The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Testing Daytona Universal Carburetor UN2

Beautiful scenery and beautiful truck. Thanks for sharing.

Update 9-30-2020 : I finally got back to rebuilding my older “bigger” single barrel Rochester to put back on the 261 in my 1946 Chevy. Driving them back to back, I would say the Rochester has around 5-10% more horsepower at the top end. I put the Daytona Carburetor on my 235 Stovebolt in my 47 Fleetline and it is a perfect match. Same power output to me as the “regular” single barrel Rochester with the benefit of having a new Carburetor. As I mentioned before I’m very content with the Daytona performance. I’ll be doing a gas mileage test but I imagine it will be similar to the Rochester. I hope this info helps whoever is interested in these Carbs.

A 235 would likely get 15 MPG if you dribbled gas down the carb out of a boot whether the bed was fully loaded down of empty.

Greetings Carl. The 235 is actually in the Fleetline, and I was getting 14mps with the Rochester, I hope the Daytona will do a bit better. My 261 got 12mpg's with either Carb. Both are running great.

Gabriel:

I realize this thread is over six months old, but I wanted to add my thanks to you for taking the time to post your experiences with the Daytona carburetor. Having been through (so far) 3 of the original Rochester B units, and having yet to find one which is not warped (and leaking), I have been searching for an alternative and I think the Daytona might be it for my '53 truck with its 216. I'll save the Rochesters for the next owner.

Ditto, I applaud the effort here to test it out.

I’m not sure any of us love the idea of modern aftermarket carbs. And clearly the Daytona isn’t a perfect solution from a design standpoint.

But keeping our old vehicles on the road for another couple decades is going to likely require some creativity and getting comfortable with less than ideal solutions. The supply of B’s in usable condition sucks. The proper YF is not super easy to source and the prices get higher each year.

Parallel example...I like to tinker around with chainsaws. Some OEM stuff like carbs and coils are getting mighty scarce or just don’t exist. Using aftermarket parts of questionable origin is just becoming a way of life. I don’t particularly like it...but it’s just the way it is.

I just installed one of these on my 38 216. It runs perfectly and going by the plugs, in a very lean manner. It is basically a Zenith 28 and as I understand from my GMC shop manual, they were used on them in the early fifties. You could also get an adjustable high speed jet in those days for high altitude applications.

Hey truckerix! Sorry I hadn’t been to this thread for a while. I hope your carburetor is running well on your 216. I’ve had no problems with mine. My 235 is running great. Easy startup, great response, plenty of power. I couldn’t be happier. I’m glad this thread helped out as I’ve been helped out by others. I’ll have to come back with fuel economy updates once my engine is fully broken in. It’s not a daily driver so it’s taken a while. But no complaints on the carburetor.

Glad I could be of some help. The carburetor is running flawlessly, don’t have a single complaint. I hope yours is working out for you.

I am considering purchasing one of these for the '54 235 that is in my project truck.

Cost and availability are a couple of reasons why I am considering using a Daytona carb and another main reason is that I live at over 7000 feet above sea level and I am under the impression that setting up the Daytona carburetor to function well at this altitude is supposed to be very simple.

Gabriel (or anyone else with experience with these carburetors on a 235), has your experience continued to be positive?

I am about to place an order as it is about time for a test start of my engine!

Thanks!

I have a universal carb from mikesCarbParts.
I have not had any issue. Except user error when I installed and made a big vacuum leak.

I originally got it because I was chasing power and other issues. Which, embarrassingly, I think was because my split exhaust was keeping the carb from going past 3/8 throttle… which I noticed after I put the universal in.

Also my engines were using a large oil filter, that bolted to intake and was always in my way and difficult to remove etc etc. all just excuses. I will probably put one of my Rochester back in some day… maybe.

No scientific data from me though.