W.C.F.B Carburetor

Fordestes

Well-known member
I have a W. C. F. B. Carb. with the early cast iron square base, what parts if any do I need to replace for modern fuel? This carb was rebuilt some time ago and never installed , will the float valve need to be replaced for present day fuel or is it a brass valve ? I have never rebuilt a W.C.F.B.
Thanks
 
I'm not familiar with those initials. Please spell it out.


no matter what carb it is, an old rebuild should be reexamined to determine if suitable for modern fuel. Brass valves should work fine.
 
WCFB

The WCFB was Carter’s first attempt at a four-barrel carburetor.


wcfb.jpg
 
White (Metal) Cast Four Barrel. Any current kit from a reputable supplier (Daytona Parts, Mike's Carburetors) should come with alcohol resistant parts.
 
They were really good old carburetors that were found on '50s GM V8s. I THINK Charlie NY has one on the flathead in his pick-up and swears by it. I had one off of an old Buick on a little 265 Chevy back in the '60s and it performed really, really well. A good choice for a four barrel (CFM-wise) on most of the street flatheads we run. DD
 
I have one from a '54 Chrysler. They came on just about everything except Fords in the mid-fifties. These days, some of the cores can be worth a LOT of money.
 
Very good carbs, at least in my experience. They've given me good performance on Y-blocks and Cad engines.
 
10-4 on the Carter sq base 4 brls.....same 50's vintage GM Rochesters great too.
Carter more sophisticated with vac controlled metering rods.
Charlie ny
 
I have some gaskets but no valves ,I am kind of partial to the brass valves , it looks like quite a chore to rebuild one , That is why I want a solid needle, I have had issues with some of the softer valves in other carbs, it seem the carbs with the dual floats were the ones I have had problems with after about a year or so of use. it may be where I was buying them as for the quality, I have used the flat type and had flooding conditions too. looks as if the rubber needles will have to do, I have one carb that was rebuilt about 50 years ago from a now defunct carb shop in California. and never installed ,I was thinking about re sealing it and having a good needle ready in case it don't have a brass one , Charlie do you rebuild the w.c.f.b ? Thanks for spelling it out Tub Man, I didn't intend to confuse anyone ford38v8, w.c.f.b is all I ever heard it called and you don't need to tell me a brass will work fine, I figured that out all by myself.
 
You will probably not need anything for your carb. The accelerator pump has a leather cup and the needle valves are steel on brass. They do not leak because no low openings in the bowl. I have been running one for 30 years and I never replaced anything.
 
Is this possible to use on a stock intake manifold on 34’? The bottom is a 4-barrel right?


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I had one professionally rebuilt for my Flathead, it ran flawlessly. The builder made a modification, apparently there was a condition where it would stall in a turn? Maybe someone else can add more to this. I used the stock heat tube for the choke it worked well.
With a little work it will bolt directly to most of the early intakes, I ran a Fenton.

Watch out for the cast aluminum 4bbl adapters. Some are junk and will warp when you bolt the carb to it and leak. I made one from 1/2” aluminum plate to solve the problem with the AFB.

Also ran an early 60s GM AFB small square bore 400 cfm. Carb. that I rebuilt at home. It too ran really well on the 8BA.
 

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I had one professionally rebuilt for my Flathead, it ran flawlessly. The builder made a modification, apparently there was a condition where it would stall in a turn? Maybe someone else can add more to this. I used the stock heat tube for the choke it worked well.

Also ran an early 60s GM AFB small square bore 400 cfm. Carb. that I rebuilt at home. It too ran really well on the 8BA.

Watch out for the cast aluminum 4bbl adapters. Some are junk and will warp when you bolt the carb to it and leak. I made one from 1/2” aluminum plate to solve the problem.

Right. I found that out the hard way trying to run one on a circle track car. Are you sure the "small square bore 400 cfm Carb" was an AFB? I never heard of one. Perhaps a small base Rochester 4G?
 
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Daytona carburetor will have all the parts for this build. used several of thes carbs and they work well on a mild 276, with good mileage.
 
Yup, Carter AFB, I think it was a 4055s used on the 1966 Buick 340 engine.
1 7/16 x 1 7/16.
 
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Tubman I heard it stands for Will Carter Four Barrel. I've been messing with the one on my nailhead for 45 years.
 
Could be. Is "Will" a proper name or a verb? I thought my version was correct because the carburetor that succeedded it was the AFB, which stands for Aluminum Four Barrel, which would be consistent. When I was younger, some of the guys said it was short for "Awful ******' Big", but I don't think that's so because those guys never heard of 850 Holley's or Dominators.:D
 
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