Re: 1930 745 Phaeton

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2011/3/17 14:18:12

Vacuum tanks (usually Stewart-Warner) are well described in most of the car service books and publications of the era like Chiltons, and no doubt are available on the web as well, though I don't have a link. There are also professional rebuilding services. But it a nutshell, manifold vacuum is routed to the canister and that vacuum draws fuel from the tank into a reservoir also within the unit and from there the fuel runs by gravity to the carburetor. There is a float system included as well which I believe (?) controls the vacuum. Generally, failure of the vacuum tank is from a vacuum leak (gasket, often, or warped casting) which prevents it from filling with gas.

No doubt one of our gurus with direct hands-on experience will come along shortly with better info.

Vacuum tanks are often abandoned by the uninitiated because either they're too lazy to repair it, or think of it as a reliability issue (which it isn't, when properly rebuilt).