I rebuilt my three 97's with Vintage Speed kits this past weekend, but was surprised to find that one of the bodies was stripped where the needle/seat ***embly screws in. It had been previously been sealed with some sorta putty, but I wanted to helicoil it or use something similar for a long-term fix. No luck. I talked to Charlie Price, and he told me that the seat ***y threads are 7/16-26, which are tough to find. He had a special Helicoil tap and sleeves made, so I shipped it off to him for a fix. The price was right. THEN, in typical fashion, I poked around online and found that 7/16-26 is a British Std Cycle thread (BSC), and Newman Tools sells a $40 Helicoil type kit in this size. However, the thread angles for American and British are different (55 deg vs. 60 deg). QUESTION 1 - think the BSC thread insert would work on the Stromberg without leaking? or would the thread angle mismatch cause a problem? QUESTION 2 - this has to be a common problem on 60 yr old Strombergs - how do you guys fix them? I ***ume not everyone ships them back to Charlie Price and his custom-made Helicoil. For the record, I'm happy with my decision to mail mine off to Charlie Price - the cost is the same (or less) than the Newman Tools kit woulda cost. I just figured other folks have fixed them via other means, so am curious how they did it.
I will firstly request that anyone responding to this leaves out any Vintage Speed politics/issues and answers the questions as written, as I am quite interested in any solutions to this problem too, as I have a few 97s like this.
PEDDRO - good point - thanks. I added that last note for the same reason. I'm happy with what Vintage speed has done for me but gotta figure others found a different fix.
I make a br*** in sert to repair this problem. I charge $15.00 for HAMBers. Sorry for the spam, just trying to help... Email me at hotrod@97heaven.com
HRJ: Do you do anything in terms of new threads for the jet tube screws below the bowl? I've got a few of those stripped.
JOSH - thanks for the response - so, if it's the gasket and not the threads that make the seal, the $40 7/16-26 helicoil kit that Newman Tools sells should do the trick as long as you use a good gasket - right? Anyone else fix these on their own...?
Yea, I have a cheap fix. I bought the odd tap from a tool supply house for a few dollors and drilled and tapped a 9/16 fine thead bolt( I think).I cut the bolt to make an insert. I tapped the carb 9/16 and screwed it in. Worked fine!
Charlie sold me some oversize screws he sells, just tap it out & screw the new one in.....looks like the original screw too! For what its worth i'd probably go with Josh's mod out of choice though.
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