I have an edelbrock performer series carb I am putting on a new engine. The carb was run on my old engine, then stored for two years. For much of the storage, it was kept filled with gas, but at some point in time, it was tipped over and the carb set dry for a while. My question is, do I need to rebuild the carb, or is it ok to run in its current state? Thanks in advance, Dan
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Carb storage problem
I have a similar question. My carb sat on the car in storage (Coney Island!) and now it takes a strong hand to make the butterflys open. What do I need to do to if anything?
Chris '62 327, 340 hp -
Re: Carb storage problem
dan may get away without rebuilding but pretty certain chris's AFB will need some attention. soak it in lacquer thinner, blow out all passages , then install the master rebuild kit. mikeComment
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Re: carb storage
For future reference, if you plan on storing a carb, empty the fuel and them flush it out with mineral sprits, empty, and let dry. In addition to being very flamable, gasoline will form gum and varnish over time. Modern seals and gaskets don't "dry out over time". That bit of vintage advice comes from the days when accelerator pump plungers were made out of leather.
DukeComment
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Re: carb storage
The accelerator pump plungers in vintage ('62-'65 Corvette) Carter AFBs and modern Edlebrock AFBs are indeed still made of leather. And they will shrink when the gas in the bowl dries out. They will usually quickly swell and become pliable when gas does get to the bowl though.Comment
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Re: carb storage
I haven't looked at an AFB accelerator pump in a while, Chris, but I just can imagine that it's made of leather instead of a modern elastomeric material.
Virtually all fuel line parts - for new cars and replacement parts for older cars - have had material upgrades in the past ten years to deal with modern fuel blends, including oxygenates.
DukeComment
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Re: carb storage
Believe they're still leather. I was surprised too.
Reason I believe they're still leather is:
1. A rebuild kit I recently bought contained a leather plunger. Could be the kit was old, though.
2. An Edelbrock 9600 series AFB I took apart recently contained a leather plunger. The 9600 series are "modern", but they are over 10 years old.
3. Edelbrock advertises a neoprene plunger for marine use. This plunger has a different part number and is more expensive than the regular plunger.Comment
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Re: Carb storage problem
Looks like my engine rebuilder was a little off?
After looking at it closely and playing with it (on the bench) I found that the choke linkage, with choke in closed position, was keeping it from opening into the secondarys. If I hold the choke linkage open the main acclerator arm moves nice.
thanksComment
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That's how it's supposed to work
It's called a "secondary lockout" to keep Bubba from revving it to 6500 when the engine is cold.
Hopefully current owners understand that an engine should be warmed up before you demand maximum output from it.
DukeComment
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What!?!?!?!
Just kidding. A cold engine with the non-choked secondaries popping open would probably bog or die, too.
When I was a kid, a woman down the street had a cvt Mustang. Avery day, when I was walking to the bus, she would start it, immediately pop it into gear, aim toward the the end of the street, and floor it all the way to the stop sign. The engine was smoking junk in two years. I'm sure many readers of this board have engines with over 200,000 miles on them still operating properly, because we avoid such abuse.Comment
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