Autoline carb experience - best to avoid

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ok, cross Champion off the list too.
There's no justification for selling someone broken junk as 'rebuilt and fully functional'.

Looks like Bill's option 'F' (none of the above) is the only WTG.
Me, I find finessing a carb rebuild kinda therapeutic.

[Rusty_S85]

Yep I have always rebuilt my own carbs only carbs I got rebuilt that I didnt do myself have not been all peaches and cream.  My Holley 4000 has outside of the oversight on the choke saver has worked for me for the most part flawlessly.  The worse part was locating a NOS choke thermostat cause they are just about impossible to find for this carb.  I finally found one for $65 that I purchased but there is still one on ebay for over $100 and wouldnt go under $100.  I told him id give him $75 but not more than that.

So for me I keep an eye out for them by part number and will buy every one I come across up that is under $100 just to have a stock.

[85lebaront2]

Rusty, I don't know where you are, but here I can buy ethanol free premium and it is what is in my convertible tank right now and I use it in all my small engines at the price of some of those carburetors it's cheap insurance.

On your Holley 4000, the original factory needle and seat were both metal, most of the newer kits now have Viton tipped needles which generally eliminates the periodic flooding on startup. You are smart in snagging those choke covers but have you ever checked to see if the choke stove was leaking exhaust into the heated area? On the 1957 292/312 manifolds there is a stainless steel tube that is replaceable, one end is slightly larger. The tube passes through the crossover and is crimped down to a Y cross section for maximum heat exposure. The later models (1958-1964) had the choke stove in the right exhaust manifold.

[Rusty_S85]

I replaced the choke stove.  On my intake the one that was removed but kept in favor of a 2V 1961 year model intake the choke tubes broke off when I tried to disassemble for cleaning.  So mine has a brand new choke stove I hammered in with the choke stove tool, new brass elbows and new inlet and outlet brass tubes that goes from the choke cover to the choke stove and from the choke stove to the choke thermostat.

Thats why I need to get a replacement passengerside exhaust manifold cause mine was replaced with a post 1958 setup with the choke stove in the exhaust manifold.  I have the original exhaust manifold but the ear is broken off and one can buy a reproduction passengerside manifold for under $200.

I can get ethanol free but it is quite a drive away for me.  Once I move the 93 octane is ethanol free down the street from the property I have.  I planned on running that since I am running 93 octane right now cause I have a ping issue in summer time which I think my original engine might have lots of lead deposits in the cylinder heads or it could have been the timing being off so far and now its not.  I havent tried running lower octane yet but I need to pull a sample from my fuel tank if it looks like its separating I will just pull the drain plug and drain what I have and get fresh before I start the car up again.  I hope to pull my transmission pan this weekend to adjust the primary band and see if that solves my falling out of gear problem.  If so then I will try to drive my car more.  I just dont want to mess up the transmission trying to drive it like it is.

The choke thermostat I had initially to set it where the choke would be fully open when fully hot when cold the choke wouldnt close fully.  The new NOS thermostat I got seems to work properly now I think the spring was damaged in my old thermostat.  The other problem is that old choke thermostat I tried to adjust it and the cap cracked snugging down the lock down screws.  I know these are old and fear the plastic fracturing over time so I figured let me grab up what I can.  Then when I do a frame up restoration I may just upgrade to a '57 intake that uses a holley 4150 based carb which requires switching to a '57 distributor.  This would solve the choke thermostat problems.  But for now it seems to be working fine well was when I last ran the car.