I don't know if you guys remember my post a few weeks ago about having intermittent starting problems that were worsening on my 51. Well.. the downward spiral continued to get worse until most recently I had to keep a hot wire handy because of spark problems and a can of gas with me in case I needed to prime the carb. Last weekend it was bad enough that I couldn't start my car at all at any time (even if I had JUST turned it off) without having to run the hotwire, prime the carb, or both. (Fun, lemme tell ya!) So... Up until the big trouble started we had changed the fuel filters, fuel pump, rebuilt the carb (more on that in a sec) and checked the points. All with no significant improvement... So... when the problem got so incredibly crappy we decided to call in my Dad's friend Chuck who's the "inline 6 master" and asked him to go through it. Here's the big lesson learned... If your gonna bother doing a rebuild, replace everything that comes in the kit, not just the stuff that "looks" worn... and take the WHOLE thing apart! (DOH!) I'll admit this was my first rebuild on a car carb, but once I saw the things I missed it was incredibly obvious why it wasn't working right. The main culprits were those little spings being worn out and crud that was preventing those little metal bb's from seating correctly. I also had my floats way out of proper adjustment. (This was a Rochester single barrel) I also had really weak spark that was resolved with a new wire from the top of the coil. And the points weren't right either. Once the carb was rebuilt properly, and the wire replaced the car started without even having to touch the gas and with a mere tap on the starter button. Since I've had the car it's never started faster or ran smoother than it did tonight. It's really like I put in a new engine! Moral of the story... the difference in doing it right and doing it wrong is all a matter of knowing how! Anything is worth doing is worth doing right AND having someone walk you through the complete process correctly once is information you'll NEVER FORGET! The best part of screwing it up the first time is learning from your mistakes, right? Anyway... Thanks for everyone's input. I had no idea how significant those little details would end up being but I'm pretty sure I'll be rebuilding that carb again in my dreams tonight!
It's nice to have a "go to" person too when ya can't figure something out on your own. I have learned the hard way, any time you take a short cut, that will always be the point of failure. Glad it's running better than ever.....Toqwik
It's always those small details that drive you crazy the most . Congrats on your new found knowledge and a good running car. later plmczy
I think it's awesome that you tried the first time and didn't give up and did it again with guidance. Here's a well deserved virtual pat on the back. I'm really looking forward to meeting you, another die hard, true hot rod chick, in person next month at the Hot Rod Reunion.
The Jalopy Journal
