Found this '61 Biscayne at a garage less than a mile from my house. 235 six, single bbl Rochester, you know the deal... It runs ok, and the body, glass, interior are good plus new tires and brakes. I ended up paying $1800 for it plus whatever it costs me to replace/repair the gas tank. Like I said it runs OK, idles well, but give it gas and it hesitates. You can really hear the carb sucking A LOT of air. I have no experience with these tiny carbs. Any tuning suggestions or otherwise would be greatly appreciated. I love these early 60's Chevys, I think I made a good find.
Check the vacuum lines on the carb. Probably only one going to the distributor. If its cracked and sucking air then it wont run right. If you hear a lot of sucking then it may be a leaking base gasket on the carb. One barrel carb is real simple to rebuild. Hesitation may be from a dried up accel pump. Get a rebuild kit and a can of carb cleaner and go through it. Be sure to blow out all the passages in the carb with compressed air. That and new vacuum lines should fix it right up. Also check the vacuum diaphram on the distributor. They crack with age. The easiest way to check it is to take a 2 foot or so length of vacuum line add hook up to it then suck on the line and plug it with your tongue. When you pull your tongue off of it it should pop. If it doesn't then the diaphram has a hole it it.
Nice find! These carbs are VERY simple, especially considering that it's a stick shift car. Boil it out and put a kit in it, taking care to set the float level carefully. If it's not worn out (throttle shafts - had this problem recently with my '51 Ford) it should adjust up and run just fine. BE SURE TO PUT A NEW IN-LINE FUEL FILTER in the fuel line close to the carburetor to keep from drawing crud from the tank and fuel line into your nice newly rebuilt carb...been there, done that! Then you can tackle the ignition and all the other glitches that old cars seem to have. Good luck!
You said it needed gas tank repairs...so it's likely that you have sucked some crud up from the tank into the filter and/or carb. That's where I'd start...
Yeah, the gas tank was already disconnected when I bought it, but who knows WHEN it got disconnected.....I was thinking about swapping the single bbl carb for a newer 2bbl anyway, but I can't really afford a new Holley right now. I've read that putting the 2bbl on makes a pretty big difference with these engines.....Anyone have first hand experience with this? Is it worth it? Any advice would be great.....Oh, and anybody with a used 2bbl sitting around let me know. Thanks guys!
pull tank, fill with nuts bolts and soapy water, shake well (tank), empty, flush, repair (wo blowing self up), blow out lines, replace tank, replace fuel pump and filter. rebuild carb, new plugs points, cond cap rotor etc. charge battery. hot wire to isolate ign system from other wiring. 5 gallons gas w/ Marvel mystery oil. adjust valves, start car. check brakes, new tires (skinny ww), check wiring. lower car, paint wheels black, baby moons. start car and drive. next weekend, split manifold w/ glasspacks, 2-1 carb manifold and maybe engine dress up items. mexican blanket optional...good luck
carb is most likely a Rochester 1GC........you can find a rebuild service manual on-line to download................rebuild is very simple............
I like 61's with the "fast top" better than the bubbles. I drove my ole 61 for many years,and hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine.
Howza 'bout a HAMBer Taxi?? Blazing yaller with a pearl sequence, flaked roof a mild shave job, sLAMMed, skinny whites and Astros or black steelies and Poverty caps. Do not ferget the Checker accents.
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