Technical gas in my oil

hey ya'll, working on my 51 vicky with a 1950 truck 8BA and i think i may have a serious problem but i'm kinda new at this and looking for some help.
i just finished putting the car together and getting it running with an engine that was said to be "new". i have no other history other then to say it looked new, turned over and was complete. also to note was that when i was prepping it to install it, i noticed it was set on TDC, with the marks, rotor and valves all seeming to be in the correct place which i took to indicated the engine was assembled by someone who knew what they were doing.
ok so, i started it last week, got the timing set and drove it around the block, maybe 3 miles. it was running for apx 30 mins total. when i pulled the dipstick, the oil seemed thin and was black. i also noticed that it smelled of gas.
i did some checking on the hamb and someone had posted that it could be the fuel pump so i pulled it and sure enough the diaphragm was old and dry so i rebuilt it. i refilled it with oil, did a compression test and all cylinders were 100 dry, 120 wet give or take a pound or 2.
so i started the car, drove it about 6 miles, brought it home, dropped the new oil and same thing, thin, black and has a gas smell.
i ran the old oil thru a paint filter and got a power fine substance that was a very small amount and did not seem to stick to a magnet but the powder was oil soaked so maybe it would stick if it was dry.
oil pressure has been 20+ when cranking, 40+ when driving increasing with RPM. no smoke at all and no black soot or oil blow by around the pipes. the carb is a single stock ford 94 which i rebuilt. i have the air fuel screws out a turn and a half. i attached a pic of the oil and the plugs which not all but a few smelled of gas.
so i would appreciate any input, suggestions, or info on what to do next.
thanks

 

That powdery stuff could hopefully be break-in compound that's come off the cam and lifters. If compression is good it may count out fuel washing past the rings. I don't know Flattys but someone will chime in.

 

Maybe the power valve dumping fuel down there somehow?

 

How did I know this was an 8BA!
It’s lot to get into but basically the gas is running through the carburetor . Most of the kits do not have the correct power valve.
I have given up on building a 94.
Right now I’m running a new 94.
If I need one in the future I would contact one of those great carb guys from the Ford Barn.

 

Maybe one of those great Ford barn guys can help you with your gas washed engine?

Personally, I would test with known stock pump and known carb. And be careful washing the cylinder walls.

 

Building the 94.....
It has to be a good core.
The power valve issue has been mentioned. This can go back many years. It has to be very good quality kit.
Research this.
What happens is the gasoline leaks through the power valve out of the bowl.
A symptom of this is the car has to crank and crank over to fill the bowl after sitting over night.
Another symptom is hard starting after driving. Most will blame this on vapor lock but.... it’s really the opposite.
To be honest I don’t know if this can be fully cured. There will always be a tiny tinge off gas in the oil.

Now.... you are really getting g a lot of gas in the oil.
This makes me think fuel pump.
I know you rebuilt but it may need building again or replacement.
Sometimes the kits can be bad or too old.

Then there’s a fuel pressure issue. What happens here is there too much pressure in the carb overriding the needle and set causing it to flood after shut down, that pressure has to go somewhere.
97s have issues with this sometimes.

 

hey thanks for the replies!
ok this seems like better news then i thought. i thought most would reply that rings were to blame.
so at this point i'm thinking of just going new rather then try another rebuild. i mean, the money i spent on a carb and a pump rebuild kit was a lot less then replacing them but it seems like throwing good money after bad to do them again.
if i were to decide on buying a new pump and carb, any recommendations?

 

Just a thought but are the rings seated? I’ve run them without water until the motor gets hot and shut it off and let it cool down after that put the antifreeze in and they should be seated.

 

I've gotten a couple of the Airtex pumps from Rock Auto and they've been fine. Never bought a new carb, never needed. Correct power valve can be had from Daytona Carb I think. And I've got several from Charlie Price via Ebay, they are fine.

 

rings have absolutly nothing to do with the carb dumping fuel... it's the carb... or something in the ignition... could be simple like bad cap and rotor that lets down at higher rpm... or plug wire,... and not to be an old smart ass, but, looking at those plugs will only tell you one thing, ,yes , those are spark plugs...

 

ok i'm gonna go with the power valve first thing and 2 forceful, i got a chuckle from your comment. i guess i thought they may help in diagnosing the problem.
thanks for the input and it really is good to hear any and all opinions.

 

so i have been looking for a power valve and it seems there are a few of them available. so what should i be looking for?

