My '59 F100 has a 223 with original carb with the big glass float bowl. The truck starts right up and runs well, kind of rough during warm-up, but after a while idles and revs fine, just a little stumble at idle. I have NOT attached a vacuum guage yet to analyze the engine.

But the fuel level in the bowl is always near the top of the glass, and after running it for 5 min or so today, I took a good look at the glass and the float itself looks like it's floating like an iceberg, mostly under the fuel level, with just a little above.

Doesn't this indicate a flooded float? And if so, why doesn't my engine flood out when the fuel level in the carb is so high?

From experience with other engines, I would expect the float to be actually floating about halfway submerged, with the fuel level about halfway in the bowl.

Opinions?

 

Have you rebuilt the carb? The glass bowls were used on a few, but the replacement carb doesn't have a glass bowl.

 

Haven't touched the carb, or really anything else on the truck. I just bought it in Jan, and I have it up on blocks while I sort thru it. I began with the brakes, but as I work on the brakes, I usually start the truck and let it run. That's when I uncovered the fuel pump and carb anomalies.

 

In your other post, you speak of a vacuum leak at the booster pump, this could cause the rough idle and stumble. Try plugging the leak and see if it runs better.

On the float issue, if the engine is not loading up on gas, I don't think you have a float problem.

 

I used to have a glass bowl on my carb. I remember the level seemed higher than I was expecting, but it worked OK. That's the nice thing about not having the glass bowl, ignorance is bliss.

Cal