67 3x2 carb to air cleaner attachment

[Richard B.]

There is a bottom piece on the air cleaner assembly that attaches to the front and rear carbs with 2 screws.....1 in each of the 2 "3659" carbs. I don`t know the official name of this bottom piece but it has 3 semi circle holes in it to fit over each of the 3 carbs and also has a hole with a vent hose to the driver side valve cover.

The 3659 carbs on my car are dated 691`s (Sept 1966) and i believe they were the ones the car was born with. The problem i want to address is the holes in these carbs where the screws attach the subject piece from the air cleaner. One of the holes is adaquetely stripped to the point where the screw does not tighten to my satisfaction and the other hole is getting in that direction although it still tightens down adaquetely.

The cause of the problem may be partially due to the fit of the air cleaner piece over the carbs as it appears to not be a perfect fit over the center carb causing the holes in the air cleaner assy piece to not line up perfect with the screw holes in the carb. The problem may also be due to 39 years of taking this piece on and off.

The fix to this problem is what i am asking for help with. I have talked with a mechanic that feels we can bore out the hole, sleeve it and retap it to use the original screws. I am asking if anyone has done this or seen it done before on the carbs and/or other possible corrective actions for the problem. I want to save these carbs because they are original and good dates for my car.

thanks in advance for your thoughts.
richard

[John H.]

Re: 67 3x2 carb to air cleaner attachment

Richard -

You should be able to Helicoil those holes, which is a "forever" fix compared to the original threads in pot metal.

[Clem Z.]

it has been a while since i worked on one of

these 2 barrel holleys but if i remember correctly there is not much wall thickness there to install a heli coil. i would try and drill and tap the orignal hole deeper and use a longer bolt. make sure you do not break thru into the part of the carb that sees engine vacuum or you will need to seal around the bolt threads.

[Dick W.]

Re: it has been a while since i worked on one of

If the area is too thin to install a helicoil, try Loctite/Permatex thread repair. It is an epoxy that come with a release agent to coat the bolt with. Clean and prepare the stripped area, apply the epoxy, coat the bolt with the release agent, and screw the bolt in. Allow the epoxy to catalyze and then screw the bolt out. Instant threads. I have used this repair is quite a few non critical areas