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I have a 1952 200 deluxe with a 327ci engine, 2brl carburetor 928S. when the car is warmed up it dies. Compression test seems fine. vacuum is with in specs.
Odd thing is when I remove the aftermarket air cleaner. the engine dies. if I set up with air cleaner off and put it back on the idle is way too fast. any ideas? should I buy a rebuilt carb?

While waiting for someone with more knowledge to answer, it seems that the aftermarket air cleaner is putting too much of a load on the system and is blocking airflow so perhaps the filter in it is too fine. As soon as you remove it, the engine is suddenly running far to lean and dies from improper mixture. Better off with the stock filter.

What aftermarket air filter is it?

Mike52_200, IMO PackardDon and Wat_Tyler are on the right path . . . float bowls of this era were vented to the atmosphere, while by the time the WCFB was released, the venting was within the air-horn. The difference between the two designs would be; the air horn vent design is tolerant to air filter restriction, while the atmospheric vent design is quite sensitive to air filter blockage. I’ve used the term ‘air filter blockage’, but don’t think of that as a completely dirty filter . . . it’s more of a blockage that the carburetor was not designed for.

The only two checks I would make is the float level and the idle mixture adjustment . . . adjust the mixture with the air filter off. If the filter is clean and is sized correctly there should be very little difference in idle speed when the filter is finally installed.

I would think a 14 X 2 or 14 X 3 filter would be acceptable for a 327, but remember they will need to be replaced much more frequently than suggested in cars built in the 60’s. When in doubt, err on the side of more filter area, especially if you have an era correct atmospheric vented carburetor. Please describe the current filter in more detail.

dp

I've been seeing a lot of this lately, in other brands as well, and I'm not sure what's going on because most are not able to capture the pertinent data, aren't carb swavvy, but I'd asked what fuel you're using? How old, etc. condition of the tank, fuel pump, etc..
Assuming it starts up just fine when "cold" but dies when it's up to operating temp. The choke might not be opening enough but weird with the air cleaner issues, but sometimes what people think is going on/related is just circumstance.
No way to know over the internet.
I like to start with a clean slate, so I'd start with fresh fuel, clean system, and a fresh carb that's been gone through. I like to solve problems not just get through them to the next time.
I think the 928s is a WGD. I got the sheet for the 728s, but not the 928s. It should be on line so you know what your dealing with.

Kanter has rebuild kits for those carbs for ~$60. They aren't very complicated.

kanter.com/packard/pac-454.html#9

Those oil-bath air cleaners are I believe very low-restriction. The air just flows over the bath of oil and the particulates are trapped in the oil when they are forced into it by centrifugal effects.

Reason I asked about the aftermarket air filter, I installed one on my '46 Deluxe 282 engine. The guy I bought it from had voiced his suspicion that the carb needed to be rebuilt. I heard him and bought a NOS carb and have a rebuild kit for the carb for my '47 Deluxe coupe. After monkeying about with it, I determined that my adjustments needed were ignition. It seems to like its new air filter/cleaner arrangement. Mine is a K&N (truly the only filters I buy for a multitude of reasons) that replaces the entire air cleaner assembly. I had a spare can which I cut the neck off to raise the cleaner about the neck of the carb to get it out of the way of the linkage, and I used the hose clamps from a 3" Fernco plumbing drain line coupling to make it all work.


Not saying that I think that your ailments are ignition related. Just passing along what I did and what happened.

thank you all for the responses. The aftermarket air cleaner I;m using is a simple paper air filter 4" x 2" stacked two high. not very big.

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  2 barrel air cleaner.jpg (15.88 KB)

Rather little surface area for the amount of air that the engine needs. You would be far better off using a stock filter or at least something considerably larger!

Mike52_200
Assuming there isn’t a haboob forming in your neighborhood why don’t you remove the air filter and take the car for a drive around the block . . . just to see if the symptoms change/go away.

IMO that filter is way too small (too much pressure drop) for a carburetor that is referenced to the atmosphere . . . it would surely be OK on a much smaller displacement engine, but not one of 300+ cubic inches.

Now if we return to the Carter overhaul literature, ever one of the ‘spec-sheets’ has a list of turn-up items that should be checked prior to condemning/messing with the carburetor. Have those items been looked at?

dp