Has anyone else carb. work done by passing gas?

peters180a/170b

peters180a/170b

Well-known member
I just received a second carb. restored by Passing Gas in P.A. The first one was done last year but was really not 100% correct for my car now by the new judging standards so i found a very nice one. The first one ran super and NEVER leaked ! Neal does a super restoration on them. The second one i just received [correct in every way] due to n.o.s. parts i have found,, looks again super. The detail on the work he list on paper is very anal to say the least.Hate to say it but we sent out [2] that's TWO ,,V-12 Cadillac carb's to one of the most well know re- builder of them and it cost less then $700.00. - that's less then $350.00 per. Is there something wrong with me to pay $685.11 [but understand this] i sent him 2 extra carb's i did not need which he took off 10 working hours on my carb. The price would of been $1,050.00..So am i ready for the funny farm...???In all my years with Model "A's [since 1971] never heard of a price like this before]
 
I don't have a dog in this hunt, but it seems excessive to me. I doubt that Passing Gas will get much work from anybody reading this post.
 
Too expensive for me. If you've got the money to spare and it makes you happy its ok. Its a very expensive hobby at that level of excellence .
 
To me it seems way high for a Model A carb rebuild even after reading the other post. You don't say how much you spent on the first one or how many actual hours was spent to make it a show piece but doing the math I come up with about 28.76 hours.
 
Sorry did not want to make it too long...21.25 spent at $50.00 per hour... Dynamic Test [106 miles] $58.30 ...{Stocking charge 20% parts } $64.56.... and so on. Last carb. was just under $600 and change. Next time i do something like this i'll ask for a close cost price before i have any work done. See how this one runs when i put back together some of the engine. [3 weeks]or sooner. THANKS Joe K ,went back and read all the old posts. $650.00 was the price for top shelf work and that was 2013. He did call after he reviewed the carb and did not give a price. Further call was made with more work to be done.At that point i said to him i had access to around 60 unrestored carb.. Let me find a better one with less work..No price was again mention and work continued .My fault i thought i would pay close to what was done before. Big jump ...
 
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What could even be done to a model A carb that could cost so much? Maybe if it was rebuilding a transmission with all new internals----?
 
I suspect "Passing Gas" deals primarily with the carriage trade.

Meanwhile, most of the rest of us buy Berts rebuilt, or Tillotson new, or rebuild our own, or haunt Amherst, NH Antique auto flea market for a $3 Marvel.

You have to understand the carriage trade - they make their money easy and often but frequently don't have the time or interest to develop excellence in their own work on the Model A - so they hire it out.

And Passing Gas offer a service which without, the carriage trade people would be seriously constrained in both their ability and enjoyment of the Model A.

And not to critique. I myself have some of this problem in that I'm fairly well paid in what I do in my work - but working at distance as I do, I have to tolerate the "overheads" connected with my work. Things like not being able to fix the snow blower due to limited time at home and being forced to buy a new one outright and off the shop floor for the wife to use in my absence. And for me to play with the Model A is pretty much out of the question - as are trips to find "deals" at Amherst. So I have to settle with buying well on Ebay. And buying well there is, um, it's own unique challenge.

The carriage trade just have different "overheads" to their lifestyle. And different sources for parts and expertise.

Joe K
 
The owner of Passing Gas could obviously sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo. The price clearly speaks for itself. That is 1/3 the cost of a motor overhaul
 
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Our '31 Coupe had endless carburetor issues, so I got a rebuilt unit from Bert's last year. It looked and ran GREAT for $200 exchange ($300 outright).

I confess I do not know what else would be needed to be fine point quality visually, but an extra $800 or even 400 seems excessive.

j.m.h.o.
 
When the late Mitch Bunkin wrote that thread, he was a little reluctant to tell how much it cost to have all this work done. No wonder! It was $600! Mitch was a member here and a Professor at a local college, and yes! He may have been considered carriage trade. But wait! The guy, Passing Gas, from what I understand, does a complete job on the carburetor, Including re-milling the gasket surfaces and re tapping all the threads. Again, From what I understand, nothing is left to chance. This kind of work takes time. Most of us, understandably, wouldn't pay for that, but some of us will. he's there for those who will.
Terry
 
I have put 8 hours in the rebuild of a Zenith carb from start to finish. If I have a burr on a screw head I file it off. All parts will get polished. All the plugs removed and passageways cleaned. Carb is road tested with flowed jets,drained then painted.
A Tilly take's a little lest time unless I start deburing the inside.
 
Of course, people should do as they think best and whatever has worked for them. I'm just a shade tree mechanic but have allways had excellent results using original ,used, numbered jets. I think that the kits offered by many are a big mistake . New gaskets, a new float valve, throttle shaft and bushings, in some cases are usually the only parts needed for a complete carburetor in reasonable condition. I've never flow tested a jet. I feel that the complicated flow testing setups are sort of a wizard of oz way to charge a high price. My cars seem to run pretty good. Just my thoughts, No harm meant. mine are just fun cars and I have to do mine, myself.
 
Back during my entry days to Model A land I acquired a Zenith in a box of parts.

I set about to "improve" that zenith by incorporating all the "new" parts I could buy. Well, "new" means "best" doesn't it? Along with this I removed all the jets and replaced them with the ones that came with the kit offered at that time.

I was not pleased with the Zenith. It ran fine enough but the "punch" just wasn't there. Since then it's mostly been the Tillotson XF which came with the Model A originally.

Not long ago, more than a few years later and more than a few Model A books read and under my belt, I scored ANOTHER unrestored Zenith carb for $20 at the local antique engine flea market. Out came my earlier rebuild for comparison - AND discovered also was the box of parts that I took OFF that first Zenith. Including the original jets.

So, with the information, I looked again at BOTH carburetors.

I concluded that the original jets were the ones to use - and my discerning now 25 year older eyes DID detect differences between the original jets and the "new". Mostly in the length above the gasket seat, but also in apparent size of the holes and other critical lengths/dimensions.

So the rebuilt carb got rebuilt BACK to original (mostly) and the unrestored carb was cleaned up but put together with its original parts.

AMAZING what 25 years can do to one's perception of "best." I think a lot of parts get sold "just because new must be better." It's frequently NOT, I decided.

And DON'T throw anything away - you might decide you need it later.

Joe K
 
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Mitch//pa said:
purdy for shits and giggles try a set of flow tested jets from renners, i think youll be impressed.
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Mitch thanks, I'm getting by good with the original Jets. My previous post wasn't aimed at Renners and I'm sure that his jets are very good. I will be more interested in his B rectangular floats and venturis. That is the two main parts that are needed with B carbs. I've got over forty carbs in coffee cans that I fondle from time to time .
 
I've got over forty carbs in coffee cans that I fondle from time to time .
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I've got a minor passion for my "Rentz" spark plugs.

images

Too bad they're not the "clear" ones (you can see the spark.)

Joe K
 
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