30 Zenith Carb

Mitch//pa said:
What happened to Quigley's offer of help?
Click to expand...

I will probably be sending up the "Bat" signal! Quigley has been a great help believe me, he was over the other day and gave me a test stand for checking the float level on Zenith carbs, unfortunately I ran out of handss trying to use it. :) I emailed him a little while ago and waiting for his response. The man definitely know his A's. I hate to keep badgering him for help. I really appreciate all the advice from you guys believe me. Cheers
 
The same was happening to my friends 30 coupe. It ended up that the the fuel supply was restricted by rust and sediment coming from the tank. We pushed a wire thru the fitting at the firewall. The lean mixture caused the backfiring.
 
Quigly is having a back issue and will make it over here in a few days. I have a question on checking the float on this Zenith. Is it possible to just drop the
bottom portion of the carb, let the top attached to the intake, put a glass jar under the float pressed against the rim of the top part of the carb, turn on the fuel and measure it that way?
 
William Kelchner said:
Quigly is having a back issue and will make it over here in a few days. I have a question on checking the float on this Zenith. Is it possible to just drop the
bottom portion of the carb, let the top attached to the intake, put a glass jar under the float pressed against the rim of the top part of the carb, turn on the fuel and measure it that way?
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
This is for another time, another problem, but it's good to know. A couple of weeks ago, I was having similar symptoms and it turned out to be old gas tank rust. A plug in the carb intake, a plug in the fuel line. a plug in the sediment bowl and a plug in the shutoff valve. But not much in the sediment bowl. That's what kept me stupid! I couldn't see much in the bowl. When I finally decided to go after a fuel solution, I disconnected the fuel line and the gas did not even drip out. So I figured it was empty and I put a little gas in the tank. Still nothing,,,,,, Hmmmmm This means something! When I got all those little plugs out of the gas supply, trust me, it made a difference. What I didn't know was that those rust plugs could jam everything up like that and still seem like rust in the tank was not a problem. There was not enough in the bowl to indicate what was really happening. BUT the shut off valve was getting hard to turn. It was scored and all crapped up when I took it apart. Before reassembly, I lapped the two parts in the drill press, now they're sealed and they work a lot easier.
Terry
 
My 28 did a lot of backfiring when my repro ignition switch had poor contacts. I found the problem one day when I noticed the engine died as soon as I touched the key to turn it off. I took the switch apart and spent a couple hours making better contacts for it. No more backfires.
 
I just contacted Bill and as he mentioned my back has gone south and the rest of me is trying to go north. I told him I went to a show today in my truck and it ran great. I told him I would bring the carb and dist to him and try one at a time and see how the "beast" does. I feel we are running in circles and chasing our tails now. If it still acts up then we can go deeper in the boiler room and see what going on. I know he's frustrated but I am convinced the damn car will run to his satisfaction. Patience is my long suit:D As for my back I'm looking for a grease fitting and some of Tom W's magic grease:eek:

Sewall
 
Have you checked the throttle shaft on the carb for wear? If this shaft is badly warn you might be sucking a lot air inplace of fuel. Either install a new shaft or install new shaft bushings with a new shaft.
 
Funny, I have had several of those burn-out proof condensers. When I got the unknown slight overheating problem solved, the burn-out proof condenser has lasted several years. Still keep a spare in the tool box. Your symptoms were exactly what was happening to me. Timing, points and condenser. Never touched the carb.

JackD
 
Yes that claim of burn-out proof sticks in the back of my mind, something about the Titanic being unsinkable :D At any rate I do not have a spare but it is worth a shot to order a new one from Bratton's.

Thanks
 
Please observe a moment of silence for my Model A. Re-timed, new points, new condenser and now it sounds much better but shuts itself off after a few minutes like fuel starvation. Until Quigly arrives with a different carb the car car is on day-to-day residence here. :( The camera made the stone guard look wierd.
 

Attachments

  • 003.JPG
    003.JPG
    82.8 KB · Views: 72
In the end if all else fails, I take my A to a hot rod show and say, "Hey, this could be you". Works every time.... Hang in there. I have been there and done that.
 
what is always left out of a story is what was done to the car just before it began acting up?

We had a guy write in to say he had a carb problem, but neglected to mention that just before that, he had messed with the dizzy, which is where his problem really was. It took a lot ofeffort and posts before we learned of this
 
Going to meet Quigley this afternoon and pick up a known good carb and dist.
Hoping one of these is the culprit. Had it running yesterday but now it seems to run out of gas and just dies.

Fingers crossed :)
 
tbirdtbird said:
what is always left out of a story is what was done to the car just before it began acting up?

We had a guy write in to say he had a carb problem, but neglected to mention that just before that, he had messed with the dizzy, which is where his problem really was. It took a lot ofeffort and posts before we learned of this
Click to expand...

Plus 1 But we will never win. The carb always gets the blame.
 
I know you said you had good gas flow but for how long. Possibly your gas cap is not venting. See if it will run longer with the gas cap loose. Just a thought.
 
I swapped out the carb and started it up - idled great and after about 1 1/2 minutes shut itself down without fanfare, just as it would running out of gas. Started right back up. Checked fuel flow again (photograph). This is the same symptom on two different carbs - the end of the line into the carb looks ok, 1/8th inch from the end of the line in.
 

Attachments

  • 003.JPG
    003.JPG
    77.8 KB · Views: 65
"1 1/2 minutes shut itself down without fanfare, just as it would running out of gas."
"same action with 2 diff carbs"

1 1/2 minutes is about how long a motor will run if you shut the main gas valve at the tank. In other words, until the bowl runs dry. You are not getting the fuel delivery you think you are; the bowl is not refilling.

Rig up a coffee can of gas hanging somehow with a tube/hose going to the carb inlet and see how long the motor will run. You could take a 1 # metal coffee can and solder a short copper tube to the bottom, and run a length of rubber fuel line to the carb inlet. Stay away from the manifolds. This will bypass the rest of the fuel storage/delivery system and give you a lot of info
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top