'67 Holley 4160 Question....

[Patrick T.]

I had my original Holley rebuilt by the factory. Before installing on the car, I made sure all the screws were tight, some of them even had Locktite on them. I just installed it recently and for the first few times I ran the engine, it worked fine.

Now it's leaking like a seive at the carb gasket, because even at idle and for a half hour after shut off, there is a steady drip of gas into the secondaries, which is flooding the carb. Heck, the secondaries shouldn't be leaking any gas, since they are not supposed to be actuated.

Is the secondary float adjustment off and should I pull the carb off and retighten all the screws? Maybe something hung up in the carb? I can't understand why the carb would perform perfectly on the first few start ups and now take a dump on me. Any pointers would be appreciated. Patrick

[Clem Z.]

Re: '67 Holley 4160 Question....

my guess is dirt. remove the fuel line,plug it so no fuel can come from the fuel pump. start the engine and run it till the carb float bowls are empty as this will drop the floats to the bottom and open the needle and seat wide open and when you reconnect the fuel line the gas coming in will clean out any dirt in the N&S. to empty the secondary bowl you will have to work the secondary linkage by hand to get the secondary butterflys open.

[Patrick T.]

Re: '67 Holley 4160 Question....

Thanks Clem, I will do it tomorrow. After I finish flushing the needle valves, I'm going to take off the carb and see if the baseplate screws on the inside bottom are still tight. After the gas leaks into the secondaries, it then leaks out from the gasket between the carb body and the base plate.

I put the engine/trans back in the car last May, when it was warm but have not started it till now. I meticulously torqued every nut and bolt to specs back then. Now it seems like everything is coming loose since the engine has been started and is up to temp for the first time in a year and a half. Patrick

[Patrick T.]

Clem, one more question....

I have a late '67 and the carb does not have sight level screws nor float adjusting screws on either the primary or secondary fuel bowls. On the primary fuel bowl there is a hole about a 1/4" diameter in the middle of the top. There is a rubber plunger attached to a rod that is activated, closing the hole shut, when you hit the accel rod.

What is the purpose of this rubber plunger, why is the hole open at idle and then the plunger comes down and seals the hole when you hit the gas? Thanks

[Clem Z.]

Re: Clem, one more question....

it is a bowl air vent at idle to prevent excess pressure from building up in the float bowl and it closes after the throttle is opened because it is not needed then when the carb is pulling fuel thru the boosters