which Carter WCFB for 54 Merc 256

G

garyripley

Junior Member
I am a new member and have been looking at some old threads concerning replacing the teapot with a Carter WCFB on my 1954 Mercury 256. I have a freshly rebuilt 1957 Ford distributor and an oil pump off of a 312. I understand ths is what I to convert to the WCFB. There are many of them out there, so how do I know which one to use, and where can I get one? I welcome any new input or suggestions.
Thanks, Gary
 
About any early model with the small bolt pattern unless you have the '57 up manifold. I understand that the later model Y-block intake manifold (with the larger bolt pattern) will not properly bolt to the early 239/256 heads. WCFB is a good choice, but very expensive. If cost is a matter of consideration for you, go with the tea pot but be sure it is properly rebuilt so that it doesn't leak externally.

WCFBs were used on mostly GM cars but also select MoPar, Ford and perhaps others. Just be sure you get the small bolt pattern carbs that came prior to about '56. Of course you can use an adapter, but they don't really look right.
 
I have an Edelbrock Performer 500 cfm on my '55 Merc that works very well. I have it on an adapter so it will fit the '55 manifold, but it's really not noticeable unless you look closely. 500 cfm may seem like overkill on a 256 but consider that you only use 1/2 the carb most of the time, and the secondaries are vacuum operated and only open when vacuum drops off as you open the throttle and only open the amount needed. This is an easily tuneable feature. The Edelbrock is a copy of the Carter but with improvements.
 
Also, with a WCFB (even the ones that were used on '56 Mercs and '57 Lincolns) the neck size for the air cleaner is a smaller diameter, so you would need a different air cleaner. The 2140 teapot Holley carb is a 5 1/8" neck.
Rochester 4GC's also came with the small bolt pattern and will fit the '54 manifold, but also have the smaller neck for the air cleaner.
You have different options here all depending on how original you want it to look.
cheapest option is to rebuild the teapot carb. They work fine when done correctly.

If you change the carb, I would go with the Dobie Gillis recommendation and use the Edelbrock 500. You're air cleaner will fit the Edelbrock carb. Need an adaptor to fit the manifold though.

Sal

Sal
 
Thanks guys for all the input. I think I will go with the Edlebrock Performer. It appears to be the best way for me to go. Summit has the best price with free shipping.
How do I go about getting the correct adapter?
Gary
 
Summit should have the adapter also, otherwise Speedway is your best bet. You might consider getting a 1" phenolic spacer while you're at it. It will increase intake velocity and give a noticeable torque increase in the low and mid range.
 
Gary, you also need to check how many teeth are on you're original 256 distributor gear. I think 1954 Y-Blocks used a 13 tooth gear on the cam and distributor, and I believe 1955 and later were 14 teeth. If that's the case, you will need to put the gear from the original distributor on the later distributor.

Sal
 
garyripley said:
Sal, I believe you are right.I was planning to switch gears. Hope I don't forget.
Thanks, Gary
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Also double check the style of dist & oil pump drive shaft. The early engines had a slot/flat drive.
The '54 256 I had was a hex drive but ya never know. It had a '57 dist on it too.
 
JeffB2 ,
Thanks for the info on the adaptor. I am working from a tablet and am having trouble going to the ebay link that you posted. Could you give me the ebay item number and I will try to find it that way.
Thanks again, Gary
 
Well guys I installed the 57 oil pump yesterday along with the hex shaft. My newly remanufactured Cardone dizzy came today and it looks great. I counted the teeth and there are 14 just like it is supposed to have. I counted the teeth on the load a matic and it also has 14, and it has the tang at the end of the shaft. I was prepared to switch gears but it looks like I don.t have to. I tried the new dizzy to see if it mated up with the cam and the hex shaft, and it did. So, is there any reason I should switch the gears?
Gary
 
garyripley said:
Well guys I installed the 57 oil pump yesterday along with the hex shaft. My newly remanufactured Cardone dizzy came today and it looks great. I counted the teeth and there are 14 just like it is supposed to have. I counted the teeth on the load a matic and it also has 14, and it has the tang at the end of the shaft. I was prepared to switch gears but it looks like I don.t have to. I tried the new dizzy to see if it mated up with the cam and the hex shaft, and it did. So, is there any reason I should switch the gears?
Gary
Click to expand...

In a word, nope.
 
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