The thing with Holley Carbs....

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by speeder

Sooooo, I'm no expert on Holley or Rochester carbs but the two things I know is that when you start getting creative and changing parts on any engine, everything needs to match up or you can have a 396 with an 850 CFM double-pumper that is slower than pig slop.

The reference to my car is laughable since you don't know anything about the rest of the setup. Rather than making assumptions, how about either asking questions or leaving your nose out of it?

The "slow as a pig" 396 solid lifter Vette motor had .30 over bore spec pistons, spec Lunati high lift solid lifter cams, rectangular port heads, 2" headers with 3.5" collectors, 456 gears in the rear, glass pack mufflers, top of the line (in that day) aftermarket ignition parts (this was points and condenser days), and plugs with a heat range and gapped to match to the rest of the car. Also included was a Munci M22 "rock crusher" trans, 40lb steel flywheel, 15x10's in the rear connected to a 12 bolt Dana posi and ladder bars. It was setup for high torque short runs. It ran on Sunoco 280.

Obviously, it could barely get out of its own way.

So, 'Mr I'm no expert but let me show my ignorance', what have you built on a 1960's muscle car platform???

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

The reference to my car is laughable since you don't know anything about the rest of the setup. Rather than making assumptions, how about either asking questions or leaving your nose out of it?

The "slow as a pig" 396 solid lifter Vette motor had .30 over bore spec pistons, spec high lift solid lifter cams, 2" headers with 3.5" collectors, 456 gears in the rear, glass pack mufflers, top of the line (in that day) aftermarket ignition parts (this was points and condenser days), and plugs with a heat range and gapped to match to the rest of the car. It was setup for high torque short runs. It ran on Sunoco 280.

Obviously, it could barely get out of its own way.

So, Mr I'm no expert but let me show my ignorance, what have you built on a 1960's muscle car platform???

Man, some of you old tough guys are easily triggered. I actually was NOT referring to your car but many cars of friends/acquaintances/strangers back in the day. Your car might have been set up great, many were not. For some reason, I've never seen a quick SS Chevelle big block but I'm sure they must exist, right?

I was too young for the bulk of the muscle car days but I rode along as a young teenager with an older friend in his 1970 AMX w/ a close ratio 4-speed and 343 w/ headers. Not sure of the axle ratio but it was quick in short races. We'd go out to the cruising strip at night and get in multiple street races from a rolling start and his win/loss record was impressive. I don't remember ever losing to a 396 or 454 Chevelle, only walking all over them. There were some other cars that beat him, mostly Mopars and once a Boss 302 Mustang! Have no idea if it was stock but holy balls was it quick.

There were lots of guys who had no clue how to set up a car but then my crowd was really young back at the time. They would just fire the parts cannon at it with headers, big carbs, etc. and nothing necessarily was the correct or perfect component. If you built a quick car, good for you. Trust me, I wasn't thinking about you. I never do.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by speeder

Man, some of you old tough guys are easily triggered. I actually was NOT referring to your car

I have a hard time accepting your excuse since I had JUST posted 4 posts earlier that

My `67 Chevelle 396 had a Holley 850 double pumper dual feed!

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by speeder

Man, some of you old tough guys are easily triggered. I actually was NOT referring to your car but many cars of friends/acquaintances/strangers back in the day. Your car might have been set up great, many were not. For some reason, I've never seen a quick SS Chevelle big block but I'm sure they must exist, right?

If you are referring to cars with all kinds of gov't mandated emissions with catalytic converters, lower compression... then you are just not knowledgable about building motors for performance instead of gas mileage. Anything after `69 started detuning and by '73 they were a neutered shell with all show and not a lot of go

I was too young for the bulk of the muscle car days but I rode along as a young teenager with an older friend in his 1970 AMX w/ a close ratio 4-speed and 343 w/ headers. Not sure of the axle ratio but it was quick in short races. We'd go out to the cruising strip at night and get in multiple street races from a rolling start and his win/loss record was impressive. I don't remember ever losing to a 396 or 454 Chevelle, only walking all over them. There were some other cars that beat him, mostly Mopars and once a Boss 302 Mustang! Have no idea if it was stock but holy balls was it quick.

Rolling starts are for cars without the torque needed to be quick.

There were lots of guys who had no clue how to set up a car but then my crowd was really young back at the time. They would just fire the parts cannon at it with headers, big carbs, etc. and nothing necessarily was the correct or perfect component. If you built a quick car, good for you. Trust me, I wasn't thinking about you. I never do.

I will concede that when I go to a local car show of 6-800 cars each month, I laugh at custom built "hot rods" with massive motors and blowers sticking out of the hood but NOTHING done with the stock DRUM brakes and no suspension changes to help put the power to the ground (a key factor in quickness when you aren't getting the rolling start handicap adjustment. Back in the day (yeah, I know) we would consider rolling start to teeing off from the ladies tee...


