Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area The Engine Shop Testing Daytona Universal Carburetor UN2

Greetings stovebolters. I recently looked up information on Stovebolt.com regarding the Daytona Universal Carbs, and it seems nobody had tried it out yet. I thought Id try it out and update everybody on this Carb.as I went along. So I decided to write to the company directly and ask them about their UN2 unit, and how it worked. The gentleman I was in contact with Mr. Ron Hewitt was very helpful and gave me allot of information regarding their carburetor. Ill put the detailed information he gave me later in this thread if anybody is interested. What stood out of what he wrote is that they've sold over 6000 units. Chevs of the 40's alone sells about 10-20 units per month. So I thought Id give their carb a try and inform everybody on my progress and results good or bad of this carb. Ill try to be as impartial as possible.
The test vehicle is my 1946 Chevy pickup. It has a 261 Chevy engine from I believe around 1958 (ill check on that later). Ive been running a Rochester Carburetor that was working great until a few months ago. The engine is nearly all stock. except for the 12v system with alternator. Its running regular points. When I first got it, It was giving me a consistent 12 M.P.G lately that's dropped to about 10 M.P.G I suppose mostly because for some reason ive been losing the fuel in the bowl (though I haven't confirmed this but will upon removal) and the need to crank the engine until fuel is delivered after it sits for a few days. I will set my points again, most likely at 18 thousandths. Ill also change the intake exhaust manifold to a nice painted one I have ready to go. Pictures of the installation coming soon. Heres what it looks like now.

Was that his name? Coincidence I guess.

Gabriel, your truck is a beauty. It looks great!. I would never remove my Carter but I'm interested in what you come up with.
Mark

Thanks Mark, yeah I love my truck, its a blast to drive. I was told that the best Carburetor to run on these engines is the Zenith Carb. Ive heard that they are very expensive though. These Daytonas are supposed to be copies of those, that's one of the main reason I was interested in trying it, besides the fact that its a brand new Carburetor. We'll see how it runs with it and keep it posted.

The Daytona has been poo pooed here since it first became available. It will be interesting to see actual documented experience with it. If folks will keep it civil and forget the snide insulting comments thus allowing you to be as unbiased as possible. Try not to go on the defensive and just report what you find. You will have to develop a thick skin as I’m sure some will not adhere to my above advise. Good luck.

Thanks for the heads up. I personally like to keep things original also, but as carbs get older and they are constantly rebuilt, they lose a bit of their drivability. I can always go back to the Rochester, but its nice to try something new and see how it works. Im curious to see how the Daytona performs. Might like it, or might hate it, never know till you try it.

It looks like my Rochester was losing fuel somehow. It looks a bit too low in the bowl. Can someone tell me where the fuel leakage usually comes from on the Rochester? Side by side comparison of the Rochester next to the Daytona. Customizations ill have to perform. The fuel cable bracket needs to be flipped over and upside down, then have the bracket bent down 90 degrees. Another thing ill need to change is the distributor vacuum line. On the Rochester its towards the front of the fuel air mixture needle, on the Daytona its towards the rear. I will connect it by rubber vacuum line. Also, wont be able to use my original heavy duty air filter. Regular air filter should be ok.

I don't think quality control is the problem, it's the idea that a few variants can be as close to the original mixture requirements as the many, many OEM carburetors. L6 engines of the same size will not require the same carb except by accident.
They may have developed the throttle disc size, venturi, jetting, vacuum setting, pump discharge, idle and transition hole sizes and locations, etc. on a specific engine, and will give good results... on that engine.
As your engine begins to differ from their model (displacement, CR, port size, cam timing, spark advance curve, valve area, overlap, rod ratio) the results will be worse - but perhaps tolerable.
Now, the 235 is an excellent model for this due to long use with very similar tune-up specs, so we certainly would like to hear results.
TIA

Looks like the Chinese Zenith knockoff I purchased. I used the carb on a test engine (GMC 248) and it performed well.

This is what Mr. Hewitt wrote in regards to that point. "The base Daytona UN2 carburetor has been in constant production in South America since 1957". I believe they are made in Argentina. They have a 1 year warranty for manufacture defects.