The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop ALTERNATIVE USES FOR THE ROCHESTER 1BL. Carb.

Hello everyone,
I've finally came to my senses and decided to give up on that blasted single barrel Rochester, I've been through 4 of them and still suffering from GAS! leaks out of every oriface. Just when I think I got it, it starts to leak, back fires, hard to adjust. I've had them rebuilt, cleaned and still unhappy.
I am on the hunt for any thing other then the Roch. carb, hell even 3 or 4 squrriels chasing walnuts mounted on top of the 235 would give me more satisfaction.

Anyway, what to do with the ol' carbs, I guess I could plant flowers in them for the front yard? or maybe sinkers for lobster traps or use them as mortar rounds. anything but carburating an engine. I hate them. any other uses? Jake. :confused:

Jacob - acquire the following bill of materials:

(A) 6 in x 6 in x 2 in block of walnut
(B) 4 in x 4 in square of green (or your color choice) felt
(C) a micro-switch
(D) a piece of lamp rod
(E) a bulb recepticle
(F) an electric cord
(G) 2 wood lag screws

Remove choke and throttle plates from the carburetor. Drill hole through center of felt and walnut block, and insert the cord. Set the carburetor on the felt on top of the block, and secure to the block with the wood screws. Attach the micro switch to the inside of the throttle body, such that working the throttle turns the switch off and on. Insert the lamp rod into the venturi area of the carburetor, add wire and the recepticle on the top of the lamp rod. Now all you need is a shade to have a functional "carburetor" which doesn't leak. Makes a great conversation item.

Jon.

I am now looking for one since someone on this forum just GAVE me a two carb Offy intake. (No I won't say who, you will all want one... )

The rebuilt one I have has no leaks, just need another one like it.

Trade it in on a nice Carter or Zenith that doesn't leak.

Carbking, very interesting I bet my wife would like Rochester lamps, especially atop her new acquired antique side-board. sorry TonyM, seams that i got handed a bad" lot" of Roch. carbs all seam to leak, especially around the throttle plate rod. I've heard of rebushing the brass rod? who does this kind of work and is it common?. The idea of Zeniths and Carter carbs seems to be the right direction, but where are they, every truck I've pilaged always have Roch. carbs in them. or should I look through the regular catalogs for one? jake

oh! how about those 2 barrel webers with adapter to mount on the 235, anyone use them

Try a pre-'50 Chevy or a GMC.

I've got a bunch of Holley 94's (two barrel three-bolt flattie carb) that I am going to use on a multi-carb setup that I haven't tuned yet, but you can get adjustable jets and various power valves for them to make them easy to tune, and they never leak. Downside is that they are expen$ive.

It seems to be getting harder to find rebuild kits for Zenith carbs, but once you get them sealed and adjusted they're great.

Rochester doorstop? How about a fountain, since it already leaks...

Gas leaks from every orifice? Try Beano.

Jacob - Chevrolet used the Carter W-1 up through the 1949 year. This is a size 2 base.

The Rochester B series used on the 235 is a size 3 base.

Zenith was used on GMC in the 1940's and 1940's, but last used by Chevrolet in 1923.

Both Zenith and Carter offered aftermarket replacement carburetors for the 235. Both are now obsolete, but rebuilt units should be available from any carburetor shop specializing in older vehicles.

Four on the floor - The Holley model 94 have a power valve (diaphragm) which drains directly into the manifold when it fails. Most hot-rodders, when using the Holley 94, block the power valve on "dumper" carbs for this reason; but continue to use the power valve on the primary carb(s). The jets in the "dumpers" are then increased such that the new jet size is equivilent to the old jet size plus the power valve. Note that the factories used this philosophy on factory tripower units in the 1950's and 1960's.

Hedgehog - I like the fountain idea; and repair kits for Zenith carburetors are not difficult, assuming you have an address known to UPS.

Jon.

Thanks, carbking, I was aware of that issue. The manifold I have uses two of the carbs in parallel. I have an extra matched carb for swapping in to fix any problems. If I had any Stromberg 97's I would use those instead but they cost twice as much as 94's.

Jacob,

I had similar problems with the 1 barrel carb. I finally went with a Holly/Weber 2 barrel and adapter from Langdon's. The carb, adapter, linkage kit and required air filter ran about $165.00 including the shipping. Really runs nice and seems to give the old bolt a little more power.

Dual Holley/Weber 2 bbls make a good setup. We put them on my friend's hot 261, he's now over 200 hp. Problem is the dual Offy intake doesn't flow enough to make full use of them, but it's far better than dual leakers.

As for uses for the old leakers. They aren't heavy enough for doorstops or boat anchors. It would take to many of them to put in the back of the truck for winter driving, and would make a horrible racket. Danged things are totally worthless. [img]http://www.fradsplace.com/icons/icon2.gif[/img]

An 8mm mauser or 54 cal muzzle loader makes short work of them. Then you know they will leak. Ask my rusty old 2GC

Nearby Rochester NY was the home of Rochester Products, home to the Model B carb. I worked for electrial contractors in the plant and could feel the ghosts of leaking Model B's.The B carb on my wife's truck does not leak any fuel, really.It was on a low mileage non running 261 engine I bought , the carb screws had no marks from previous hacks.The single barrel Holleys used on some Mopar and Fomoco will also adapt easily. At an Inliners meet ,I saw a Rochester 2 barrel adapted to a single carb manifold, it seemed to run well .I also had the dual Holley Webers on my 261 powered 37,carburated very nice, but who ever had cleaned the carbs at the rebuilding factory must have used a sand blaster, the idle jets and float needle would repeatedly clog with tiny grit.Old time circle track racers used to take a 235 intake, flip it over,grind out the bottom center and you could quite easily bolt on an adapter to use any 2 or 4 bbl carb.The manifold sits a little angled, but it works.