They didn't ask "how pretty?", they asked "is it quick?"

[masraum]

This is cool!

https://autorecyclingworld.com/us-teen-makes-a-business-out-of-rebuilding-carburetors/

US teen makes a business out of rebuilding carburetors

VRW
February 20, 2023

The crew at Riley’s Rebuilds works out of a garage and handles about 20 carburetors a week. Here’s how the repair process works.


US teen makes a business out of rebuilding carburetors p
Riley Schlick

Carburetors may represent old-school tech in the automotive world, but don’t tell Riley Schlick, a high school senior in Florida who rebuilds them for a tidy profit. Send your tired, dirty, mucked-up carburetor to Schlick, and she’ll return it to you clean, shiny, and ready for duty once again. She has operated her Bradenton-based business, Riley’s Rebuilds, for three years now, and a steady stream of carburetors has crossed her path.

At first, Riley’s Rebuilds was a way for 17-year-old Schlick to buy her first car, which had to meet her parents’ specifications: It needed to have a manual transmission and a roll bar. Within a few months, she made enough money to buy a Jeep. Then, she brought on four friends to work with her. That hiring spree solved two problems, in Schlick’s mind. Her friends make more money rebuilding carburetors than they would be working a minimum wage job, and they get to spend time together.

She learned how to do the work from her dad. “I said to her, ‘You can get a job at Publix, or I can show you how to do some restoration stuff in the garage,” says Schlick’s father, Dane Trask, who rebuilds classic cars as a hobby. He showed her how to do it, and also made use of some YouTube tutorials. “She picked it up quick,” he says.

Once a vital piece of equipment for cars, carburetors regulate the fuel and air ratio for internal combustion engines. In the same way that fires need oxygen to burn, engines require air to create the chemical reaction that propels the vehicle forward. In its simplest form, a carburetor (or “carb” for short) is a device that takes in air from one end and forces it through a narrow section that causes the air to speed up and the pressure to drop, too. As a result, the falling pressure creates a vacuum that sucks in air and fuel through another hole in the side. (Since the 1980s, carbs have been replaced by fuel injection, and now, the industry is moving towards electric vehicles.)

A carburetor’s combination of pipes and crevices tend to accumulate dirt and impurities, which creates performance problems like stalling, flooding, rough idling, and decreased fuel economy. Chemical carburetor cleaners sometimes addressed the issues, but not the way a full rebuild can. That’s where Riley’s Rebuilds comes in.

Schlick and her staff—her school friends Dagny, Katie, Amelia, and Elaine—unbox carbs that arrive in the mail and first determine if it’s a donation or a rebuild. She says that now that her business has attracted some attention and started to grow, people from all over the country are sending their carburetors to Riley’s Rebuilds as gifts. She cleans them up and resells them at local auto events.
US teen makes a business out of rebuilding carburetors p two
The team (L-R) – Riley, Mikayla, Amelia and Dagny

Once the origin of the carb is determined, Schlick and the team document the model number and CFM rating (cubic feet per minute) and get the device ready to break down. Each carburetor has eight screws on top, Schlick explains, and they remove the hat and the floats (those work similarly to a float in a toilet tank, regulating the fuel level). Out comes the choke, which controls the air intake, and all the springs, screws, and bolts inside.

The team takes the screws and bolts and tosses them into a tumbler for about 20 minutes. Next, they soda blast the body, which harnesses tiny baking soda fibers to remove the dirt and grime. Then they transfer the parts to an ultrasonic tank and blow out the ports with an air compressor to clear any remaining soda bits.

“We use soda blasting instead of sand or glass because it’s not super aggressive,” Schlick said. “The soda doesn’t get stuck in the carburetor like other materials would.”

Once the gunk is gone, they dry the carburetor thoroughly and put it back together again. On average, Schlick said, the team works on 20 or more carburetors a week.

Riley’s Rebuilds charges $145 and up to rebuild a carburetor and send it back to its owner, depending on the model, year, and how clean they can get it. They’ll even clean up a marine carburetor, which costs more in the $300 range.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by ted

Cringed several times, first time was when he used the fender like shelf and started loading the fender with parts.
Throwing a carb at his engine looked dumb too.

Holly 750 XP on both my cars never a problem.
Although I do bring a spare carb in the trailer have never needed it.

Race car
8500rpm
710hp

Not exactly an apples to apples comparison to Joebob with his '69 Chevelle running a 55 year old 350.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by speeder

Sooooo, I'm no expert on Holley or Rochester carbs but the two things I know is that when you start getting creative and changing parts on any engine, everything needs to match up or you can have a 396 with an 850 CFM double-pumper that is slower than pig slop.

