Choke adjustments and Cheap Chinese carburetor WARNING

[85lebaront2]

I was just reading about the cross boss on Hemmings yesterday. Sweet!

Parts manager at one of our local Ford dealers had a Late Model Sportsman Fairlane with a Boss 302 and running one of those 850 CFM versions. First thing I did was convince him to turn the RPM up a bit, normal gear for our 3/8 mile oval was in the mid 5s, like a 5.38, I got him to go up to a 6.25 I believe, then I worked on the throttle and jetting. It ran lean so I had him bring me a bunch of the later Autolite jets, (large thread) that were in his stock and never sold. I started making bigger ones and playing with the air jets on top.

When I finished, we took the car out for the Wednesday night practice and tune session, you haven't lived until you ride around a 3/8 mile oval hanging onto the roll cage on the passenger side. We got it where he was easily as fast as the Chevelles with their 350s and Holley R3310s. Come Saturday night, he wound up starting on the outside pole, flag dropped and he damn near went sideways from the gear and power increase. It wasn't too long before the brand C crowd protested the car and found a way to ban the carburetor throttles were bigger than allowed by NASCAR.

Bad thing, I probably could have had one and an intake for dealer cost if I had wanted it. There was also a dual inline top for that manifold. Throttle bore spacing is the same as the Windsor cylinder spacing so the runners all line up with the throttle bores on the dual inline manifold top.

[rcarlisle]

Parts manager at one of our local Ford dealers had a Late Model Sportsman Fairlane with a Boss 302 and running one of those 850 CFM versions. First thing I did was convince him to turn the RPM up a bit, normal gear for our 3/8 mile oval was in the mid 5s, like a 5.38, I got him to go up to a 6.25 I believe, then I worked on the throttle and jetting. It ran lean so I had him bring me a bunch of the later Autolite jets, (large thread) that were in his stock and never sold. I started making bigger ones and playing with the air jets on top.

When I finished, we took the car out for the Wednesday night practice and tune session, you haven't lived until you ride around a 3/8 mile oval hanging onto the roll cage on the passenger side. We got it where he was easily as fast as the Chevelles with their 350s and Holley R3310s. Come Saturday night, he wound up starting on the outside pole, flag dropped and he damn near went sideways from the gear and power increase. It wasn't too long before the brand C crowd protested the car and found a way to ban the carburetor throttles were bigger than allowed by NASCAR.

Bad thing, I probably could have had one and an intake for dealer cost if I had wanted it. There was also a dual inline top for that manifold. Throttle bore spacing is the same as the Windsor cylinder spacing so the runners all line up with the throttle bores on the dual inline manifold top.

Every track has same issues. I helped on a street stock in the early 90s and that sounds like what would happen there every week.

[Gary Lewis]

Parts manager at one of our local Ford dealers had a Late Model Sportsman Fairlane with a Boss 302 and running one of those 850 CFM versions. First thing I did was convince him to turn the RPM up a bit, normal gear for our 3/8 mile oval was in the mid 5s, like a 5.38, I got him to go up to a 6.25 I believe, then I worked on the throttle and jetting. It ran lean so I had him bring me a bunch of the later Autolite jets, (large thread) that were in his stock and never sold. I started making bigger ones and playing with the air jets on top.

When I finished, we took the car out for the Wednesday night practice and tune session, you haven't lived until you ride around a 3/8 mile oval hanging onto the roll cage on the passenger side. We got it where he was easily as fast as the Chevelles with their 350s and Holley R3310s. Come Saturday night, he wound up starting on the outside pole, flag dropped and he damn near went sideways from the gear and power increase. It wasn't too long before the brand C crowd protested the car and found a way to ban the carburetor throttles were bigger than allowed by NASCAR.

Bad thing, I probably could have had one and an intake for dealer cost if I had wanted it. There was also a dual inline top for that manifold. Throttle bore spacing is the same as the Windsor cylinder spacing so the runners all line up with the throttle bores on the dual inline manifold top.

Cool story!

[85lebaront2]

Every track has same issues. I helped on a street stock in the early 90s and that sounds like what would happen there every week.

Randy, the track is still there and in use. It is right next to NASA Langley Research Center and was called Langley Field Speedway for years. It closed for a while and then reopened and is now Larry King Law's Langley Speedway (Larry King being a local trial lawyer).

I spent many a night out there working on various cars. Best story for me was my partner, Fred Pennington, and I built some modified Holley carburetors (Holley swiped some of my ideas) and had built a pair of Holley Double Pumpers with modified boosters and drilled and tapped for different air bleeds. In a bit of whimsy, Fred painted the booster on two of them, one set was red, the other blue. The carburetors were set up exactly the same. The driver, Skip Jutras, ran the car on the Wednesday night track time and we were clocking him, times were essentially identical. At the end Skip informed us, "The one with the red boosters is faster". He owned a body shop up the road from Preston Carburetion.

