Gas fume help needed...

Instepdrive

Junior Member
I have a 40 with 2 - Edelbrock 94s with a high rise manifold on a 53 flathead V8. I cannot solve the excessive gas fume problem in my garage even after rebuilding both carbs. Any suggestions on replacing the manifold and carbs would be greatly appreciated.
 
Are you sure that the odor is emanating from the Carbs & intake, are there visual signs of leakage in that area? Have you checked the connections at the gas tank, etc.?
 
Lift your hood up when you park in the garage and see if that works. That's what I have to do to keep the heat from building up under the hood and boiling out the fuel in the carb and stinking up the garage.
 
Instep,
I've heard only good things about Vic's 94's but used as single carbs not
duals. It is quite possible that the power valves are not closing all the way because
the engine vacuum is reduced by virtue of running 2 carbs. I'd try 47 jets and 4.5
power valves as a start.
As you know at idle and under low load conditions engine vacuum is
supposed to keep the PV shut.
Charlie ny
 
Are you sure the smell isn't coming from the tank? The tank is vented and in a warm garage it will have fumes. G.M.
 
have you pulled the plugs out of it and check the ends of them to see how it is burning. if the plugs look dark on the ends it is probably running way to rich. you need to drop the main jet size.
 
Many thanks to all of you for your advice. At first the rear 94 had a slow drip along with seepage from the fuel pump. Rebuilt the rear carb and replaced the fuel pump. Now the front 94 has seepage around the base. Both carbs are reasonably new from the previous owner. I checked the lines and the tank. The fumes are clearly coming from the carb and manifold area. I understand that a reasonably amount of gas fume is normal for these wonderful classics, but mine is excessive. I've read in a Speedway catalogue description for an Edelbrock 97, that the upgrade eliminates some of the fumes created by the 94s.
I'm not looking for high performance, only a smooth running engine with good gas mileage. What manifold and carb replacement would you recommend?
site
 
Check the fuel pump pressure. That should be no more than 3.5 psi. Running pressures hire than that will cause problems. Either running or right after shut down. The heat soak right after shut down could push the fuel line pressure up from the pump to carbs. That increase may be enough to overpower the float valve. If the pump pressure is good the float level might be slightly high. On a single stock 94 I found a float setting of 1 5/16 worked better than the rebuild spec of 1 1/4". That cured rough idle and gas odor after shut down conditions for me. It may be worth checking out in your case.
 
Thought stock float hight was 1 11/32" I know some of the rebuild kits have the wrong hight spec on there sheet.
Martin.
 
I cant see where you would get enough fuel leakage at the carb to get an over powering gas smell in the garage. I'm of the idea that the smell is coming from a bad gasket at the fuel gauge seal creating a large leak on top of the gas tank that is not easily spotted..
 
Instep,
The word seepage is an alert that the power/s may be leaking at the gasket
area between the PV itself and the bowl or the throttle shafts have already developed
excessive clearance. There are remedies for these situations and it's not rocket
science.
What you have on the '40 right now is all you need....don't go out and buy
anything else.
I've dragged everyone thru my 'solutions' too many times already, if you are
interested email me at cas5845@yahoo.com or call after 7PM est 716 662 9159.
Charlie ny
 
Put a 4 barrel on it fix mine

Still working on this... The 94s are leaking despite rebuilds. No other leaks. Looked into the Edelbrock 4-barrel but the manual choke is on the driver side, mine is on the passenger side. I'm leaning toward replacing the 94s with Speedway 9 Super 7s.
 
Where are they leaking from exactly? It has got to be fixable, that design of carburetor has been used on millions of vehicles. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes? Can you post pictures? This can be fixed with the amount of knowledge on this here forum.
Give us some details please.
Fingers crossed,
Martin.
 
Still working on this... The 94s are leaking despite rebuilds. No other leaks. Looked into the Edelbrock 4-barrel but the manual choke is on the driver side, mine is on the passenger side. I'm leaning toward replacing the 94s with Speedway 9 Super 7s.

Manual choke cable relocation shouldn't be a problem.
 
Instep, Get in touch with Charlie NY. He has given contact details above. I can vouch for his knowledge and ethics, he will easily sort out your little dilemma. No need to buy more carbs [especially Super 97's- utter rubbish!!!].
I am in New Zealand, and have dealt with Charlie more than once. Factoring in the cost of shipping down under, which increases the purchase price immensely, I must say that anything he has provided me has been money very well spent! [And money is not his motive- he has a wealth of old school experience and love of these old Fords, and would absolutely be your first and last person to call upon].
I cannot endorse his services enough; just get in touch with him.
 
I will endorse Brian's comments. A bandaid fix with a 4 barrel , or stick on some super 97s. I can not advise as to the smell of gas, but fitting other parts will not necessarily fix the issue. The millions of cars with 94s or 97s don't all smell of fuel. Keep checking. I did once notice when I rebuilt some 94s fuel wicked up the inner wall of the carb and seeped through the gasket. Rebuild again file all surfaces flat and triple check things , problem gone.
 
I had the same smell situation with some 94s. Had to put a bunch of towels over the carbs to quench the gas smell until changing them. Internally leaking. Smelled like an open can in the garage.
 
Just solved that problem with my 39 PU. The smell of gas was so strong that I was afraid that a spark would eliminate my cars and the garage. I originally thought that I had a leak in the tank, but a check of the fuel level showed that was not so. Finally I checked my gas cap and saw that the gasket was 75% missing. I replaced the gasket and the small of gas was gone. Some times the cure is that simple.
 
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