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Am I crazy? I like rebuilding carbs

Ele115

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4 am. My back is out, my shoulder is shot. I am rebuilding a pair of AFBs. I love it. Most people are terrified if carbs. My wife walked by, looked in and said "You must have bought cheap gas". LOL. She's the best.
 

fasjac

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4 am. My back is out, my shoulder is shot. I am rebuilding a pair of AFBs. I love it. Most people are terrified if carbs. My wife walked by, looked in and said "You must have bought cheap gas". LOL. She's the best.
Truly therapeutic!
 

DocCuda

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4 am. My back is out, my shoulder is shot. I am rebuilding a pair of AFBs. I love it. Most people are terrified if carbs. My wife walked by, looked in and said "You must have bought cheap gas". LOL. She's the best.
Okay. Let me get this straight. It’s 4 am and your wife happens by. Were you working at the kitchen table?
 

Ele115

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The dining room. Yeah, she puts up with a lot
 

flohemi

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I don't mind it either, back in the day at the Dodge dealerships we used to get paid by warranty to rebuild them. Lol. We also had some killer carb cleaner.
 

Ele115

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Originally, we were skilled. We rebuilt everything. Alternators, water pumps, carbs, starters, A/C compressors. Then gradually people got more rushed and less diligent. People opted to just get a rebuilt carb sent over from the parts store and the car was done the same day. That worked fine for a while, then the rebuilds got worse and worse. They were paying elementary school dropouts to cram dozens of important parts into a complex system, and they were rushing them. Then you couldn't trust the rebuilds, and you got sick of the comebacks so you went back to rebuilding them yourself. Still, it's just about a thing of the past. You see people with boats or lawnmowers throw the oem carb in the trash and order a HoChiminium repop from Amazon then it never runs right and the OEM carb is gone forever.
 

heminut

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Originally, we were skilled. We rebuilt everything. Alternators, water pumps, carbs, starters, A/C compressors. Then gradually people got more rushed and less diligent. People opted to just get a rebuilt carb sent over from the parts store and the car was done the same day. That worked fine for a while, then the rebuilds got worse and worse. They were paying elementary school dropouts to cram dozens of important parts into a complex system, and they were rushing them. Then you couldn't trust the rebuilds, and you got sick of the comebacks so you went back to rebuilding them yourself. Still, it's just about a thing of the past. You see people with boats or lawnmowers throw the oem carb in the trash and order a HoChiminium repop from Amazon then it never runs right and the OEM carb is gone forever.
I agree! I've been rebuilding carbs (along with other things) my entire life. I was taught a lot by my grandfather, who raised a family through the Great Depression, and one thing I learned from him is that you don't throw stuff away just because it doesn't work right. My wife says he turned me into a hoarder! 😅

My biggest gripe is that I can no longer find the buckets of carb cleaner with the basket that you could soak all the parts in for a couple of hours. I have to buy 4 or 5 cans of spray carb cleaner to clean a 4 bbl and when I'm done my fingers are frozen!
 

Ele115

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I have had my dryer apart so many times, that fixing it is like a pit stop in Nascar. I can easily afford a new one, or many but won't. I got a new one about 15 years ago. It was about $1200. Fine. I figured it would be quiet and I wouldn't have to worry about it for years. At the 2 year mark it started getting a little loud. My wife found 3 tiny balls in the bottom and showed me. A bearing came apart. I decided to get a new bearing since it had just went out of warranty. Nope! They come as a pressed on hub assembly for $370 and they are backordered. That went to the curb and I got an older one that you can get parts for. Everything is disposable now.
 

Ele115

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My biggest gripe is that I can no longer find the buckets of carb cleaner with the basket that you could soak all the parts in for a couple of hours. I have to buy 4 or 5 cans of spray carb cleaner to clean a 4 bbl and when I'm done my fingers are frozen!
I would love to have a canister of that stuff. Last time I found any, it was so weak it wouldn't even take mud off.
 

Chryco Psycho

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The carb cleaner back in the 70s was killer , environmentals killed that now I can't find anything to touch the varnish inside the small passages .
I was working on a carb 2 weeks ago I was told it was sitting 6 months , I asked if he driven his quad since the lockdowns started "no" was the answer so more like 2 years , I had to use wire to open up the jet just to get any flow & it would run OK but not idle , I ordered a new carb & the throat size is different . arrrg !
 

Ele115

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I don't know if any of you have ever been down this road, but : Holley 4160 marine carbs! No sight glass/plug anything. Float adjustment can only be done by taking the bowl off and getting gas all over. You still can't see the level anyway. Trial and error. I made a clear plastic wall that screws to the bowl, fill it with alcohol and I still am kind of guessing where it should be. I looked at a car carb and measured out where the sight glass would be if it had one, so I can go by that I guess.

Is this some kind of Coast Guard mandate?
 

Rapidfire

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Made to be USCG compliant. If the Carb malfunctions then any fuel will be redirected back into the carb. No sight glass equals less chance for leaks. A regular carb will work fine but if you get inspected then they can fine you big time! There are a few other differences like vent tube and fuel passages. Plus a marine carb costs a lot more.
 

Ele115

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Yeah. I get that. Just like the J-Tubes. They don't want a bunch of gas in your bilge. This carb came on a complete crate engine I got for my boat from GM parts. I looked the carb up the other day, and apparently they are more than twice as much as your basic 4150. BOAT: Break Out Another Thousand
 

Ele115

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Old saying: If it's got boobs or rudders, it's going to be an expensive lot of trouble
 
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