Technical Holley 1960 leak

Hi there.
Tomorrow I'll be picking up a 56 223 Customline.
I'll be making a 250 km return home trip (hand palms sweating..) with a leaking Holley 1960 carb. I only drove it once and, from what I saw, the leak seems to come from the float bowl gaskets, although it might come from somewhere else.
Now, any thoughts on how to fix it on the spot so I can make a more relaxed trip? It will get a full rebuild later.
Morac41 already suggested 1 - tighten up screws, 2 - some sort of silicone gasket sealer, 3 - a couple of o-rings that fit the shape of the bowl.

Any thougths?

Might the gas ignite? Or is gas/money loss the only thing to avoid?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

get the bowl gaskets and do it right , as if you over tighten the screws you have a chance of stripping out the threads in the soft metal . do not use silicone as it might gum up the works internally . if a gasket is not readably available make one from gasket paper

 

Thanks for the input. Lets see how it goes and what Ill be able to do on the spot. A gasket wont surely be available bit maybe Ill be able to do a gasket from gasket card. In that case, the bowl will empty. Is it likely to start readilly after a bit of craking and work from the fuel pump, or may i run into some other problems?
As to the silicone seal, i think morac41`s suggestion was to put it on the outside bellow the leaking bowl, and over the old gasket.
Thanks

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it should fill the bowl in a couple of cranks if the system has been run recently ( month or so ) if the car hasn't been run you can save the battery and starter and try dribbling some fuel down the carb throat , or use some starting fluid or carb cleaner and let the motor do the work instead of the starter, once it fires it should pump quickly might take 2-3 tries if its really dry . as for the goop over the outside , you might get by with it , but the gasket might break up more if its cracked . and gasoline is not something I want to have pouring on a hot engine , specially if your going down the highway .

in a pinch I have used the cardboard backing from a pad of paper as its got the right thickness . , I Just seen where your from so Yes I understand the availability on parts .

 

If you're going to pull the bowl off that carb, you may want to consider taking the (should be small) step of pulling the float, float needle, and inlet valve where the needle seats to clean it. I believe that model carb may have the bowl exposed to atmospheric pressure through an opening at the top. When the needle sticks open, fuel can flow out through that opening at the top of the bowl.

I once had a persistent leak past the bowl gasket with the similar 1904 carb. It had a gl*** bowl so I knew it wasn't overflowing. I was finally able to seal the bowl using a very thin layer of permatex on the mating surfaces.

Just a couple thoughts. Good luck.

 

Hey there guys.
Sorry for not replying for a while, but I'm so happy with the Customline that I'm hardly able to sleep. I've been working on it for all of the weekend.
I took my chances and drove the 270km back home. It all went well, fortunatelly, as I was very concerned about the carb leaking over the manifolds, and also about an eventual water leak, brake fluid leak, and so forth. In a way I'm glad I didnt try to solve the gas leak on the spot, since a part of the bowl was broken an secured in place with silicone. When I removed it, it all came apart. I probably wouldnt be able to get back home that day.
Now I've got time to solve things out.
I'm gonna post about the car and the trip soon.
Thanks a lot for the advices and keep it up.