QuestionQUESTION: I have a 65 Plymouth fury III with a 318 2 barrel carburetor, and I would like to have the carb rebuilt.Could you please tell me how to adjust the carb when I get it back and put it on the car?Thanks.
ANSWER: A good rebuilder will set it up correctly for your engine, so you may not have to do anything to it, unless your engine isn't in good enough condition to run it's best with the standard settings.
That said, I have to tell you that I have had VERY poor results with rebuilt carburetors - most rebuilders return it to you in worse shape than when you send it in. I advise you to try to find a brand new carburetor (NAPA may have one on the shelf for your car), or else buy a kit and rebuild it yourself. All you will need is a clean, well lit place to work and a few normal hand tools. You DON'T need to have any experience - the instructions that come with the good kits (NAPA again) are very complete, and will lead you through it step by step. The main thing you have to be vigilant about is being sure, absolutly sure, that you blow carburetor spray cleaner (GUNK is a good brand) through every, I mean EVERY tiny hole and orifice in every part of the carburetor that you take apart, in order to remove any residue that has collected over the years. The instructions give a very complete and detailed list of what adjustments you need to check, and what the measurements should be. The kit also includes the measuring devices - you need nothing else.
A carburetor is in the sleeping dog category of car parts - (if it ain't broke, don't fix it)! If you tell me why you think your carb needs to be rebuilt in a follow up question, I will try to see if I can help you without taking that step, which may well save you expense and frustration.
Dick
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QUESTION: In response to the 65 carb, the car has a hesitation when you start off, and leaks gas from the front of the carburetor. It idles good, those are the 2 only problems. Thanks, Bill
ANSWER: If the hesitation is only when the engine is cold, the problem is in the choke adjustment. If it hesitates on initial acceleration even when it is warmed up, the problem is with the accelerator pump, which can be replaced without even taking the carburetor off the engine, but you will need to buy a replacement for it anyway, so I sugggest you buy a rebuilding kit for the carburetor, and follow the directions to set up the choke adjustment if the problem is only when cold, or install the new pump if the problem is there all the time. If the leak is from one of the gaskets, or due to the float level being set too high, the kit will also help you fix that - and you can fix either of those problems without taking it off the engine also - you do need to take the top off the carburetor to get at the accelerator pump, or set the float level, but that is just removing a bunch of screws and disconnecting a few linkages so you can lift off the top. You will see in the instructions how to change the pump and how to see any of the adjustments. You do not need to rebuild the main parts of the carburetor, from what you say.
Dick
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QUESTION: I bought a GP Sorenson rebuild kit(#96-223A) and the directions say the pump piston must be lightly lubricated with clean engine oil, then flared before installation. What do they mean by flared and how are you supposed to flare it, and how much? Thanks, Bill
AnswerYou did the right thing, Bill. The pump piston has a flexible skirt that points down into the gasoline, and it tends to shrink a bit in storage. If you look inside the skirt, you'll see there is a tiny coiled spring in there to hold it out a bit so it cannot shrink very far. The way to flare it is to take something like a spoon (smooth and rounded) and just slip it in between the skirt and the spring so as to very slightly pull the flexible skirt away from the spring 1/16 of an inch or so - don't over-do it! I've also done it using a pencil with a dull lead point on it. That will be adequate to get it to fit nice in the pump bowl - it will work just fine. The skirt is made of leather in the older kits, and a similar feeling plastic like naugahyde in the newer ones, sometimes blue in color - either one is fine. Don't worry too much about this - in my experience, they usually work fine right out of the box.
Good luck with it!
Dick
