I have a 66 f100 with a 352 2 barrel. The bowl cover has a hole in it. the hole looks like it should be there, but that some part is missing. The truck runs fine, and starts easy, but it loses a little gass from this hole and stalls if I cover it.

Something tells me thats a bad thing.

What carb would this truck have? I'm pretty sure it's stock. How hard are they to rebuild and tune?

And considering the potental of the motor, would I be better off buying a new 4 barrel and just replacing this thing? What all is involved in adding a 4 barrel?

 

hi 66. if i'm not sure about something looking right, i go to the parts store & ask to look at one. that sometimes helps. to upgrade from 2 bbl to 4 bbl you will have to change the intake or "center head" unless you're lucky enough to have a 4bbl intake with a 2 bbl adapter plate.gotta love that old iron!!

 

The hole in the top of the bowl is a vent. It should have a movable cover on it so that it opens at max throttle. I think it was to help clear up "vapor lock". If the truck wouldn't start, you would hold the throttle wide open as you cranked the engine. Later carbs eliminated it, so I guess you could just seal it up.

 

Beater 66, The hole in the bowl cover is in fact a vent and you cannot plug it or cover it because it is there to provide atmopheric pressure of the fuel supply in the bowl. I don't know why it is leaking at the vent unless the float level is too high and/or it is idling very rough.The Autolite carb, which was stock on your 352, is an easy unit to rebuild and very reliable assuming that tolerances of the throttle shaft bushings are not excessive. Changing to a 4V carb of course would neccessitate changing the intake manifold as well. This modification. although common, in itself is not a cost effective means to more power. Without adequate lift of the intake valves to accomodate the fuel potential of the 4V it is a waste of money and effort, although it does look impressive. In my opinion, the most improvement to the 352 can be achieved by installing a 390 cam. I am running one in mine with a 2V and dual exhaust but not headers and I have plenty of pulling power, uphill, loaded. I can haul a 1966 camper (read heavy) over the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest in 4th gear. Before the 390 cam, it would barely get out of its own way. Just food for thought, Lazy