The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Carb rebuild question

I have a 50 with a 216 and what sure looks like a Rochester (GM) single barrel carb. There is no tag at the anchor bolts to give me any idea of the carb number. I see some of the aftermarket retailers that have aftermarket rebuild kits. Do there kits cover all the B model carbs that were made or am I going to buy a kit and find out that I am missing half the gaskets etc. when I start to rebuild the thing. Any input or experience would be appreciated. Many thanks. Dan V

Well, first off, clean off your carburetor if it has ANY dirt on it at all to see if there's anything that could be covered up. I thought my Carter YF had nothing on it and when I wiped the little film of dirt off of it there was the Carter YF plain as day, plus I found the model numbers and others that I'm not sure what they are. If you can't find anything you could probably post a picture and someone may be able to tell you.

Most of the common "B" kits cover many years. Not all kits are made the same but a lot are very similar.

Take the number to NAPA.

Make sure you save all the parts you take out of your carburetor, just in case one of the parts in the kit doesn't work. Also make sure the base gasket has the hole or slot for the power valve vacuum port.

I also like to put a small chamfer on the needle valve seat. They used to all come that way, but lately its been a square shoulder. The chamfer seems to help keep the valve from hanging up. You can do this by using the old accelerator pump check ball and a punch and hammer, its about the perfect diameter.

Also check the float to make sure it floats in a balanced manner. If it doesn't, replace it. The float in the B is a crummy design and it doesn't work very well if the float doesn't balance because it puts side stresses on the pivot and it hangs up.

I spent a while getting my B to work well and be reliable. It is now, I haven't had to even touch it for over 4 years, but I had to mess with it almost every time I drove it before that because the float would hang up or it would spring a leak or stumble. I replaced the float, messed with the needle valve a bunch, messed with the power valve piston, had to fix a tweaked casting on the power valve holder, and had to fix the choke lever. The only thing that worked perfectly was the accelerator pump.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Well I guess its time to get my hands a little dirty. Dan V