holley and crane problem solved

[Carl Nation]

I used the archives of this webboard to help solve a perplexing problem I'd been having with both a Crane ignition install and a leak in my 3810 Holley on my '67 C2 convertible. I posted an account of my struggles to another forum:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=833375

... it's pretty long, so I figured I wouldn't take up space posting it again here.

I appreciate what a valuable resource this board and others like it are.

[Mike McKown]

Enjoyed raeding your story, but

I doubt your Holley had a problem "out of the box". Some claim that heat warps the main body and metering blocks. Maybe, but I have some old Holleys that I use and they have never been machined (filed) and they don't leak. I guarantee you, they HAVE BEEN HOT so if heat is the problem, I should have had a problem. I'm convinced the major problem with leaky Holleys is that when the gaskets shrink, the owners grab a screwdriver and crank the float bowl screws tighter to stop the leaks. That doesn't stop the leak but it will wary the main body.

[Carl Nation]

Re: Enjoyed raeding your story, but

This particular car seems to run quite cool. I haven't gotten an external laser temp gauge to determine if the car's temp gauge is reading properly, but if it is, the engine doesn't get much over 180 degrees under normal operation.

I didn't mention this in my story, but when I disassembled the carb, I was astonished at how loose the float bowl screws and the screws holding the carb body to the throttle plate were. I initially figured that the looseness was the reason the carb was leaking. I know that I tightened all the fasteners noticeably tighter in my reassembly of the carb than they were when I first disassembled it.