Ruined my Carter AVS

[tparker]

Ack. just ruined my Carter carb. I picked up an AVS long time back and was trying to rebuild it. It's quite worn and corroded. The Air mixture screw broke off when trying to take it out. I didn't realize HOW fragile the screw was. I didn't think I out that much torque on it. THen the little screws on the butterfly valves broke off. Those were little brass screws. Argh. Tried drilling them how and tap. Kinda got the butterfly screws out. But a tap broke off in the carb body when trying to take the air mixutre screw out. WTF. LOL.

Luckily I got an old Thermoquad I'll use temporarily until I can get something more correct.

Be careful when restoring.
Tom

[Cuda Cody]

Dang, that sucks. 

[Bpret]

You sound like a do it yourself kind of guy. But I sent a carb to Scott Smith Harms carbs with broken off screws. It came back like new. Not saying he can fix yours but it's worth a try. What carb are you looking for?

[71-440]

Don't sweat it. Crap like that happens to me all the time. 
You'll get it straightened out.

[tparker]

Ha, yes. Not having a ton of cash equals 'do it yourself'. Did way more than I thought I could. Made plenty of mistakes, but the project is coming along. This is the first semi expensive mistake. The carb only cost $100, but to replace it will be several hundred. I got a thermoquad, but need a Carter AVS for a 70 challenger.

[jimynick]

I'd think there was an AVS out there that needed rebuilding for $100. Make a thread asking and who knows? 

[Rich G.]

Breaking a tap is the worst. I've used a dremmel with a carbide bit to get a broken tap out. Don't know what size you're dealing with but they do make pretty small  heli coils if the threads are messed up.

[tparker]

My Carb saga. LOL. I got the engine in the shop finally and that is forcing me to finish the carbs.

As an update.  I wasn't able to get the screws out of the other one. Maybe I'll work on it a bit later with much better bits. But I've found out a few things that might be helpful. I bought another AVS from Tony's for a bit over $100. I got one that matches my year car. The TQ would work, but it is a late model and there are a few issues. I might keep an eye out for an earlier one. The AVS is only 600 CFMs which is ok for the short term, but I think the stroked 340 will want more fuel, so I might end up going with an Edlebrock 750 later down the road.

Those brass screws are temperamental. Please be VERY gentle with them if you attempt to do the work yourself for the first time. It turns out the back side of the screws are "mushroomed" out. They put a nick down the center of the screw and flare it out a bit. I suppose this was to ensure the screws wouldn't work loose and find their way into your combustion chamber. Very thoughtful. but if you're not aware, this causes the very fragile screws to get stuck and break off when you remove them. For the new carb, I worked them out very carefully. I went a quarter turn at a time and then screwed it back in and out a few times. Then worked it out another quarter turn. You could probably also use a dremel to grind out the flare, use penetrating oil to keep things lubed. Introduce some shock to break things free, and heat to expand the metals. I didn't do any of the later.

I found a few sources for the screws, though they seem to be generic and not AVS specific from Mikes Carbs parts and a few other places. Just search AVS brass screws and a few options come up.

Then next thing I found out is that the AVS is not as popular and parts are a little harder to find. Some ABS parts will work. The rods and jets are interchangeable, with a minor change to the cover.

Just adding some comments in case it helps someone later.