I got a 3x2 kit from vintage speed, and now that I have the kit they wont answer the phone Ha Ha,anyway a couple questions. On the centre carb, what or how do you hook up the accelerator pump rod on the outside of the carb, when your running triple carb linkage ? Next question, still centre carb. carb. base when installing the new butter fly plates do they seal up so you can't see light through them ? also the holes in the plates are a little off, is it OK to file a little off so they fit better ? Thanks for your help Mike
No the center carb doesn't seal tight. If it did, you would suffocate the engine. The plates stay open ust a hair so that it draws fuel from the fuel slot, the wider it opens, the more the slot is exposed. When it opens more it creates vacuume above the plates it then draws fuel from the main fuel curcuit. The hole that the fuel pump rod will be what ever works best on your engine. I have been running Trips for over 15 years and have torn every inch apart many times, modifying all the fuel curcuits. The front and rear should show no light as this will be a vacuum leak. Some bases will allow a bit of air but there's a product called Dag 213 that was used by the dealers to seal them. You can still buy this on Ebay sometimes and from a guy Tripower Mike .Mike Wasser. Once you have your Tripower running really good, you will never go back to a single carb.
http://www.pontiactripower.com/index.html I cleaned my original bases with carb cleaner and removed this black line that was on the plates and bases. I thought it was just old varnish and oily dirt from years of running. Unfortunately this caused enoughof a vacuume leak that no matter what, I couldn't dial my set up in. It ran great for the first 4 years of running it on my car but started leaking past the needle and seats. This is when I cleaned them all up and had the problems. Then I bought new bases from Vintage speed and it would run better but still when I held the bases up to a light, I could see some light shining through. I heard, no matter what you will have some light as its a metal to metal surface thatcan't be too tight or it will bind. So I ended up drilling jets, drilling the idle air bleeds and fuel slots etc etc. Now my Tri-Power runs better than it ever did. Mike at http://www.pontiactripower.com/index.html sold me the rebuild kits that also could come with a ball seat for the needle and seat. I highly recommend these as the gas today eats the needles after time. I also just bought some Dag 213 from him and sealed my old bases and my new 1966 Tri Power bases. If I hold these up to light, I see no light!!! So I am recommending to do this initially before you even install these carbs. You don't have to remove the bases from the carb to do the Dag 213. Also make sure the rod that opens the front and rear carb has no friction when installing the ends of it into the end carb linkage. The rod ends should just slide in and out without interference. If there is the slightest, you will have a vacuume leak.
Vintage speed really needs to get more people on their books. Last I heard it was Charlie Price, his wife and one other guy. I heard how poor the service was 8 years ago and was told, don't expect your product to arrive very fast. So I called up Charlie and he reassured me that I would have my product in 2 weeks. Thats funny because thats what others said he would say. Well I hounded them for 3 months and I finally got my product. I also got the same "no answering" of the phone about 80% of the time. He could really run his business better and make way more money but I'm sure he's just happy doing what he has done for many years and he won't change. Too bad as he has good products.
I went on e-Bay, and ordered The Dag 213, I will do this before I put them on the intake. With the kit I had ordered from Charlie it came with the newer style ball seat, He also told me that it would be about two weeks for delivery, after the third I called and asked where my order was, and they said that it was mailed out yesterday, and took another week to get here. I have another question, the large base and small base Roch. two bbl. carb IS the only difference the base's ? I think that this set up will look very cool on my 292 ci. inline Again...Thanks for your help.....mike
For the accelerator rod on the end carbs, I just cut down the original linkage plate to eliminate everything but the original hole for the pump rod. If you just bought the parts, the butterflies need to be seated into the bores for a tight fit. If you bought his secondary bases, he already did this for you. He explained the process to me. You can see the return spring that snaps the butterflies home with the orange valve grinding compound (actually it's Dupont chrome polish with the aggressive grit) that wears away the high spots until you get a good seal. This shot also shows what is left of the original end plate leaving only the hole for the accelerator pump rod. The thick butterfly plates for the end carbs are made oversize with the intent that they will be sized to fit precisely.
I didn't read every one of these, but I DO have the Vintage bases for the large base Rochesters and am/have been using them. ---they are a tight seal, should see no light. Another test is to put a flat plate on them and try to suck a little vacuum, shouldn't be able to. Vacuum leaks are the death of tri power applications. ----best bet is to use a stock center carb, not modified. Block off the ends with blanks and adjust the center until it runs perfect on a two barrel. BTW, the stock acc. pump linkage should be the same on all the carbs and run off the acc. arm on each one. Put one carb on at a time, no linkage. Car should not change while running. ----I made my linkage but there are kits for tri powers. They all seem to work o.k. Just be sure you can adjust them fully. ----Use a strong return spring on the ends. Should be relatively hard to mash them down to run. This insures a solid seal each and every time. "Clear" them on a frequent basis, flush all the old gas. ----Charlie is hell to deal with. I tried for over a year to get his first prototypes of the bases, finally pretended to be a new customer and reordered. Still took about 2 months. BUT, the bases were beautiful--we talked at length about how he lapped them in and checked them. They were worth the two hundred plus he gets. ---I use the large bases and have had no problems in over a year and a half. Good milage, good performance (run at 75% open on the ends), and hellacious good looking under the hood. Cooger---sorry for the long narrative.
So, about the DAG 213. Do you clean the bores, paint the dope on the butterflies, let it air dry for a while with the butterflies closed, and then bake the base at 350 degrees for an hour?
You put it on the edges of the butterflies and snap it shut. Wait 24 hours and tap the butterflies loose. I spent hours lapping the butterflies on one set of plates I had and even after all this time I saw light when I held the plate up and looked at the bright light. I figured it was the best you could ever do but then I bought a bottle and did 2 sets and I swear, I hold these plates up to light and its blacker than black. No light whatso ever!! No need for baking.
I bought a complete system about 6 weeks ago. Got it in 2 weeks. Runs like a raped ape. I too tried to call with a couple of questions. I Left messages but no reply. Very nice high quality product.
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