 

Power valve with a flat mount surface not one with a ridge . Not all fuel pump kits are modern gas tolerable. Stick on a $20 electric fuel pump till you’re broken in . Make sure its low pressure 3 lbs . Also look at your fuel pressure, modern fuel pump rebuild kits can have the wrong spring and increase the fuel pressure and force fuel past the carburetor needle and seat .

 

Is the choke fully open when the engine is warmed up? How is the engine set up for crankcase ventilation?

 

I was replacing fuel pumps and 2 short rubber lines on my 65 352 every 2 or 3 years

I found ethanol proof marine rubber hose and a fuel pump with a viton diaphram

After around 3 years the engine started laying down when I would floor it

It stated idling badly and smelled of unburned fuel

I pulled the line off the carb and directed the fuel into a bucket
Started the engine and it would sporadicaly pump fuel

The fuel pump as dumping fuel into the pan

Replaced fuel pump and the engine idling still stank of unburned fuel

Checked the oil level and it had a lot of fuel in the oil, vacuum was below 10"
Normally around 15"

Changed the oil and after a few minutes vacuum was 15"

Had one of those moments, pulled the jet plate and I had installed a 9.5 power valve

I bought some reading glasses


Ricky.

 

Plugs look pretty dark to me. Would indicate the motor is running rich. A bad power valve will cause that. With a flathead, I would also verify the fuel pump pressure. 2-3 lbs is about all those old carbs can handle, more pressure they will leak the fuel into the motor after its shut off.

 

Had this problem when the fuel tank was mounted higher than the carb. It was gravity feeding through the carb, into the cylinder, past the rings and into the pan.

 

hey ya'll thanks for the replies and sorry i didn't reply sooner...life.
anyway, back on it today. thanks for all the suggestions. i'll post a update after i run through them.
claymart,yes its open. stock vents. there are 2 of them in the front of the intake. one is also the fill and then one that vents out along the drivers side exhaust manifold.

 

well, i switched the new power valve out for the old one, ran it up to 180 degrees, drove it around the neighborhood a couple times, and pulled the dipstick and no oil! so maybe that problem is solved. i'll find out tomorrow. gonna take it to the local C&C and see what happens.
stay tuned!

 

The rebuild kits available for the Holly 94 carbs contain the power valve for the 2100 series carb. These have a little radius at the end of the threads and up against the gasket surface. These can leak badly on the 94 carbs. Some folks file the radius to get a square seat for the gasket. Also some put them on a lathe to cut that little radius out. A big problem with these kits is the float setting gauge that comes with it. Confusing, goofy damn thing that's essentially useless in my opinion. The top of the fuel ( NOT the float) with the carb assembled, installed with engine running needs to be 11/16" below the bowl gasket surface. Gasket removed for the test. The only way to set this accurately is with a standpipe tool, which is almost impossible to find. I have posted several times, detailed instructions on how to make one yourself and how to use it. Easy. Power valves came, and stamped, with the opening amount of vacuum at which it will open to give more gas as needed per throttle opening. Now, you don't know what they give you. There are several people who sell the properly calibrated power valves. The stock valve that came with your engine when new opens at 7 inches of vacuum. Altitude and driving conditions may dictate a slightly lower or higher valve. They used to come in half inch increments, back when the Earth was still cooling. Before you do anything, check the float for leaks. Remove it, shake it to see if it has gas inside. A float with gas in it can't be adjusted. It must be repaired or replaced. Don't run your engine with gas in the oil. You can easily trash the rings and cylinder walls. A good stock fuel pump with alcohol resistant diaphragm will handle everything you can throw at it if the carb is right. Good luck

 

can we assume that you mean no fuel, - in the oil ?
.

 

clem, yes, no fuel in the oil. i took it to C&C today and it still seems to be ok although i did use that silly ruler to set the float bowl so i'll go back and check that too.
thanks

 

Glad that you got it fixed. And thank you for coming back to update everyone.

One more thing that I had recently, was a hairline fracture/crack in the carb.
Couldn’t find it after having checked all the other things discussed above.
Finally sat it on the bench with fuel in the bowl, thinking it was the power valve, and next morning fuel where it should not have been.
Possibly at some point, I over tightened it ? - I don’t know.

 

I had the problem of gas siphoning through my three 97’s. I think it was because my gas’s tank was above the carbs. I switched to a different tank, and I think that’s fixed.

 

also keep in mind that a lean backfire thru the carb can wipe out the power valve diaphragm...then way over fuel again.
https://www.holley.com/products/tools/carburetor_tools/parts/125-500
Holley and others make a check valve kit to protect the PV