About 8 or 9 years ago, I had a tree limb fall on my 1994 Taurus, dented the hood and right front fender. Since I knew Skip, I went there for an estimate. When he met me inside I looked at him and said, "The one with the red boosters is faster". He looked at me, shook his head and said there are only two people that would know that, and you're not Fred. I said no, I'm Bill.

[rcarlisle]

Randy, the track is still there and in use. It is right next to NASA Langley Research Center and was called Langley Field Speedway for years. It closed for a while and then reopened and is now Larry King Law's Langley Speedway (Larry King being a local trial lawyer).

I spent many a night out there working on various cars. Best story for me was my partner, Fred Pennington, and I built some modified Holley carburetors (Holley swiped some of my ideas) and had built a pair of Holley Double Pumpers with modified boosters and drilled and tapped for different air bleeds. In a bit of whimsy, Fred painted the booster on two of them, one set was red, the other blue. The carburetors were set up exactly the same. The driver, Skip Jutras, ran the car on the Wednesday night track time and we were clocking him, times were essentially identical. At the end Skip informed us, "The one with the red boosters is faster". He owned a body shop up the road from Preston Carburetion.

About 8 or 9 years ago, I had a tree limb fall on my 1994 Taurus, dented the hood and right front fender. Since I knew Skip, I went there for an estimate. When he met me inside I looked at him and said, "The one with the red boosters is faster". He looked at me, shook his head and said there are only two people that would know that, and you're not Fred. I said no, I'm Bill.

Excellent story. I love old tales like that.

Back to the carb saga... Got home with my M3 x 6mm screws. Put one in and it was turning with resistance. Figured it was leftover locking agent. Got down to the last couple turns of screwdriver and danged if the screw head didn't twist off. So now, I have a cheap Chinese carburetor with a cheaper chinesium screw broke off in the throttle shaft.

Tried another screw and the threads of screws are apparently made of cheese and the throttle shaft holes have a slightly different thread pitch. It's damaging the screws when I try to thread them in. And they aren't SAE.

I had some of those. Thought about getting a tap and die set to chase both sets of threads.

This is very frustrating for sure.

But I think I'm going to put the autolite back on. Maybe see if I can find a cheap one at a junk yard

[85lebaront2]

Excellent story. I love old tales like that.

Back to the carb saga... Got home with my M3 x 6mm screws. Put one in and it was turning with resistance. Figured it was leftover locking agent. Got down to the last couple turns of screwdriver and danged if the screw head didn't twist off. So now, I have a cheap Chinese carburetor with a cheaper chinesium screw broke off in the throttle shaft.

Tried another screw and the threads of screws are apparently made of cheese and the throttle shaft holes have a slightly different thread pitch. It's damaging the screws when I try to thread them in. And they aren't SAE.

I had some of those. Thought about getting a tap and die set to chase both sets of threads.

This is very frustrating for sure.

But I think I'm going to put the autolite back on. Maybe see if I can find a cheap one at a junk yard

Maybe they are M3 X 0.5 pitch? There is an M3.5 X 0.6 though.

[rcarlisle]

Maybe they are M3 X 0.5 pitch? There is an M3.5 X 0.6 though.

Yes the new ones are labeled M3. I bet 3.5s are going to be harder to find. Possibly a McMaster Carr order?

[edit: found some on ebay with free shipping]

Going to go back to my old Autolite after some cleaning. It was working perfectly except the fuel leak which may have been my fault if I flooded it as Bill said. Will be checking that as well.

Not having the truck running is hurting my soul.

[rcarlisle]

Maybe they are M3 X 0.5 pitch? There is an M3.5 X 0.6 though.

Can I remove the EGR plate when I reinstall the carb? If I have enough clearance for the carb (linkages, etc) without it? It's blocked off and nothing attached to it. Just a spacer with a lot of air space inside it.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Can I remove the EGR plate when I reinstall the carb? If I have enough clearance for the carb (linkages, etc) without it? It's blocked off and nothing attached to it. Just a spacer with a lot of air space inside it.

I don't think so because I recall that creates a vacuum leak. I don't remember the details, but I think the plate covers a hole that is off to the side.

Maybe someone else remembers better than I?

[rcarlisle]

I don't think so because I recall that creates a vacuum leak. I don't remember the details, but I think the plate covers a hole that is off to the side.

Maybe someone else remembers better than I?

I will look while the carb is off and see what's there. The plate itself on mine has a block off plate bolted to the back. And inside are passages that go towards that plate, of course. Will have to check for other holes. I looked locally for a standard kind of spacer for a 2 bbl, but that's like finding hen's teeth. May as well work on this part of the onion while I'm there, make it the best I can. I like it being up that inch higher. Just figured that plate doesn't contribute to better fuel economy with the large chamber in it.