Not being a master mechanic myself, and not at home to really take it to my mechanic to figure this out, I'll throw this out there and see if anyone has any suggestions so when I get home I can maybe do some of it myself and save a little money. I have the stock 303 rocket olds motor in my '53 super 88. I noticed before I left home that when I make a hard right turn I smell gas pretty strong, and when I make a hard left turn the motor boggs out if I give it gas. Could this be fuel pump? Something not right in the Carb? Other than what I described she runs like a bandit. Have checked around the carb and all for gas leaking when I make the hard right turn and seen nothing. Any info or suggestions will help. If I cant figure it out I'll take it to my mechanic when I get back. Thanks fellas!
Being a Super 88 I assume it has a Rochester 4bl carb. What you describe is not unusual for these carbs. Go through the float levels and make sure they are correct first. There is another more involved fix for the dying problem. Maybe CarbKing here on the HAMB will post.
drop the gas tank and look at the suction line...make certain that it's tight...then it would be easy to clean the inside of the tank....you never know what you'll find after 59 years...as for the carb and fuel pump, a rebuild on the carb couldn't hurt either...check the float level and float drop (invert the carb to do the float drop check)...today's gasoline with the ethanol added to it wreaks havoc with old car carbs....change the fuel pump for one utilising a silicone type diaphragm...this type of fuel pump is very resistant to the side affects of modern gasoline....try Kanter Auto parts in Boonton New Jersey for the carb kit and fuel pump.
Yes it is the 4bl. Good info man, so would you say this is something that could get worse or is it ok to drive with it like this?... Im pretty finicky so I probably will get it taken care of but just in case... thanks! I'll check the lines on the tank... the tank itself is only a few years old so it should be good. Although I have caught the bolts (need to cut them down) that hold the tank up on a dip while pulling out and the corner of the tank dropped ofcourse it was an easy fix getting them back on just annoying. But that may have loosened something now that I think about it. Good info on the fuel pump! My skills are definitely not with carbs but I like to learn so I will get with my mechanic and see if he'll supervise haha. Atleast I got some good info to start with now
Check the floats as even though the floats are brass they have a tendency to leak with this new crappy gas,I went through a few floats on my 53 Olds.
Will do, is there any different kind of floats to run that can hold up to todays gas? Would adding lead additive help? Thanks
I doubt there are floats made out of a better material for the 4GCs but when I had the 53 I had plenty of parts carbs at the time.
From what I can tell there are two different versions of the 4GC,57 and newer and 56 and older with the 56 and older are a little taller then the 57 and up. The floats from the 56 and back are too big for for the 57 and newer but the 57 and up floats might work in the 56 on back.
Carbs from that era were made of brass mostly. They can crack and sink but they will not react to a turn as you describe. I lost a float going to Memphis in 1980 and had to find a new one to replace it. It was cracked and would not idle because of the problem. As long as I was driving 60 MPH all was well. When I had to stop the problem occurred. The sinking float syndrome is a modern thing based on the modern float material. If the 70s is considered modern. I'd rebuild the carb and adjust the float level as directed. Shake the float to see if it has taken on some fuel inside. If not, just reset the float level.
I never had any problem with brass floats until the gas got crappy,it might have been a coincident or the aging of the parts but went through 3 on my 53 before selling it. It seemed like it was the secondary float every time which did not see the use like the primary float,the first time it happened is after it sat all winter in a friends garage where I could not start it regularly. I was thinking the crappy gas attacked the solder on the floats.
Yes, sounds like a sinking float. and yes, I have had some brass floats sink in the last few years, and one was an Edlebrock. The dab of solder that covers the "during assembly" vent hole ate away with white corrosion. That is a vent hole for when the main seam gets soldered which causes pressure. After the seam is done, a dab of solder quickly covers the vent hole.
Acting up on a corner does sound like a fuel level in the carb issue. Brass floats usually work great and last a long time but I have seen some that collapse and some that corroded through and leaked along with the solder on some giving away and allowing a leak. I'd have the carb rebuilt by a competent rebuilder or mechanic who knows those carbs even if I had to box it up and send it off to be rebuilt. They aren't "beginner" friendly for the most part.
Thanks again for all the info guys... My mechanic has never done me wrong and really knows these cars from this era inside and out, he worked on these cars when they were nearly new... so I know he will be able to help
Right on man, thanks alot! It wont be till around August that I get back home to work out this issue. I will definitely keep you in mind, thanks!
Yup, sounds like the floats to me. I've rebuilt a few of those 4GC carbs. That 4 float system in them is just...weird. I know there's people out there that can probably work magic with those carbs, but I've always felt you either got one that works great , or you got one that you always have to tinker with. I've never been a "just slap a Holley on it" kind of guy. But after getting fed up with the carb on my '56 324 , I decided to test out putting an old Holley 600 I had sitting on a shelf. The car never ran better. I can finally smoke the tires where before I couldn't even chirp them.
The 4GCs I had always seemed to work good except when a float went bad and to me were easy to work on,I never did change any of the jets but the 4GC that was on the 371 in my 53 seemed to be just right and needed no tweeking. It had great power and good fuel mileage if I could keep my foot out of it,if anyone is using a oil bath air cleaner get rid of it and use the top for a lid to a open element as there will be a noticeable improvement in gas mileage. I tried using the original 53 batwing aircleaner on the 59 371 and it started to drink gas so I picked up a open element air cleaner and used the top of the batwing for the lid and the gas mileage came back and had a neat sound when opening up the secondaries,I think the reason for the different heights of the carbs is in 57 the hood got much lower then the 56 on back so a shorter carb was needed
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