So a few months ago I had an abrupt "misunderstanding" with my Holley 1960. I believe it got some very interesting gunk in it and over a couple weeks it would not idle and it started to miss at speed.

I threw a rebuilt carb that had been sitting for a while on the shelf on the truck to narrow down the problem and the new carb ran so good that I simply--fuel bowl still full--put the old malfunctioning carb in a airtight bag and let it sit.....I mean, the thing wasnt working right anyway.


Should I rebuild it ASAP and then put it into long term storage? I'm afraid to tear it apart and clean it then leave it apart, I guess I could assemble it with no gaskets.


How should I store it: Dirty? Cleaned but not fully assembled? Or fully rebuilt and ready to run?

The new carb runs better than the old carb ever did at any point so I have no reason to rebuild the malfunctioning one and take of this new one that runs like a dream....I'll just wait until next "go-around" before using the malfunctioning one again.




It is not for sale. Thank you very much!

 

So the real question is "Where did the gunk come from?" If you don't know I would suggest flushing the gas tank, lines, pump and new carb. Make sure that you add a fuel filter between the pump and the carb. These see-through filters are great. They are available at a lot of places, Speedway, Amazon, etc..




As for storing the old carb certainly it should be thoroughly cleaned of gunk before putting it on the shelf.

 

Well, that was the long part of the story I wasn't sure anyone wanted to hear.


Story:
•I found an old-school paper element filter setup that fit correctly--the cheap aftermarket one I have doesn't clamp on very well--and I cleaned it up and painted it with some engine paint. Put it on, and later that same day it starts hesitating and missing.

•Stops for two weeks.


•Then after those two weeks it really takes a nose dive: Will not idle and is erratic in all behavior.

•I am "sure" the carb is fine and decide to replace all ignition parts with new stuff I have in boxes. I get cold feet and decide to replace carb with a unit I essentially had on a shelf that had been rebuilt and ran once.

•Upon removal of carb, there was a slimy dark substance all over the inner neck of the carb and filter housing.

•This upsets me, but I decide to install new carb and test it first before diagnosing old carb.

•New carb installed and truck runs better than the old carb even before it began acting up!!!

•I foolishly immediately wipe up slime before taking a closer look, wrap old carb in sealed produce bag, throw suspicious air cleaner into pile of junk, reinstall old incorrect but usable filter and resume driving for a couple months.




I guess I'll go and rebuild that carb here in the next week when I get a chance.
I run two inline filters: one before the fuel pump, and one in between the pump and carb. The glass bowl on the old carb showed very clean, it appears the contamination was most likely post fuel bowl. I guess it might have been paint that was dissolved from fuel and ingested....but I made it a point to not paint ANY of the inside, and no paint on the outside looks dissolved or affected?!?! The air cleaner was thoroughly cleaned before paint and installation as well.

Thats where my investigation stopped.....I Really like that old school air cleaner too.

Thank you very much.