So I rebuilt my 2100 and still seems to pull too much air, have tried tuning many times and will not run with choke open so I'm just going to order new and start fresh. But what are my options for carbs? I have a 352(supposibly 361 rebuild) 2100 motorcraft with manual choke. Is there other carbs(higher cfm) that will work? Could I convert to elec choke?

And most of all, what are some reputable places to order from? Good prices,shipping,reliability,ect..
I have never ordered parts online and google doesn't bring up much, gotta be more out there
Thanks!

 

Also, any idea where to find a speed o cable?
Are the universal cables accurate?
Vendor for side mirrors?

 

I just went thru your history with this truck since you bought it, so as to not ask a lot of questions. On the the 50 reply thread you ended with the points being closed up, reset them and she was running fine and you were gonna play the Viola. So after this did the truck run good and you used it some, until old problems showed up again?

Can't help you with where to buy what your planning on.

 

Yeah pretty much, I replaced points and condensor after a few weeks and slowly started stalling out more & more so I replaced the distributor and it helped ALOT! now its just the choke giving me problems. The carb tuning screws make no difference at 1\2 turn or 4 turns out, runs decent with choke on full but dies immediately if opened at all, I have nothing else to try with this carb so replacement seems to be my only option.

I tried to search and find my old thread with no luck. Not trying to fill the forum with junk threads

 

That is really a good carb....check with the local hot rodders for a good local carb rebuilding shop...they are still around.....they should be able to go through that carb for about $100

 

Interesting subject. You'll want a mechanic's vacuum gauge to tune your engine effectively and, also setup carburetor idle mixture and such, even a new carb will require fine tuning for optimum results. This is absolutely worth doing. Everything else - ignition timing, ignition, valve lash etc needs to be squared away first though.

A stock engine with the OEM cam, intake manifold, and single exhaust will not really benefit from a big carb. This is a classic rookie mistake anyway. The stock size carb that came with your truck is probably a little on the small side, it's true. The reason for that, trucks were designed to haul heavy loads at relatively slow speeds up the side of mountains, stuff like that. Smaller carbs will have crisper throttle response and smoother idle, and make hauling loads easier from a dead stop. If you want more power you can go up a little bit in size, but this will mainly only benefit at higher speeds at the high end of the RPM range. Idle quality may suffer, and low end torque.

Notice race engines won't hardly idle at all anyway. They are basically only designed for running at full throttle their whole life. That's fine as far as it goes, but everybody wants to install a huge azz carb on their daily driver as a result. Stupid!

For example the 292 V8 in the 64 came with a 1.02" venturi size. That pencils out to only a 245 CFM carb and it is a little anemic. But after a good tuneup it idles like a sewing machine, has crisp throttle response and runs smooth all the way up to 75+ on the highway. Depends on what you want, just sayin'.

The problem with the CFM calculators is they are often setup for drag racers. Unless you are running around at wide open throttle it will recommend waaaay too big of a carb, imo. Proper carb sizing is all about the venturi size versus engine CFM and the resulting fuel/air velocity, a smaller carb throat means better atomization of fuel. Better fuel economy. Big carbs tend to waste fuel and often, even less performance. Plug in say, your 50 or maybe 60 mph cruise RPM in the CFM calculator, (not the WOT, absolute maximum-before-the-engine-throws-a-rod RPM) and now it will probably suggest a carb very close to what Ford supplied.

Even the 2100 carb has gotten stupid expensive for quality rebuilds. That's why I suggested picking up a vacuum gauge, there may be absolutely nothing wrong with your current carburetor. It's a great carb, simple to work on, the annular discharge design among the best. But, if you decide on a new one, a professionally rebuilt carburetor will have all the t's crossed and i's dotted, benched and flowed, throttle plate rod bushings installed if necessary, float level set, choke setup, and they have a warranty. Something to be said for that I guess. I found Topspeed1559 to have a quality product and good service.

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/371515623014 http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/111862500291 http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/391370718562

 

1st- to find the threads you started click on you user ID, MTf100, in any post you put out, there will be a drop down box, click on "View Public Profile", then choose "Statistics" and in the "Total Posts" you will see a choice of "All Posts" by you or "All Threads Started" by you.

2nd- Your not filling the Forum with junk threads, your asking questions about a problem or guidance needed. There are many knowledgeable people here willing to help. If there is something said you don't understand, say so, and we'll be glad to elaborate more. We want you to resolve your problem and learn at the same time so one day you might be able to help someone else.