About 12-15 years ago, I kept seeing this nice looking '70 Monte Carlo with a FS sign in the windshield. I drove past it for 2-3 weeks and commented to the wife every time. She eventually said "why don't you call and test drive it." So I did. I got out, it looked decent in the dark, shiny bright orange paint, black vinyl top, decent interior. It started right up and had a very lumpy cam that sounded great at an idle. I think they said it was a small block 400, but it may have been a 350. I don't remember. When I think "super lumpy cam" I think "this is something that doesn't see much power until the RPMS get up there (3000-4000 rpm). I asked the guy if he knew what sort of gears were in the car. I'm pretty sure he said "2.56". Yeah, it sounded good, but was REALLY slow compared to how I remember my first car. I don't think we EVER hit the power band. It sounded fast going slow. It may have had other build issues as well. The person that built it certainly had no idea to make all of the parts work together.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by masraum

This is cool!

https://autorecyclingworld.com/us-teen-makes-a-business-out-of-rebuilding-carburetors/

Ugghh, Edelbrock carb!

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by masraum

Cool story but those hands are too clean for someone who rebuilds carbs. Maybe she did years ago but I doubt she's rebuilt one in quite a while.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by masraum

Sounds like a cleaning service. I realize the article was just regurgitating something someone told the author, but I don't see anything about checking the specs during reassembly or testing the carb after it's put back together.

[ted]

Originally Posted by masraum

Race car
8500rpm
710hp

Not exactly an apples to apples comparison to Joebob with his '69 Chevelle running a 55 year old 350.

Is Joebob cruising a 4 door with a baby seat and a dual quad.
I missed the sarcasm but appreciate his effort now.

No dents in my fender or firewall after service. lol

[flipper35]

Well Ted, you have no fender to dent on #5!

[ted]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Well Ted, you have no fender to dent on #5!

True, except for a rock star on the front fender from the front tires.
10 fenders quickly removable too.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Ugghh, Edelbrock carb!

Rework of the Carter AFB (Awful effin' big/aka Aluminum four barrel). I ran one with no problems on my Dodge 360 4X4. Used a edelbrock "performer" dual plane intake, the carter in 650 cfm, KB pistons, and a RV comp cam..set up for a flat torque line over horsepower. So...the Carter did what I wanted...

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Sounds like a cleaning service. I realize the article was just regurgitating something someone told the author, but I don't see anything about checking the specs during reassembly or testing the carb after it's put back together.

True, but I'm sure they set the float bowls. It's a static adjustment but you can check it once mounted easily enough.

I find the Holley to be simple enough until it isn't. The jetting is a matter of testing or just driving. The accelerator pump is a static adjustment but you can tweak it. And the idle screws and speed could not be easier.

The power valve is something to reckon with if you are out in left field with your carb. If you have to change out the PV for some reason I think it's better to work with a pro using a dyno.

So really, these girls are performing a cosmetic service that a tuner with a dyno may not want to hassle with. Bring a nice clean carb with new gaskets and the tuner can get to work.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Rework of the Carter AFB (Awful effin' big/aka Aluminum four barrel). I ran one with no problems on my Dodge 360 4X4. Used a edelbrock "performer" dual plane intake, the carter in 650 cfm, KB pistons, and a RV comp cam..set up for a flat torque line over horsepower. So...the Carter did what I wanted...

They are fine right up to a point and then they suck.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Cool story but those hands are too clean for someone who rebuilds carbs. Maybe she did years ago but I doubt she's rebuilt one in quite a while.

I think in this photo, she's 17. Seems unlikely that she's grown out of it. Maybe she wears gloves. She even worked the business up enough to where she hired some friends from HS. The article about her is several years years old. I don't know if she went/is going to college. But it's cool, either way.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

True, but I'm sure they set the float bowls. It's a static adjustment but you can check it once mounted easily enough.

I find the Holley to be simple enough until it isn't. The jetting is a matter of testing or just driving. The accelerator pump is a static adjustment but you can tweak it. And the idle screws and speed could not be easier.

The power valve is something to reckon with if you are out in left field with your carb. If you have to change out the PV for some reason I think it's better to work with a pro using a dyno.

So really, these girls are performing a cosmetic service that a tuner with a dyno may not want to hassle with. Bring a nice clean carb with new gaskets and the tuner can get to work.

Right, there's only so much that you do when rebuilding a carb if someone hands you a carb; clean, change gaskets and parts for new where required, set the things that can be set statically, and then hand the carb back. Tuning things that need to be tuned based on the engine that the carb is bolted to is not part of a rebuild, it's tuning.

[herr_oberst]

If things like throttle shafts and shaft bushings aren't checked for wear and correct tolerance, no amount of tuning will correct a carb that is sucking air from where it shouldn't be.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

If things like throttle shafts and shaft bushings aren't checked for wear and correct tolerance, no amount of tuning will correct a carb that is sucking air from where it shouldn't be.

Yup. I had a major problem with my `68 LeSabre (in `74) and it turned out to be a cracked vacuum hose. I was upset at the time I wasted looking for the problem but thrilled it was a cheap fix cause back then I didn't have two extra dimes to spend.