yesterday I was checking my 54' and found the float bowl leaking it has a pinhole on the bottom the inside is grey and slimey ...I have never seen this happen befor in a 6 month old rebuild...I have used differant fuel boosters and upper cylnder lubricants ,,could this be my problem??or is it a normal problem with a 50 year old carb and the new gasahall mix ???

 

Is it a Holley? (should be) Although I haven't found it with any of the Holleys ( discounting some minor etching in the bottom of the bowl and outside) I've rebuilt, I have seen this problem on more than one Stromberg. They have had deep pitting on both the inside and outside. One I got looked good, until I bead blasted it and saw a small non-factory hole open up above one of the jet well plugs.

What most likely was the case, yours was severely pitted, and the cleaning process loosened the last bit of flaky material that held the leak shut. Some fuel, jostling, and time, well you see the result.

All of these carburetors were chromated when new (either the blue like most flathead carburetors, or yellow like the later ones). This wasn't for looks, but instead a treatment that hardened the surface of the zinc resulting in corrosion protection. Given enough rebuilds, soaking in the old harsh cleaners once prevalent, and the chromated surface is gone, exposing the unprotected zinc. Once the protection is gone, the elements have their way. Think of old pot metal trim that has flaky chrome. See how it has pitted, etc? An unprotected carb body is much the same thing.

The chromate is actually delicate. Many here have cleaned a yellow chromated carb and noticed how it wipes off.

Ford had a service bulletin in the 30s that told shop mechanics how to mix chromic acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid (if I'm not mistaken) to make a witch's brew to dip the carb bodies in before rebuilding. I believe this was a corrosion preventive step.

Short story long, it wasn't something you did or used, but the result of the old chromate being removed and the elements wreaking havoc on the exposed zinc. Perhaps the new alcohol fuels being hydroscopic doesn't help with the extra water having a lick at the zinc.

 

make's sense..well then a little JB weld to seal it up after i get the slime cleaned ..and it is a ford carb ..has it in script on the front ..stromberg perhaps...??and yes it had a lot of crusty flakes in it when I started cleaning...it did sit 12 years ...with crud in it..

 

Rather than JB weld, if it is a single hole, why not drill and tap it and put a plug in it?

 

I was wondering if glyptol would be better to seal a rotted carb..to seal and protect it ...just can't afford 2 or 3 hundred for a new carb ..and would like to save this one if I can..can yo u buy just a body and rebuild from there??

 

Anything that relies on a chemical bond is likely to be temporary, pot metal is tough to bond to. On the other hand, Loctite makes some isocyanate type stuff that is amazing. Take a look at their catalog.

 

Just put out an ad for a core-$25. If you don't have the hand throttle, )or care about "correct") any core will do, as long as it has the vacuum port on the back. ( 7RT, EAB, 8BA, etc.) Contact Ken Isidor (Ken CT) on Fordbarn for a kit~$40 and you're set. Just make sure to true up all mating surfaces to keep fuel and vacuum leaks at bay.

I wouldn't try to patch that carburetor. If it is as bad as you describe, you may have other pinholes waiting to develop.

 

I think I gotta make some more friends around here,any carb I have found is rotten, frozen ,or generally trashed..yes it has a hand throttle I was hopeing to replace the body with somthing better....remember when it was"nickel and dimeing you to death"..now it's 50 or a hundred bucks to fix anything....Oh well ,,