09 June 2011

holley 94 - model 59

Now that I'm able to drive the RPU around,
it's boiled down to basic tune-up procedures-
-timing, carb sync, oil change etc.

During the tear down,
the intake was removed and put on a shelf,
not cleaned and bowls full of gas.
Sweet.
The engine was covered and rolled around the shop for a year.
Even sweeter.
At the time I was predicting a 3 or 5 month rebuild,
not a year plus!

The engine was swapped out a couple years before,
and the carburetors were the choice pickings of about 9 different donor carbs.
So there wasn't a mechanical reason for the renovation.

I did dump whatever gas was left inside the bowls a couple months prior,
using it to degrease stuff.
Gas is the best cleaner for greasy parts.

It was a surprise to get Chief running for the GNRS show,
especially with the dirty carbs.
Some carb cleaner was sprayed down the barrels during that first warm-up,
but there was a little hesitation and the gas stream was a little uneven.



dirty flathead




















The past weeks driving the carbs didn't clean themselves out,
so what the heck,
let's clean these puppies up.

Nah I'm not gonna do a step by step.
I was just reminded how bitchin the 94 style carb is.


open




















The guys who engineered the 94 carburetor mastered farm mechanics.
This carb can be completely disassembled with one slot screwdriver.
I've had to take these apart on the side of the freeway at night,
with just the light of the streetlamps.
That's why the firewall light!

chunky




















Fortunately this time the problem was obvious.
There was a piece of straw or something stuck in the jet.
Easy peezy.

So what the hell.
Instead of stripping them down completely...

dirty


























let's throw them back together all nasty.
Wow.
They're bullets now.

15486372
ford flathead firing order


























Yeah just what you all wanted to see.
Some pictures of dirty old carburetors that run almost perfect.

These are model 59's,
standard Ford carbs on '46-'48 cars and trucks.
Once you figure out the power valve trick,
they're just as good as a Stromberg 97's on a dual carb intake.

If you ever wondered...
They are called 94's cause the venturi is 94/100ths of an inch,
or about 15/16".
I think they are only 150+- cfm carbs!

The dual intake is one of the best ways to wake up a flathead -
now that there is 300 cfm capability.
If you've ever driven a single carb flathead,
you'll notice that it won't over-rev,
it'll starve for fuel first.

model 59
holley 94



























I used to run 52 jets with a plugged power valve,
but was coerced to use the rebuild kit stock power valve.
So now they're 50 jets with stock power valve.
There is still room for improvement,
so I'll be playing around with them in the future.

screen or no screen




















The outside issue is the air cleaner, or lack of one.
This fine screen has been used as a filter,
but there it gives enough resistance to be noticeable when removed.

The carbs were jetted WITH the screens.
Now without the screens (temporarily) they seem a little lean,
or just not as rich as they are with the screens on.

So now I'm on the hunt for some different screen material...

TP

2 comments:

  1. chicken wire works well. but with panty hoes, you have the duality of robbing a bank.

    ReplyDelete
  2. True,
    but that greasy grid mark on the face
    is an obvious give-away.
    TP

    ReplyDelete