Can someone tell me who works on Detroit Lubricator carburetors? Experts who had a great job are already retired. Thanks for any advice.
Jon Hardgrove at the carburetorshop.com cant be beat. Been doing carbs of all types since forever and I am always inpressed with his knowlege on anything carb related. He should have all the parts and specs you need(and then some).
Jon is no longer rebuilding carbs, but thanks for the complement. "Forever" is pretty close. When Noah landed the Ark, he had to have the carb on his Jeep rebuilt................ Lots of different Detroit Lubricator carburetors; if you will specify your type and application, I can probably supply rebuild parts, and quite possibly point you to someone who can do the work for you should you not wish to do it youself. And yes, while the Detroit Lubricator carbs are excellent, they present a set of problems not found in most other designs. Jon
Contact the Dodge Brothers Club store. They have a reprint available of the factory brochure. Very simple carb to rebuild. What engine is yours on?
Hi John, thank you for your post. I bought a Detroit Lubricator carburetor at a swap meet and would like to have it repaired. The seller told me that these carburetors were not of good quality. What kind of experience do you have?
"The seller told me that these carburetors were not of good quality." I love this comment! The DL carbs were good enough for Packard from 1905 to 1932, Cadillac on their V-12's, and V-16's as well as V-8's Graham, Dodge, etc., etc., etc. Graham thought enough of them to put four (4) of the 1932 Ford DL's on an IR manifold straight 8 race engine. Yet when Ford tried them in 1932 and 1933, the Ford mechanics couldn't make them work, so they (carbs or mechanics???) were of poor quality??? The bowl, body, and vane box of this 100 year old carburetor are zinc alloy (pot metal). Does anyone know of ANY zinc alloy made before about 1935 that today ISN'T poor quality??? IF there is a warpage problem that needs addressing, it will be the vane box. The vane box holds the vanes (variable venturii carburetor), and MUST be true for the carburetor to function correctly. The vanes are connected to the aspirator valve which controls the fuel metering. Carefully disassemble the carb (TAKE PICTURES). Assemble the vane box and vanes on your work bench. The vanes must have no binding against the sides of the box. If so, OCCASIONALLY some light filing on the box might work (we machined new boxes from aluminum, but sold out, and no longer do this). The second (and third) items that MAY, or may not, need addressing is the groove in the aspirator valve where the vane fingers contact the valve, and the vane fingers themselves. In theory, the valve was supposed to rotate during engine operation, thus minimizing the wear at any given point in the groove. In practice, this did not happen, and "flats" wore in the groove where the fingers attached. While I couldn't do this as a shop: if the flats exist, an owner could rotate the valve 90 degrees, so the flats were away from the fingers. Any wear on the fingers should be addressed. We machined new aspirator valves, but again, not any longer. We do make a rebuilding kit with gaskets, fuel valve, screws, etc., but suggest you look at the items mentioned above before buying the kit. We sold all of our Cadillac, Graham, and Packard carburetors to Scott Henningsen https://pac-carbs.com/ But he did not want the Ford stuff, so guessing he does not rebuild the Ford carbs. I do NOT know of anyone currently doing the Ford DL carbs, but you might give Scott a call, and maybe he does know someone. As far as I am aware, the vane box, the vanes, and the aspirator valves for the Fords are not being reproduced. I have probably 50 or so of the 1933 carbs (different from the MUCH scarcer 1932 carbs) so might have one with useable pieces if yours cannot be used. As to quality, once professionally restored, the Ford DL is more reliable than the Stromberg EE-1 (a.k.a. "97") and MUCH more reliable than the Holley AA-1 (a.k.a. "94"). Just a question of how deep you wish to get into the carb. If you have more questions, call me: 573-392-7378 (9-12, 1-4 Mon-Tues central time). Jon
I have a Detroit Lubricator on a 1932 Ford. But it was refurbished by an expert 20 years ago. I am looking for a 1933/1934 Ford for sale and none of the 1933s have the original carburetor. There are very few experts who can repair it. I would just like to find someone who knows how to fix it for me and how to make it last for a very long time.
Call Carburetor Specialist, ask for Mae. Don't know if they will do a DL, but if they do, it will be done right. Tell Mae you got the number from me. (678) 393-1501 Jon
Unknown until your carburetor is disassembled for inspection. If it does not have any of the maladies listed in my first post, then cleaning and install new kit. But if any of the items described have issues, then a machine shop will be a necessity. Jon
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