Be careful about over-tightening the tapered pipe fittings in these delicate castings. They will crack, as in split, from the force of the tapered fitting. Teflon tape greatly reduces the friction as the fitting turns in the casting so you can split the casting well before it seems to be over tight. Be careful.
To anyone who has never before used either Teflon paste or Teflon tape:
Take the quote from 1 Ton Tommy, print it in large bold print, and tape it to your toolbox!
Over the decades, I have recycled (fancy word for scrapped) some really high dollar carburetors (at least a dozen Pontiac GTO tripower carbs) simply because the previous owner (often the guy/gal that sent it to us for restoration) had split the housing. BE CAREFUL! Depending on the state of your health, a wrench may not be necessary, tighten it with your fingers.
To those who use it, I won't try to convince you not to; however, when we were still restoring carbs, one that came in for a restoration estimate with Teflon remnants in the threads automatically got the estimate doubled! Other carb restorers whom I knew did the same!
If the threads in the carb are clean, and the threads on the fitting are clean, NOTHING ELSE IS NEEDED.
Comment was made that tape was used because the tapered threads would no longer tighten. We have fabricated many new oversize fittings for carbs such as these.
Jon
