Re: Carter Carburetor

Posted by BH On 2007/1/1 10:32:07

One thing my dad handed me when I rebuilt my first carb was a fiberglass tray - like what you used to see in cafeteria-style dining. Though otherwise completely flat, the tray had an upturned edge that kept the little parts (and small tools) from rolling off the table and onto the floor (or worse yet down the drain!). I suppose an old cookie sheet would do, but the bright yellow color of the fiberglass tray also made it easy to spot small parts.

Take the carb apart carefully - a little penetrating oil might be needed for stubborn components. Some parts are brass, which is a soft material - easy to strip-out a thread or a slot.

Soaking the carb parts, after diassembly, is a good idea, but I make it a point not to soak some of the delicate parts, the float(s), or the choke stat and cover. Just clean those off with an aerosol carb cleaner.

Also, because the soaking solution and most aerosol cleaners for carbs are acidic, my dad taught me to rinse the parts off with hot water, after they come oout of their bath - then blow out all pasages and dry with compressed air.

Get a new (not NOS) carb kit, stick with the shop manual instructions (especially and tightening sequence druing reassembly), and you'll do fine. Unlike carbs of later decades, most settings can be made with a common set of feeler and wire gauges.

BTW, I am going to pull the collection of sheets on Carter carbs for Packard applications, that my dad kept in his toolbox (years ago as a mechanic in a Packard agency), and scan them for the site. I suspect it will contain one sheet that applies to your carb.