It's not just lead, it's Tetraethyllead. An organolead compound with the formula (CH3CH2)4Pb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraethyllead

It was originally added to boost the octane of gas. It was later found that exhaust valves would burn up quickly without it. This was overcome in later years by the use of hardened valve seats.

Putting a small amount of lubricant in your gas will effectively lengthen the life of your valves. A quart of diesel fuel for 20 gallons will do the job and not change the way the motor runs otherwise.

read the label on any bottle of lead substitute, study the chemical names. It's diesel fuel that has been repackaged and is way over priced.

What is taxable HP? I have no idea, that's a foreign concept to me. But maybe the following info could help you figure it out.

Horsepower is a function of force times speed. The formula is "torque x rpm / 5252 = HP"

If your engine puts out 345 foot pounds of torque at 2300 rpm its horsepower rating is 151. If it's 200 ft lbs at 4500 it's rating is 171hp. So, which one has more power?

Compare the ratings of the Packard engines and modern engines. The long stroke low rpm engines have their peak torque at a relatively rpm. And the HP ratings show that. Modern engines develope their torque at a much higher rpm so they end up with much high ratings.

What is the lead on your zerks?

1/8 pipe is 27 tpi in both straight and tapered. 1/8 British straight pipe is 28 tpi but the treads are at 55 degrees instead of 60.

3/8 nc is 16 tpi and 3/8 nf is 24 tpi.

1/8 pipe and 1/8nf are worlds apart.

1/8 pipe will measure about 3/8 outside diameter. 1/16 pipe will measure 1/4 OD and many times a 1/4-28nf thread is used.

Take a pic with a ruler next to your plug. It will make things easier to identify.

As far as Viton being new and possibly a passing thing, it's been around for 25+ years. I think it has proven itself.

Re: the needle and seats.

The fuel inlet valve in these(all?) kits from Daytona are made of Viton.

I'm making a wild guess here, but to me there looks like a limited number of seats for each brand of carb. This is possible because the fuel flow rate is unimportant as long as it's enough for the highest usage carb/engine. The same isn't true for accelerator pump, which must be tuned to the application.

I believe they are Buna-N because that is what Gina from Daytona told me. Chances are, this is correct because it is such a common rubber.

Part of my business is make masking tooling for the metal plating industry. I work with Buna-N, EPDM and silicone depending on the chemicals and processes they are being used with. Buna-N is by far the cheapest and easiest to work with and with straight gasoline, it is fine.

While studying up on Viton, I learned that there are rubbers that will work with alcohol and gas but not when they are mixed. Especially with the reformulated gases of today. Dyneon is the 3M equivalent of Viton.

The seal just stretches over the pump rod. We measured the new seal, the old pump rod and the pump well in the carb. I am confident we can form a piece of rubber that matches exactly.

Good news. Bad news. And possible future news.

Got the kits and put them in. Very pleased with the quality. And the car runs absolutely wonderful.

The accelerator pumps are still Buna-N which will fail with E10 gas like the NAPA kits. I talked to Gina at Daytona and she said that because there are so many kits and stock sitting around, she doesn't see anyone making Viton seals for this application. A quick check at Clark's Corvair confirms this.

Now, owning a machine shop has its advantages. Having a hired man that has been through tech school for a two year model building course is an advantage too. We studied the seals and will be making a mold for these as soon as we can find a place that will sell the right compounds in the small amounts that we need.

I have repacked tons of tapered roller bearing spindles. Normal procedure is to tighten it up while turning the hub until its fairly hard to turn. This seats the bearings. Too tight will crush the rollers or dent the races. That's why a torque spec is there. After it is tight, loosen the nut without turning the hub until it is loose then turn it tight by hand and lock it with what ever method is uses. Roller bearings need a bit of clearance for the grease. Too loose and you get a squishy feeling, too tight and the burn up. After running a few miles, feel the hub. Warm is normal. Hot is bad.

There is no partial rebuild on a carb. Take it apart. Clean it. Put it back together.