The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1941 216 carter w-1 carb problem

well had the old girl running great new valve....cleaned up head..new push rod...etc. etc....the guy who had it before me put a rochester carb on it....the holes on the carb and intake didnt match up so it looks like he ground out the hole on the carb to make it work......lololol.......no big deal until after about 3 nice days of driving the old girl around gas started shooting out of carb.....so i did some tinkering on it...took old carbs out of the barrel and started to replace parts....i got the truck running again ...runs nice on idle then once i take it on the road it runs rough as hell.........does anyone know of a fix or a nice replacement.....the mixture screw on this one is turned one complete turn and changing it doesnt do much....i may have to bite the bullett and pay 150 for a new one....

What carb are you trying to fix? Seems if you put a kit in & set the adjustments it should run right. Be shure to have a filter close to the carb. A lot of perfectly good carbs are messed up by a piece of dirt in the needle & seat. This is generally what causes one to flood & run over.

the current carb on the 216 is a rochester single...no numbers on it...probably off a 1950s auto.......gas was gushing out of lever that runs from above the idle screw straight up through carb to spring inside carb....i used the old carbs base because the bolts aligned with it....then took the top part off a similar single barrel rochester...it works good but runs rough.....i pulled the plugs and they are black...and if i lean it out anymore the engine will die......i think i will have to spend the 150 bucks for a original one......expensive

i thought i would add........theres only one set screw on this carb.......it seems to much fuel is reaching the spark plugs and thats whats making it run rough....not to bad when it idles but when i take it on the road its pretty bad.....under load it runs fine

Do a search on this websight for model B rochester carb. There has been a lot of discussion on it. They are easy to work on.

well i went back in to the junk pile of carbs....found a fair one...took it apart and swapped out power valve....runs much better now...but still not perfect....idles a little rough....i guess im just used to this baby running like a sewing machine....i think im going to get a new carter w-1....i just hate to neglect the old girl a good shot of fuel......

You can't just swap parts between rochesters willy-nilly- the metering orifaces in the power valves are not all the same. They are also very sensitive to float level, and tend to leak if the float isn't floaty enough. The float design is really marginal and just barely has enough bouyancy to close the needle valve, so if the float hangs up or the brass has a hole in it, it will flood.

The Carter is a much better carb if you have one.

yes i know each model is different per car makers specs.....it must be close now because it runs pretty good......whats really odd is that this older gentleman has been stopping by here and telling me he has parts that could fit this 41 chevy truck....well ive been putting it off but today i went over to take a look at what he had....the old guy had a 216 all tore apart.....the engine was pretty beat up....but guess what i found...thats right.... a carter w-1 carb...with glass filter....oil canister.....intake exhaust manifold and glass bulb fuel pump.....all for 20 bucks.....that goes to prove always and i mean always it pays to look......now instead of paying 150 bucks via jim carter i can get the kit for 35 bucks and i get to keep all the rest of the goodies...wink wink