3rd- Back to your problem, you say the truck ran good for awhile then problem came back and instead of putting new pts and condenser again bought a new Dizzy (distributor). Tell us about the Dizzy you bought and tell us what you know about the coil on the truck. Do you own a DVOM (Digital Volt/Ohm Meter) and know how to use it. Do you have a Vacuum/Pressure gauge for testing engine vacuum and fuel pumps?

 

Giving more info while I re-read all this and make sure I understand lol

When I replaced the points and condensor I noticed they had previously been over tightened and the plate was warped pretty bad. I had 6 wet plugs and a nasty misfire after running new points for about an hour,

so at the local salvage yard(let's me use tools) I checked piston compression, 100psi on all 8, and fuel pressure was good and consistent.

I found an identical dizzy in a 68 donor truck, re checked tdc and popped it in, swapped points and condensor to new(used)dizzy.

Used his volt meter and was only getting around 5 at the ballast resistor, so I by passed for the time being.

During all that his master mechanic went through the carb, said I did a great job of rebuilding and setting float, but that it is not metering correctly and doesn't understand why or how to fix.
he doesn't use timing lights( they're for girls apparently) lol so I put carb back on and timed by ear, it fired right up first crank on a cold start, now I realise I have timing advanced a bit too much, spins tires in snow when I put in gear with no throttle, sucks getting stuck on flat ground lol.

He didn't have the right size attachment to put vacuum gauge on carb so I'll track that down today and also a timing light and hopefully get rid of some of this "guess" work

I don't know much about the coil, just that it was bought at o Reilly's a few months before I purchased truck, Aug of 15 I believe. The salvage yard owner tested volts\ohms and said it was perfect, I'm not sure what he got though. This is the only local place that will work on carbs and he's an old school "do it all by ear" type.. So not many options unless I drive 100 miles to the nearest bigger city

 

Don't install a used distributor, it may be better than the last one but that's not saying much, and (new) they aren't all that expensive. Junk box carbs and distributors just aren't worth it. They'll get ya down the road, don't misunderstand. But it won't run nearly like it should.

 

Yeah, I planned on a new dizzy, only $96. Me and the yard owner had a miscommunication, thought I was testing to help track down problem before I bought new, he went n wrote me up a $200 bill to look at carb and for the dist...
Next pay day hopefully

 

OK, I know there is a # of us coming at you from different directions and probably spinning your head. So I'll address one more thing for you to check.

In the quote you say your getting 5 volts from the ballast resistor. Your truck should NOT have a ballast resistor. It has a resistance wire in the harness from the ignition switch to the coil. Also attached to that wire in the harness is another wire that goes to the "I" terminal of your starter solenoid so that when the engine is cranking you get full battery voltage to the coil.
Now about the coil. You need to check the coil make and model and find out for sure it is for you application of 1966 Ford truck. There are regular 12 volt coils and coils with the resistance built into them. If the coil has + and - terminals, + side has wire from harness on it and - has the wire from dizzy.
The 68 dizzy from junkyard is prob from a 360 and should work fine. If you have time before you purchase of a new or rebuilt dizzy, after verifying ballast/coil situation, get it running and do set the timing with a light if you have one, to book spec. You just want it to run good and worry about peaking it out later on. Tell Mr Old School in the junk yard, that this Mr Old School has his skirt................right here

 

PASS side on fender wall?
Its dark outside or I would get a pic of wiring

 

This does NOT belong on you truck. Unless the PO chose to power the coil from a source other than the stock resistor wire in the harness. If he is/was using the resistor wire plus the ballast resistor pictured, you have the reason for 5 volts to your coil and at least one of the reasons, if not THE reason you have a lousy running engine. Follow up on what I posted previously, about correct coil, free working advance in dizzy, timing to book spec and see if you can get running and idling nice on all 8. You may still have carb problem, but you want eliminate problems with the ignition system. Looking to hear back from you.

 

Master Mechanics do not work at salvage yards.

I'm sure he is a nice guy and maybe you can learn some basic things from him but......take a lot of what he says claims ect ect with a grain of salt.

The 2100 is pretty simple. As long as there is no major wear or damage to the casting it should be rebuild able. Sometimes it takes going though them several times to get it right especially for a novice. They need to be perfectly clean and this requires a solvent soak and air to blast the micro passages clean.
There are plenty of good you tube videos on building carburetors.

The 4100 and 2100 sit on a thick bakelite type plate. This plate is about one half an inch thick. Sometimes it's thrown away or lost. These carbs are hollow based and without this plate, it will never seal correctly causing a massive vacuum leak.

 

Lots of good information here. My first thought when needing full choke to run is vacuum leak. On with the testing!