Hi, this is probably something that has been dealt with someplace on this forum before, but I couldn't find it. My original 1904 carb sat on a dirty bench collecting crud for 30 years before I bought the truck. I cleaned it up, but the seals are bad (the cork seal on the bowl somehow isn't leaking, though. I guess those natural materials really last forever!), and I know the rubber parts inside weren't made for ethanol fuel.

On the subject of ethanol, I live near a lake, so there are a few gas stations around here that sell ethanol-free fuel (for boats), so I might do that when I can. Still, I want parts that won't disintegrate when they are hit with alcohol.

I can get a good rebuild kit for about 50 bucks, or I can replace the carb with a brand new one for about $330 before shipping and tax. Mike's carburetors has good rebuild kits and a decent looking direct replacement carb. I've never rebuilt a carb, but there are plenty of good videos, Mike's is also great for that, I'd probably get the kit from them just because of all the videos and help they give. So I'm not too worried about doing it right. That said, a 65 year old carb is just kind of worn out, and a new one would probably perform better. I think the one I have is in average condition, it doesn't look bad, but it does have 65 years of shaking and wear on it.

If it had a glass bowl, then no question I'd rebuild it just because I think those are cool. But it's a metal one. It does have a brass float, which I know is a plus because I won't have to replace it.

I'd love to hear from anyone who bought a replacement or rebuilt to see how it went. Either way I'd keep the old one, in case I or a future owner wanted to have the stock carb back on it. If you bought a replacement, what kind? I'm a little concerned about the jets, the Holley has a pretty big jet in it for the 1954 F100, something like a 67. Not sure what size jet comes in a replacement.

One other sidebar about rebuilding, would you rebuild or replace a fuel pump? Not sure how good the replacements are these days. Pretty much everybody is going to electric ones, but I'd prefer to keep it mechanical for now. Anyway, replacement pumps are about 60 bucks, and they really don't have a lot of moving parts in them I can't imagine. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done it.

Thanks for your input, I love that there are folks with stock trucks out there who are willing to share what they know. I appreciate you guys!

 

I've gone a couple of ways with my carbs - rebuilt one myself and had another rebuilt by a very capable pro. Using a rebuild kit from a better outfit, like Mike's, is a must. The lesser kits have poor excuses for power valve replacements that only cause problems.

With my current project, there were issues with the carb beyond my abilities. A rebuilder active on the Ford Barn, Charlie ny, did a bang-up job quickly and for a reasonable amount.

On the fuel pumps, I've bought new with good result.

 

I've rebuilt several Holley 1904 carbs with good results. I had an unfortunate mishap with my original glass bowl but was able to find several replacements for a couple of bucks each in our local scrap yard. I purchased a new fuel pump, and much to my surprise, I was able to use my original glass sediment bowl with it. As a result, my carb and fuel pump look very original and correct. Good luck with your project! And welcome!!

Jim

 

I looked into rebuilding fuel pumps, the crimped style are not rebuildable. If you see a round of screws, those are rebuildable. There are rebuild kits available supplied with Viton to replace the old Buna rubber innards, along with all the springs and fiddly bits and gee gaws therein for many popular fuel pumps like the Carter X series, and plain Viton sheet alone is available too, that may be all that's needed for refurbing a NOS pump to handle modern gas better. But I guess it's kind of tricky to get the pump diaphragm installed.

I've heard people say carburetors simply wear out. Maybe, metering jets can (I guess) enlarge over time, so the air bleeds and fine orifices and stuff like that would too? I kinda wonder about that though. It's important the throttle plates fit properly in the bore, and there aren't any vacuum leaks through the throttle rod mounting holes, these wear egg shaped over long use. The fix is to drill them out and install bushings. I think in many cases "this carb is wore out" is just code for people who don't know how to set one up.

The main thing is they will need thorough cleaning once in a while. Gum and varnish and crud builds up. I'd clean it up and give it the once over and see if it looks like a candidate for use. Since traditional methylene chloride carb dip kind of went bye-bye, a lot of people have reported good results with cleaners like Pine-Sol in a discarded crock pot. The heat really helps.

 

Hi Matt,

I've never done a Holley 1904, but have done other Holley and Motorcraft carbs. I really like the kits from Mike's Carburetors. He has good stuff, and a lot of great information and even some of the carb's manuals you can download from his website for free. I would say buy one of Mike's kits, note the baseline adjustments on the carb such as throttle stop, idle mix volume screw(s), accelerator pump stroke if adjustable, and very important the float setting height. (hopefully they all weren't messed with too much). Buy a can of carb cleaner, take it apart while taking many pictures, soak it in the carb cleaner, blow it out with shop air, and put the new kit in, get your baseline adjustments either from your notes (or if you think they were all wacked out from previous "adjusters", from the rebuild kit directions) install it back on your manifold, fill the float bowl with some gas via the vent, and then set your choke and crank her up. While rebuilding look very closely at your float. If you hear fuel sloshing around inside of it, replace it. When installing the float try to get the height setting as precise as possible. Just follow the 1904 rebuild instructions and you will be fine!

Here is a link for carb manuals on Mike's website. Just click on the Holley 1904 manual. It has rebuild instructions in it. It is for a '56 GMC but I would think it would be close enough for reference though.

http://www.carburetor-parts.com/Carb...ls_ep_274.html

As far as your fuel pump. Just my opinion I would look at replacing it. Blow out all of your lines, and clean out your fuel tank. I am sure you'll find lots of crud in various places. With a new clean carb and fuel system you'll have a good running dependable truck.

Hope this helps!

 

Very helpful, thanks everybody!

Looks like I'll try for a rebuild on the carb and a replace of the pump. It's tempting to go with an electric pump, but I think I'll stick with mechanical for now.

 

Yes, with a 6 volt ignition system I think I would do the same. Meanwhile try to find a good source of non Ethanol gas. I live in corn country and it's even plentiful around here in 87 and 92 or better octane.

 

I live near a lake, so some gas stations do sell ethanol free gas because folks trailering their boats will fill them up. I'll use it when I can!

 

Just to put a bow on this thread, I ordered the rebuild kit from Mike's Carburetor's and I have to say, I'm blown away by their service. I sent them an email this morning and they replied to it within an hour of opening (they're on the west coast). They were able to identify the proper kit for my carb with the partial information I could pull off of the model numbers on the casting, and even told me that I have an older 1904, as it has a metal actuator for the accelerator pump, instead of the plastic ones on most of the carbs. I was a little concerned that I might have misidentified the thing as it had the metal part, which I hadn't heard of before. I sent them some pictures, which was easy to do on their web page.

Long story short, I put in the order for the part, and 38 minutes later got a shipping notification, it's already in the mail! And to top it off, I didn't pay for special or rush shipping, I chose regular first class mail, and they charged four, yes FOUR dollars to ship. Not to mention that the kit was made in the USA and is a good quality product. Plus all the videos online that walk through every step of disassembly and reassembly and the downloaded instructions.

And it was one of the lowest prices I could find for a rebuild kit, including the ones made who-knows-where!

Man, I can't say enough about these guys!

***Update***** This was ordered on the afternoon of the 13th, and just arrived at my door today the 15th. Coast to coast in two days! Nice looking kit, what great service.

 

It was easy to rebuild, just follow along with the videos. Used simple green (the purple one) to clean the carb, worked very well. Thing runs well now, I'm glad I rebuilt it, saved about 300 bucks!