The washer that’s being mentioned is used to seal up the hole around the carb stud where it goes through the fuel bowl lid.  If big enough, it will simply shield the vent holes without restricting them.  If anything, a larger than necessary washer (O.D.) will actually help the vent holes stay cleaner longer.  The vacuum channel for the power valve actuator diaphragm goes around a brass bushing right there and the bushings are prone to leaking air at that point.  Using a washer at the lid under the air cleaner stud helps to seal up that particular area so the power valve diaphragm can properly function.  If there is a vacuum leak at that particular spot, then the power valve stays depressed (engaged) and fuel economy goes down the tubes.  The fuel mixture right off of idle can also be blubbery or rich.  The washer is a simple fix.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Another thing to check if you take one apart is the flatness of the top cover.Over the  years overtightening the centre bolt will pull it down and lift the edges causing leaks,The cetre bolt needs to be snug,not tightened as much as possible.

  

The last two teapots I rebuilt necessitated a complete tear down and disassembly... even the butterflies were completely removed, cleaned, and checked for play. The first carb was the blower carb, which had to have its jets and passageways drilled out per Paxton's instructions. Ended up to be a great carb... customer was very happy with it. The other carb I just finished for a customer only 4 hours away. It was a stock job, but the carb kit he sent me was from Mac's and was just kind of a gasket kit.

Before you diassemble yours, call up the Daytona Carb company down in Florida. Top-notch parts and I was very pleased with the kits they have for sale. Also, as just another reference on Mike Suter, he is someone you can trust. He knows his stuff and has supplied me with parts over the years. His take on the power valves is that they are stainless needles, etc, and that you don't need new ones... but you do need to install one that isn't all "boogered up". Personally, I prefer to install a new one because of the tendency of the spring on the inside losing its tension over the years of use. Another thing about those power valves and the teapot. When you reinstall, be careful not to cross thread, and make sure it is fully seated. I've seen more than a few that leaked because it was not completely seated or someone had it cross threaded.

The fellas are right on concerning those small holes. They must be clear. And... don't forget that you need a washer on the top of your bowl under your center stud that holds down the top plate...

Let us know how it turns out...

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Frank.  Premium fuel in my area has zero ethanol.  It’s an easy check on this end and I do it regularly just to insure I’m using ethanol free fuel on the dyno (and the mower).  I did have an engine on the dyno recently that the customer had supplied Chevron Supreme gasoline and that engine had some ‘run on’ issues after conclusion of the first dyno pull.  A quick check of the fuel showed that it was 20% ethanol and we simply switched over to Conoco 93 (no ethanol) and all was good after that.  Couldn’t check the octane level of the Chevron fuel but I suspect it was 87 or 89 octane fuel that was put into the Supreme tank hopefully by accident.  As far as the 20% ethanol content instead of the normal 10%, there’s a variety of reasons that could have happened.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

If you want to rebuild it, there is a guy in PA that specializes in teapots. He has done mine and I'm very happy with it. I have heard similar stories from other people. His name is Mike Suter, 215-757-3678. He actually runs them in before shipping.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

what Mark said!

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

One of the problems with a rebuild is the replacement needle and seats in the kits are "soft tipped" as opposed to the original all steel needles.They tend to stick closed and than open suddenly when pressure biulds up.Try and locate an original needle and seat from an obsolete dealer.Also the rebuilders discard the little clip that holds the needle to the float in original carbs.That clip is needed so that the needle moves with the float.

  

I recently had a holly 4000 rebuilt and installed it and run very bad.First problem was to high a fuel pressure. Soming that helped. Then come the secondary issue. onde opened it would not stop running fuel out the metering tubes and the small vacuum holes. the running before the secondaries were opned was good.After the carbmade two return trips to the folks who did the rebuilt I bought a book to learn the about the carb.The ford shop manual was very helpfull. Think about siphoning gas from a tank, the only thing that stops the flow is lifting the hose up and breaking the suction action. So in looking at the breakdown in the book you can see two small holes in the top of the carb. They are called high speed vents I beleive. Very hard to see. I got out the welding tip cleaners and went to work. Problem solved. Just like the other gentleman said, look at the top of the carb forl these holes.I took the longer way around in my story.However the carb still evaporates from the bowl rather quickly. Different problem to deal with. If a replacement carb would have fit under the hood of my 56 t-bird this carb would of been history. Dr Pepper

JP

 

      You must not have much ethanol in the fuel in Texas. My accel pumps only last about a year in Indiana, then swell up and stick to the sides of the pump well.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

I’ll suggest a complete disassembly and some time spent on making sure every small orifice is clean and unrestricted.  There are two very small holes in the top of the fuel bowl lid on the secondary channels that are prone to being stopped up; be sure that these are also clear.  Insure that the two check balls are in place at the rear of the carb on the secondary fuel channel.  Also check that the secondary jets have not been drilled out to a larger size prior to you getting the carb.  They should not be larger than 0.094”-0.096” in size.  I recently had two of those carbs (List #1094’s) on the dyno mule recently and they were troublesome until the carbs were completely torn down and gone through.  They appear to be working well now with just a thorough cleaning and replacement of the power valve actuator diaphragm.  These two particular carbs are being prepared for a dual quad test that’s being planned for this winter.

 

Evaporation of fuel from the float bowls over a period of time is a problem for the Teapots in general.  An electric fuel pump seems to be the short term fix as the bowl can be primed or filled just prior to starting after the carb sits for awhile.  On the flip side of this, I noticed that the 1094 Lincoln Teapot sitting on the dyno mule still pumped fuel from the accelerator pump nozzles one week after it had been pulled from the dyno so that one is holding fuel better than most.  That particular carb has a neoprene accelerator pump instead of leather and that may also be a contributing factor in that regard.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)