Re: '55 carb choice

Posted by BH On 2014/3/9 9:04:32

Great detail shots, Don.

Unfortunately, I can't recall that detail from any of my V8s, and they're all stored offsite and inaccessible - thanks to the long, brutal winter, here.

In spite of that difference, those two carbs are from the same supplier, but they could be from different years and/or applications. The 4-Jet was produced from 1952 to 1967, but changed quite a bit over that span.

Back in 55-56, a model number was stamped on a tag attached to an air horn screw, but those tags were often thoughtlessly discarded in the course of service. Not sure when they started stamping the last 4 digits of the model number into one corner of the air horn. For a while, some carbs had both a tag and stamped number.

One of your pics shows part of a tag - give us the number from that tag.

In the absence of a model number, a carb expert might have to go so far as to disassemble the carb and check key components against known models to exactly identify it.

The 55s have sight plugs in the fuel bowl casting to check fuel level, but those were eliminated for 56. The 56s have a larger diameter accelerator pump plunger and correspondingly different fuel bowl casting. Mind you, that's just a couple of examples. There are also differences within any given model year, for different engine applications.