CarbKing - If I plan to run a hot 3x1 setup, what model Zenith carburetors should I look for? I've been told that the 9046A used to be the universal hot rod carb, but I've been having a hard time finding them.

Ed

You can disassemble and clean a "B", and use the fuel bowl to hold M&Ms or other candies.

Or put 3 of them on top of a cracked flathead 4ord intake, and tell your non-car friends that its a tripower setup for your Pontiac GTO.

Or steal small parts out of them to use in real carbs.

Catch all the fuel they leak and fill up your lawnmower.

Bring one to the kid at autozone and have him find a rebuild kit, just for laughs.

Harbor strange fantasies about having your girlfriend rebuild one in the buff.

Other than that, a Rot-Pot "B" is about useless.

LOL

I use mine to hold down my hot rod mags on a table outside on my poarch. Works great and dosnt leak a bit. Didnt even have to rebuild it!

Ed - information on Zenith. Zenith, as well as Carter, Rochester, etc. made carburetors in standard S.A.E. sizes. The sizes normally of interest are:

Size 1 - Nominal 1 inch carburetor with center to center mounting bolt spacing of 2 and three-eighths inches

Size 2 - Nominal 1 and one-fourth inch carburetor with center to center mounting spacing of 2 and eleven-sixteenths inches

Size 3 - Nominal 1 and one-half inch carburetor with center to center mounting spacing of 2 and fifteen-sixteenth inches

Example of size 2 would be a Carter W-1 from a 1941 through 1949 Chevrolet, or a Rochester B for a 216 Chevrolet. Example of a size 3 would be a Rochester B for a 235 Chevrolet.

Zenith also built each size in a style A or B. Type A has the throttle shaft and choke shaft in the same plane (if you look straight down the throat of the carburetor, you will see the choke shaft, but the throttle shaft would be "hidden" by the choke shaft). Type B has the throttle shaft and choke shaft perpendicular or crossing each other.

Within each S.A.E. size there may be 5 to 9 different internal venturi sizes (the venturi is the major determinent for airflow capacity).

There is NO universal hot rod carburetor. For best results each application should be planned for S.A.E. size (manifold will determine this), internal venturi size, and type. Generally, linkage can be fabricated to use either type, but some applications work better with one type.

The Zenith 9046 which you mention may have been in "vogue" at one time due to availability. This carb was used on a military application, and often the military over-purchased and items were then sold off at a fraction of original cost through military surplus. This carb would never be my first choice for a hot-rod installation.

If anyone wishes help in selecting carbs for a multi-carb setup, feel free to call me at the shop during normal business hours.

Jon.

I am running a Carter YF on a couple 235s and have had very good luck with both. If I remember correctly, the kit for the YF was around $10.

Thanks for all the replies, from reading on it seems that there are countless carb setups available for the six banger. It seams that many of us try to keep the "original appearance/setup as much as we could, as i have tried. unfortunatly for that blasted Roch.

I like the 2 barrel set up, be it webber/holly or "other" . it seams to be an easy bolt on.

i still have't decided what to do with the Roch. carbs i have. although i will post their outcome soon. jake.

Grind off all the rough edges and use them for genuine GM wheel-chocks

DANG ! you guys are terrible ! .
I run a Rotchester B on my 235 with hardly any seepage and no flat spots , good power etc. and this from a junker core I picked up nearly free .

(I liked the jokes though)

My Rochester doesn't leak at all and works great. It seems to be a rebuilt unit from one of the vendors. Now that I have by dual intake how do I find out a carb I might be getting matches the one I have? Go by numbers?

I have a Rochester B and it weeps all the time. We had a 53 Chev car come into the shop that we did a carb rebuild on that was a Rochester and it leaked a ton, even after rebushing the throttle(though it helped). I'm thinking about something carter. I have one on my jeep that I am pretty happy about. I think the lamp or m&m's dish would be most useful.

CarbKing,

There's a fellow in town who advertises "Carburetors that Work" in the Antique Vehicle section of our classified ads. I think he puts in a Teflon throttle shaft. Does that work for longer than his one-year guarantee?

Also, did I get lucky with my $15 Ebay Rochester Monojet? No leaks. Or should I start looking for a Carter YF?

Wally / Montana - the throttle shaft is not the area of concern for leakage.

Also, if you follow through with my lamp idea suggestion, be careful where you set the lamp. If you set it too close to a clock, the clock won't work! The old Rochester B leaks out so many electrons from the lamp that it sets up a force field and kills the clock

Jon.

I like the mortor round idea.

Tonym, who in the heck would give you a dual offy manifold

I had my Rochester 1BL Carb rebuilt by a local carb shop which specializes in Rochester carbs. They charged me $45.00 to overhaul it and it looks and works like new. No LEAKS at all!! They told me the leaks are caused by warping of the cast aluminum. They have a process of correcting the problem so they do not leak.

Contact Ingram Carburetor and Fuel Injection Repair and ask for Gary: 903-784-7786 (Paris TX).

The 1bbl on my 67 doesn't leak at all. Had to rebuild it though, the accelerator needle was sitting in the float bowl! You should have seen the black smoke when I drove it home the first time.

Anyway, these carbs are a bit small for this, but I used a Holley single pumper 4bbl for a doorstop. I found if you filled teh fuel bowls with lead shot or BB's, it worked really well against high winds.

Anybody want to send be some B's, I'll take them. The only problem I've had is that the "new" rebuild kits have a thinner gasket at the carb top and are prone to leak. But you can lower the float and turn your plugs white or make a thicker gasket. But, any free B's I'll be glad to get as I've got three 235's and one 216 here.

You could stuff them with gunpowder and make grenades... (Note: we're trained professionals, kids, do NOT try this at home! :p )