, sputter and stop in a few seconds. After that, the top of the carb would be wet with gasoline and some pooled on top of the secondaries.

I thought there was a problem with the floats or needles. But I dissembled the carb yesterday and the brass floats look good and are at the correct setting. The needle valves and seats also looked good.

What is wrong?

It's hard to say what is causing the flooding, but if rebuilding it properly doesn't eliminate the flooding, then the integrity of the carb is in question. Clean the parts real good and look for cracks in the main body before you assemble it. One thing to watch out for is, make sure you install the 2 rubber O-rings between the main body and the top air horn.

The 4972/4973 TQ is a one year only design with one year only gasket/rebuilt set. They are an air bleed design (all 72 and later are a solid meter design). The 4972/4973 TQ's do not have the glue in bowl parts or the O-rings mentioned above. Fuel purging from the carb is almost always a float related issue, sunk or not adjusted right. A fuel blockage somewhere from bad fuel is a VERY common cause (needle/seat, etc.). Also check for weird stuff like a mud dauber wasp nest clogging your vapor return line if so equipped.

One good source for gaskets is www.walkerproducts.com, they may have to put custom kit together to accommodate your 4973 carb.

*Or, you could send it to me to restore for you

Cool! Good to know about the one year design. I learned something today too. Thanks, I guess I owe ya one!

(1) "likely" dirt got by the filter (get a good one on there) (2) needle/seat worn no matter how good it looks

there was a great rebuild article on thermoquads in the last issue of "engine masters" magazine. written by steve dulcich. might be able to find it online.

One of Steve's TQ article Link

It is a good article and will likely be helpful to someone unfamiliar with a TQ rebuild, however, it does not specifically cover the 1971 only versions which differ in several ways as mentioned.

Here's another one: Another Article

Something did get past the filter. It is a thin coating, of a very fine powder, almost white, on some surfaces of the bowls. Maybe that's the problem.