Re: Excessive fuel consumption

Posted by Tim Cole On 2016/8/8 19:22:02

Nobody today knows how those cars are supposed to perform because they weren't alive when the cars were sold.

I suppose you could build a time machine and go back to, say, 1972. You could then buy a rebuilt carburetor for your Chevrolet from NAPA and a brand new carburetor from the dealer. You could even buy an AC Delco rebuilt from the dealer. We sold different levels of repairs. If the customer wanted top notch performance we recommended a brand new carburetor. When we rebuilt motors we put on a brand new carburetor. We also installed over the counter carburetor kits. We also sent carburetors out to hot shot rebuilders. Sure I put a little carburetor kit on my 1961 Ford and it was okay. It passed all the state emissions tests as well. I put a rebuilt carburetor on my 1979 Dodge to pass a 3 gas emissions test. It was $57 while a brand new unit was $156. The original lasted 128,000 miles, but the rebuilt held up for, I think, three years. So I bought a car with a computer controlled carburetor which adjusted itself for wear.

Those old cars with their grasshopper strainer air cleaners suck in all sorts of abrasives at high velocity. Another item is corrosion. Flex fuel vehicles are built with corrosion resistant metals because E85 will erode fuel lines and injectors at a higher rate than conventional gasoline.

Carburetors are a compromise the same way as rebabbitting connecting rods. The old manuals all state that Babbitt bearing rods should be replaced when worn out. But you can't go to a dealer so you have to make compromises.

I guess it sums up like this: A rebuilder can replace the serviceable parts that wear out - jets, idle screws, float needles and seats, power valves, accelerator pumps, etc, etc. He can put the thing on a flow meter and measure the air to fuel ratio as well. But if a brass jet wears out then what about the cheap non-serviceable pot metal body?