Nat: In the past I had similar problems with my Holley 2300- 2 Bbl. Ted & Hurricane John steered me thru the trouble. In my case the tiny holes in the top of the metering block were plugged & also the small air bleeds in the carb venturies. And yes be very careful to use the correct gaskets. I used the wrong one on the power valve, & the engine would barely even run. Because you have an original (old) carb, also be careful to not over tighten the various screws in the carb body. they can easily strip!

Paul

Hello Nat,We are almost neighbours!I am just down the 401 in Belleville.Sounds to me like you have a definite carb problem.You were asking about a possible replacement carb.I installed a model 8007 Holley which is 390 cfm 4 barrel.Its about same cfm as the original you have.The linkage hooks right up with a little work and you have to rework fuel line from pump to carb.It has electric choke and for me it works great.Everyone on this site has their own preferences.Anyway before I replaced it I had a 4 barrel original "teapot" carb rebuilt by a shop called "Carburetor Rebuilders" on Eugene Street in Toronto.416-781-8114.Each carb is redone by ONE person.Its a family operation.Been in business for years.The fellow I dealt with was very knowledgeable and I was happy with the work.I replaced it because there are some original design problems with these carbs and I decided to go to a newer carb.Just my input into this discussion.

  

Hello fellow Canadian. I actually had my carb rebuilt by the same outfit last summer. I went back 4 times. It ran OK but too rich. I spoke to him and I am planning on taking back to him to see what he can do. However as a back-up plan I was looking at the same carb you mentioned The Holley 8007 (390 CFM) or the HOLLEY REP also mentioned the 0-1848-1 (465 CFM). What I like about the Holleys is the straight hook-up and the stock look. I really do not want to modify the fuel lines. My original carb I found out is a 4150 (410 CFM). Does anybody out there know anything about the 0-1848-1? Would the 390 or the 465 CFM be a better match to my 57 Bird - 312 fordomatic

Hey Nat!We need as many Canucks on here as we can get.Those guys from Ozzy are starting to pass us.Thats interesting that he can't find the problem with your carb.Sometimes with a 50 year old carb you don't know what was done to it in the past.Someone figures they are a carb wiz and opens up a passage in the carb and it never works right again.The 1848-0 carb is an older version of the 8007.It would work on yours but you will only find a rebuilt one I believe.I asked for opinions on a carb before I swapped mine.If you go to "search" at top of page and enter"opinion on carb wanted" you can review the response I got.There is a 56 Ford you might enjoy looking at.Go to www.chuckgardiner.net.  He swapped carbs and is using the 465cfm 1848 carb.Hope this helps with your question about carbs.

  

Yes; Chuck is using a new Holley (1848) 465 cfm, partly because it installs without linkage changes on a 1956 with Fordomatic. However, he indicated to me that it was a little off, out of the box, and required some adjustment. No details were given. He is happy with it now..

Paul

Hi Paul.I thought that Chucks was a rebuilt(exchange unit)?Most  carbs will need a little tuning out of the box-jet size and accelerator pump adjustment for example..The Holley Performance  catalogue has a good guideline  for setting up a fresh carb.You can order a catalogue online at Holley.com.For Canadian order I used the above mentioned site instead of using the overseas order site and got one no problem.On my 8007 carb I had to increase the size of the primary jets and now it works great.As mentioned before everyone has their own ideas about which carb is the best replacement.I am happy with the one I used.

  

I went through all this and when I changed my oil I noticed it smelled of gas. Bad diaphram in the fuel pump. Learned alot about my carb while I was looking. 

If you have a pcv system, you were drawing gasoline fumes from the crankcase, and no amount of carb adjusting can fix that.  Also, a leaky diaphragm is suppose to vent  from the vent holes in the body of the fuel pump, but I have seen rebuilt pumps with no seal on the diaphragm stem, so the gas would go directly into the crankcase.  A bad seal would also allow this.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Nat

    You are getting a lot of advice and solutions to fix a problem you may or may not have. Can you describe in painstaking detail just what the problem is and when it happens. I get the impression that on COLD startup you get a very rich mixture, and black soot and a strong gas smell. Could be a choke issue. After it warms up then it gets somewhat better but is still over rich. Is this right or not. Still could be the choke. You say the car was restored a while back and that you have had the carb rebuilt. Was the car better before the carb rebuild? And why did you have it rebuilt?  In the time that you have owned the car, did it drive OK and gradually get worse or just got bad in a short time? Remember you chance of getting the RIGHT ANSWER to "YOUR PROBLEM" is how well you describe that problem. Try again please. Pete

Well he hasn't confirmed it, but maybe the leaky fuel pump was causing his rich mixture- especially if he's got a pcv going as Mr. Hurricane said. (he DID end his last post with a smiley face you know...suggesting resolution to the problem)



Steve B

Oakland, CA