3x2 carburetor troubles

[William Brown]

Gents,

I recently purchased a 1968 427 coupe with the original 3x2 tri-power setup. One of my first tasks was going to be a simple carburetor rebuild, because the carbs are leaking and the accelerator pump (center carb only) is weak. What I discovered after taking the carbs down to the bare body is that the gasket mating surfaces are quite pitted and rough. I suspect that the engine sat for long periods of time and the gas/water in the carbs has tended to corrode these surfaces. Now for the question. What's the best solution for this problem? I attempted to clean the surfaces as best as possible but after rebuilding them they still exhibit signs of leakage. The outer carbs are the worst of course. My local Holley distributor wants large quantities of green backs for new ones. Is there an easy/cheaper solution??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Corey

[Jerry Clark]

Re: 3x2 carburetor troubles

Hi William:

It is difficult to get a handle on the amount of pitting and its exact location. If you have found pitting between the metering block and the carburetor body, the fuel bowl and the metering block or the carb body and throttle base plate. It is possible you could be leaking between the metering block and carb body and the pitting is not the cause. The metering plate can bow from prolonged tightening of the bowl screws, this can be corrected by applying reverse pressure on the metering block or "decking" the metering block with a flat file for the brave souls among us. Many of the flat surfaces in these carbs warp after years of improperly applied torque in an attempt to stop leaks that aren't torque related.

The best advice I can give you is to call Jerry Luck Motorsports 314-895-1551, he is the guru of Holley carburetors and willingly shares his hard earned knowledge, remember that he is in the business of rebuilding and restoring carbs and if you wish to have it done absolutely right, he's your guy.

jerry (Clark)

[William Brown]

Re: 3x2 carburetor troubles

THANK YOU JERRY CLARK! You just saved me $650.00 big ones. Jerry says he is al to familiar with the problem and can redeck those carbs to be as good, if not better, than new.

Thanks again.

--Corey