The carb in my '56 caught fire today. I was trying to restart it after it sat about 15 minutes. It didn't start after several attempts but didn't notice a backfire either. I started seeing some smoke weeping through the gaps in the hood. I opened it to see flames licking around the bottom of the air cleaner. I quickly put out the fire with an extinguisher. The next step will be to figure out why it caught fire. It was hard to start earlier today and took a while before it would idle right. It also didn't want to start up to easily after I shut it down for a moment before I took this ill fated trip. It ran fine on the trip. Before the fire, I was figuring the problems were because it sat for about a month since I last drove it. I've heard these things can catch fire and have checked it for obvious leaks before driving every time.
I believe you. That's why they're called Towering Infernos. Replace the intake with a "B" version and update to a 1.08 venturi 4100 Ford 4 bbl. Change the distributor to '57 or newer.
I've been thinking about that and I may go that route. I've read it may even make a difference performance and mileage wise. First I want to find the reason why the carb caught fire like it did. My wife's grandfather had a '56 Fairlane and he always drove with a fire extinguisher in the car next to him. Now I know why.
When this happens, just turn the starter switch again, most likely it will swallow the flames when the engine turns over. The problem might be caused of a 'hanging' floater, and when the engine is hot it will catch fire as the carb overflows...
You might want to check out this discussion:http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/summit-600cfm-4v-222108.html Here is the Carb,good price and EZ to tune even comes with a tuning DVD http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-M08600VS/
It may be a hanging float but I'm not completely sure. The big screw over the needle isn't leaking and but it holds pressure after I got running again. It sprayed gas when I loosened it. Is this a sign of a sticking needle? It also looks like it has the wrong distributor and is causing issues of its own. The distributor:
Thanks for that advice. I've vacuumed and blown out as much of the stuff I could then went over everything I could reach with a slightly oily rag.
If it lights up, just keep cranking. It'll***** the flames in. Stopping is the worst thing you can do. My old 56 Monarch tended to do that the first start of the season, no matter what I did to it. The fuel seemed to come from the rope seals around the secondary feed tubes, and once they swelled up again after 10 minutes or so, it was fine for the rest of the year. Someone has probably said this a million times before, but I'll say it again.... I did, and still do REFUSE to rebuild a tall Holley to the point of installing those useless rubber secondary feed seals. I always look for cores with the originals still intact, and swell them up with a bit of motor oil dripped on them during the rebuild. When they leak, they cause fires and also cause rich running after you tromp on it a few times cuz the raw gas going to the secondaries gets past the *****py seals. I actually like these carbs. As Y blockers, we're different, and these carbs are different, which makes the attraction that much more extreme. They work well, most of the time, but they can be dribblers....
I really haven't figured out the actual cause of the fire. It's very possible that it was the seals you mention. I am in the process of gathering all the components to convert over to a 57/newer carb, manifold and distributor. The removed items will find a new home on a garage shelf.
I replaced my '56 distributor, since it had the wrong vacuum advance, to the newer '57-'64 type distributor today. It made a huge difference how the engine started, idled and ran. I also looked over the carb for leaks and I noticed a few damp places that could cause problems. One was around the primary throttle shaft and another place around the secondary feed tubes. Another thing I noticed while trying to start it the first time. It was before I had the timing adjusted the correctly and it hiccuped and I saw gas spit up the air bleeds at the top of the carb near the air cleaner stud. I almost think that might have been the cause of the fire. After I had the timing set, it started and restarted without a problem. The flat spot in acceleration also looked like it was gone. I would have taken it for a drive but it was raining and I have no desire to drive it in bad weather unless I really had too.
I go through cores just to find one where nobody messed with those secondary feed tube seals. I'm sure there's someone out there who can replace them with the original styles, but never, ever use those useless rubber o rings that come in the kit. You light it up for sure with those. They always, always leak!
I have rebuilt a number of teapots and have never had the o-ring seal issue. I know that Daytona Carbs down in Florida sells quality stuff, and I have been very happy using their gaskets and seals. It is very important to get those o rings to seal. Place the o-ring into the base, then place your washer. Take a 1/4" drive deep well socket and drive it home. Be careful to make sure the bore of the base is smooth so that you don't nick the o-ring or cut it. When you go to final****embly of the carb, you can then position your secondary tubes (again, make sure the ends of your tubes are not sharp) down into the base/cover sliding them through the o-rings. I use a little hi-temp grease as well.
Thanks for the tip. I wonder if I could get away with just replacing the o-rings? I really don't want to rebuild the entire carb since it looks like it's been rebuilt not too long ago.
I am sure that Daytona Carbs would be happy to talk with you and would probably sell just those o rings and washers as a set. Give them a call.
We just ran into the same issue with our 56 Merc. so we decided to update the carb system. I was reading over this post to figure out what part numbers I need to track down for the conversion. So far this is what I "think" I need to convert it from the teapot carb. The Summit carb in the link above from JeffB2, a 57 dist from Mac's "12127-2109" and the version B intake . Can someone please tell me if the intake that I need is ECZ-9425-B ? If so , where's the best place to find one? Thanks Rick
The ECZ-9425-B is the manifold you need. probably won't be cheap. An alternate would be to run a small Holley or Elelbrock 4 barrel on your ECZ-9425-A manifold using an adapter similar to this one Universal Carb Adapter and the '57 up distributor.
You can save alot of time and money by just putting a Rochester 4G on as they bolt right on and you can find them pretty cheap. Easy to rebuild but just make sure the throttle shaft is not loose. You may have to work out the kick down linkage if it's an automatic.We used to run them all the time back in the day. They work very well on a Ford even if they were made for GM cars!!
Master Cylinder, I wasn't sure if I could use an adapter or not so thanks for the input. I will most likely go with that. Which small Holley 4 barrel do you suggest? I was looking at the one from Summit that JeffB2 mentioned above and I see a lot of good comments about this carb. I want one that will not need a lot of tuning and adjusting to get it running and keep it running. I'm not great with carbs, I know just enough to get them installed and thats it! Thanks Rick
The Jalopy Journal
