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The mechanic said my car needs intake manifold and exhaust manifold gaskets (about $900) and a carb rebuild (about $560 ) Any thoughts? (Misfiring)
He can’t get to it until Sept. Should I send the carb to someone to rebuild?
Who have you used?

I've never removed a manifold so I'll just comment on the carburetor. Since the parts can be had for $60.00 or less, that leaves $500.00 in labor. At $80.00 per hour, it would take 6 hours and 15 minutes to disassemble/re-assemble the carburetor. It doesn't take that long. How much is this guy charging per hour?

I would call Daytona Carburetor to see if they are competitive. You have nothing to lose by calling around.

This is just a 2-barrel carb, right? You could get the parts and rebuild it on your kitchen table, it's not very complicated. The worst part is cleaning it, and, well, basically the best way to do that is to soak it in something, combined with judicious use of carburetor cleaner with the spray nozzle to make sure the little passages are clean.

Simple Green Carburetor Cleaning

The main thing about the manifolds are that they are heavy, and the nuts to fasten them are sometimes hard to get to (1949 different than a 1953 which is what I have, so cannot comment directly on that) But after the carburetor is removed there is hardly anything else left to take off, just have to disattach the exhaust pipe from the exhaust manifold. The intake/exhaust manifold gaskets are $50 from Max Merritt, the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe "donut" is $20 from Max Merritt, if you have a custom 8 it is an actual gasket that is $5.

I agree that rebuilding the carburetor is not that difficult. I rebuilt two myself, without having any prior experience. And I mean zero....before I dove into rebuilding them, I couldn't even tell you what a carburetor did. The rebuild kits are inexpensive, and some have instructions. I just disassembled the carb, took pictures as I went, put parts in labeled baggies, then dumped the main pieces into a can of carb cleaner. Lots of scrubbing and cleaning. Then reassemble in reverse order with the new parts from the rebuild kit.

If I can rebuild a carb, anyone can. Seriously. It just takes some basic hand tools and some time. If you get stuck, I'll bet there are plenty of guys around you (local car club?) that will gladly jump in and help.

I wouldn't be surprised if rebuilding the carb solves most of the running issues.

-Kevin

Sounds like he's not real interested in working on this. Or he's the ultimate procrastinator?
"Misfiring", usually doesn't involve the gaskets, so I suspect they're just visually leaking/noisy or he's grabbing straws.
Shop around. I'd be looking at the ignition system also. A bad plug or wire or set of points might be all it needs.
It's not unusual currently to get the cold shoulder when you inquire about work on an old car. These people are short handed and busy with new stuff they know how to work on, so not too interested. If it was slow, they'd probably be more eager. Plus parts are still slow to arrive. I waited a couple months for a 2010 diesel fuel pump w/ sending unit for my P/U that just came last week.
I know $560 is quite a bit high for a 2 bbl rebuild, ie, ~2X a 4 bbl rebuild? But gas is $5+/ gal and that's too high, too! That rebuild kit, if you can find it, wasn't more than $50-60. I haven't looked since I rebuilt mine back 8 years ago.
This almost makes me feel bad, but it's the chaotic life of 2022. Mass shootings are almost starting to make sense and some apparently have already succumbed to that conclusion. I suspect more classics will sit or be abandoned for lack of support.
I was at the parts store this AM and the clerks were complaining everyone was coming in with cash and large bills. I told them it's because that's all they got left! The stashed emergency $100 in the wallet.

I agree with Kevin. You can get a complete set of rebuild parts from Daytona that are ethanol resistant.

Be sure to check with Olson Gaskets to get the best type and price for your engine.

But misfiring sounds electrical, like you need a tune up kit, available from the usual suspects and new plugs and maybe wires. This is something you can do yourself.

Someone with a more logical mind could tell you how to diagnose for leaky manifolds and try to eliminate that as an issue causing misfiring.

Max Merrit has the rebuild kits available for $50 it looks like, probably Kanter too.

Max Merrit 1948-54 Carburetor Parts

I agree, get a tune-up kit (plugs, points, condenser), maybe new spark plug wires. No major wrenching necessary. Tune-Up Kit from Merrit is $75 and Kanter has them as well.

I agree. Sort the ignition first for misfiring. If nothing else, you will eliminate it as a suspect.


I bought an entire NOS carb for my 282 engine from Kanter for about $545 or so this Spring. Shipping added maybe $30.


Ethyl doesn't care if I rebuild carbs on the kitchen table, but the light is better in the living room. She doesn't care about that, either.


Remember the old oil squirt cans? Do you still have one? Three-in-1 would work, too. If so, load it with 30-weight and crank up the car. Follow the gaskets and squirt a fine bit of oil along the surface. Leaking exhaust will blow and leaking intake should suck in a bit. Seems the me I heard about this test somewhere long ago - or I just made it up. Not sure.

Thanks for all of your interest and suggestions..
I talked to Joe at the Carb Exchange today He quoted $204 with shipping. I’ll try Daytona Parts on Monday.

just finished replacing the gaskets on my 1949 288. If the manifolds havent been removed in a long time it is a tough job. Some of the nuts are difficult to access. They are 9/16 with a 3/8 24 thread. If the stud itself loosens up, the threaded hole accesses the water jacket.I can loan you a 3/8 24 die nut to clean up the threads if you decide to tackle it yourself. The up side of all this is you will have a chance to check the valve adjustment. Good luck. Let me know if you want the die nut. BEAR