Rebuilding a carb
 

Ok so to sum up some stuff:

V8 Flathead - 1947. I don't have the original carb anymore, but a knock-off with a smaller intake.

Car's running real rich, fouling plugs pretty quickly and putting out a good amount of black smoke on acceleration.

Gonna try my hand at carefully cleaning the carb myself. It's brand new (couple months old).

However I'm a dummy when it comes to carbs. I'm reading up on how they work (float, needle jet, etc etc) and I've got the green book to help me think through it. Also got youtube, I guess. Although I prefer reading to watching.

I've got a pretty good collection of tools. Picks, hooks, needlenose pliers, all sorts of screwdrivers and all the cleaning fluid I could want (spray, at least).

Got a towel ready to lay out all the parts, and I'm going to take a lot of pictures along the way to help me.

What should I know? Y'all know way more than me about this so what should I remember?

Should I look up and write down any measurements or anything that will be important? How do I know the right jets are in that carb?

Any help would be great.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

I don't have any personal experience with the foreign made copies of the Holley 94 carbs, but I have caught a few comments that made me suspicious of their quality and performance. My recommendation to you would be to find a good, solid U. S. made genuine Holley 94 carburetor. Good used rebuilt carbs are available on ebay, local swap meets, etc. You might also contact Charlie Schwendler - he is a Holley carb expert amongst our hobby and probably has a rebuilt carb ready to go. He has a good reputation in the old Ford community, fair prices, and stands behind his work.

Charlie Schwendler
5845 Cole Rd, Orchard Park, NY, 14127
(716) 662-9159
[email protected]

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

This is fantastic advice, thanks. I'll reach out to him. I figure it's probably a good idea for me to take the existing one apart anyway even if it's just to figure out how a carb works and so I can do a cleaning eventually. This isn't gonna be my last older car and eventually I need to just bite the bullet and do the work!

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

i recently bought and installed a chinese knock-off holley 94 carb. it was set up just about right straight out of the box. https://www.ebay.com/itm/405286736985

there are three screws that do most of the work WRT adjustment, that i know of. one screw for adjusting the mixture for each of the two barrels. they are brass screws and are side by side in the back of the carb. and one screw on the accelerator linkage (battery side of the engine bay) for adjusting the idle speed. that's it. there are other methods of adjustment, i'm sure, but i suspect they might involve the replacement of parts.

the new carb replaced an OEM Ford carb (holley 94 design) that i just couldn't, even after a rebuild, adjust in such a way as to prevent random combustion (popping sounds) in the exhaust manifold. the new carb immediately stopped that for which i was very grateful! :)

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Yeah the new carb solved a surging issue, and I don’t remember if it ran rich before they swapped it. OEM mechanical fuel pump.

I’ve fiddled with all the adjustments, but I need to check the fuel pressure and I figured I would rebuild the carb and check the air path while I’m at it. I was also told it might be the float?

Dunno. I’m expecting the carb will be clean inside and out but it’s the thing controlling fuel air mixture so I’ll start there.

It’s possible it’s just not the right jets or something. There’s no model number on it or anything.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

I don't know if you will find anything about building a knock off carb. If you decide to do something with the original carb I made a video showing teardown and reassembly of a 94 carb. I'd rather you watch the video than me have to write what I did. I had positive comments from a prominent carb builder so I think the video is ok. Hope you might find it helpful. Mart.
https://youtu.be/UMiWUQyIkmg?si=M-8J8-8KCPhvgQJM

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

No numbers on the carb at all? How about posting photos? If your vehicle is very original I would find the correct Carb. and rebuild it.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Here's a couple of videos I made today after the car was warmed up.

This is revving the engine up and holding it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SAHS320snU

This is the carb at idle. No numbers that I can see anywhere:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/th1KqoRB628

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

I've emailed Charlie about it and sent him the videos, I'm not sure the knock-off carb is even worth trying to adjust.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Often times those small air cleaners are a problem too.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Skip may have stumbled onto something... Pull that chrome 'oil cap breather' looking air cleaner and see what it does. If it's as restrictive as it looks, it could be acting like a choke. Hence the running rich and low power. And my .02 on the carb rebuild is I have gotten quite familiar with them. Now it's soak the parts in the Berryman dip, lay out the towel on the bench and get to work. Mart's video is a good first tool to open.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

That carb up there Huey mentions might be something to have around for some guys here. I've already hoarded a number of originals so I should be set. I have a 75% success rate on new Chinese carburetors for other machinery.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

I’ve been chatting with Charlie via email and he agrees it might be the air filter. I thought so too but didn’t notice a change when I pulled it off. Looks like I’m going to be sourcing a better carb.

Maybe this guy since it’s an exact version of the OEM.

https://stromberg-97.com/product-ind...cat=genuine-97

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

I don't think you will hear any complaints about the new 97's. A good product, and good customer service is the gossip. I usually run original 97's, my favorite

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

So I pulled off the air filter, cleaned off the plugs and connections, and took the car out for a quick 3 mile drive today to see if the filter would make any difference.

For about the first mile it might have felt a little different (after warming up in the barn at idle) but at around the 2.5 mile mark (when I had to do some stops and starts) the car started dying every time I let it idle for more than a few seconds.

Then as I was pulling in the barn, it would die every time I let it idle between gear changes (into reverse, etc).

I pulled a plug right after and it's pitch black (but no buildup) although there's white on it.

I'm thinking this might mean too much current is getting pushed through? Maybe? In addition to the carb running real rich even with no air filter and the butterfly valve wide open.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Me too. Such a simple carb. Plus, tons of options regarding jetting and power valves to set it up for your motor exactly.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

You say you have a 1947 Ford. Unless you have a compelling reason not to, I would stay with the proper original carburetor for your engine. I'm not knocking the new Strombergs, it's just that they are not the proper carb for your car.

You're on the right track talking to Charlie.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Just a shot in the dark but any chance it's electrical? I did a tune up on the 8ba in my '39 and with less than 10 miles it started to run like crap and finally died pulling into a swap meet. Turns out the brand new after market condenser took a dump. Replaced it with a NOS unit that a buddy had at the swap meet and no more problems.

Re: Rebuilding a carb
 

Make sure your engine is a 47 engine and factory type distributor. If you have a later 8BA type engine swapped in then you must use a matching 8BA type carburetor with the vacuum port in the center section to run the vacuum advance diaphragm. Post a picture of your engine and we can make sure the parts you are putting together will work properly together.
I encourage you to try rebuilding a Holley carburetor yourself. You don't need any special tools, other than something to soak the parts in. Like GB I have used Berryman's carb dip, but I hear good things about ultasonic cleaners being used for carb parts cleaning too.
Go to your local swap meets and get a spare carburetor or two (or dozen... they multiply), they should be cheap. I don't pay more than $20 for a core and don't buy anything rusted stuck. Be aware of the multiple versions produced over the years. You can mix & match to a great extent, but need to keep the guts as an assembly (spary nozzles, air tubes, hold downs).
Have you asked the shop that swapped out your carb if they still have the original? If so, get it back and try rebuilding it.