Re: carb rebuilding?.

Posted by Hal/WA on April 09, 2003 at 23:17:10 from (208.8.194.28):

In Reply to: carb rebuilding?. posted by Jonathan on April 08, 2003 at 19:23:26:

I have obtained one of my wife's old muffin tins and use it during dissassembly of anything with a lot of small parts. I put things in the compartments as I take them out or off the machine sequentially, so I have a better chance of getting things back properly. I have rebuilt a number of carbs this way, and almost always it has worked right after the first reassembly.

Take your time and carefully read the directions and make sure you understand the diagrams. Do not turn the carb upside down unless the instructions tell you to. It is also a good idea to have a clean floor under you, so if you drop something, you can find it easier. I rebuild carbs on the kitchen table. My wife gripes, but I don't do it very often and it is better to put up with the griping than lose something on my shop floor.

As 4 barrels go, the Holley is pretty simple. It is very important to carefully clean the whole carb and all its parts before you start to reassemble it. Some of the plastic and rubbery parts can be damaged by some carb cleaners. I like to use an old toothbrush to help with cleaning. I spray carb cleaner through every little hole I can find in the carb. If nothing comes through, I try probing with copper wire and have used toothpicks. I also use an air nozzle and have used that "canned air" that is used to clean computers.

I don't really like Holleys, or any carb that has a vertical gasket on the float bowl. A friend of mine lost his Chevy grain truck with a 454 when the float bowl gasket of its Holley decided to leak and dump a bunch of gas on top of the engine. He had a little fire extinguisher, but it wasn't enough and he lost everything from the bed forward. All he could do is stand there and watch it burn. He had put the big block in a couple of years before and used the Holley because it was the cheapest carb he could find. There are improved gaskets that might prevent this. You might check into them. Good luck!

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