Make My Own Metering Plate?

[PurpleBeeper]

If the hole is too big, solder it up. Then drill it to the size you want.

Hey Photon440, are there any "tricks" to soldering up a main fuel hole in a metering plate? I've never done it. Should I just smear some flux on the hole, heat the plate with a propane torch and sweat the solder into the hole? Acid core?

Any advice you can give me on doing this is appreciated?

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Q/F has a cast plate,1/2 the price of the billet ( picture attached) and there are no fitment issues or float interference but you have to get it directly from Q/F.As for Promax,never could figure out why they are priced as high as they are. I have quite a few plates if you choose to go with original.You say you are running rich,at speed or at idle and also what jets in center carb?

Hey 62Max, I just sent you a PM. It's good to hear that the Quick Fuel plates fit well. Do you have any idea what the idle fuel restriction size(s) are? These plates (& Promax's plates) address the main fuel circuit with Holley jets, but I haven't seen any adjustment for the idle circuit.

 

[lewtot184]

the plates are made of zinc. pretty sure solder won't stick.

 

[Photon440]

Hey Photon440, are there any "tricks" to soldering up a main fuel hole in a metering plate? I've never done it. Should I just smear some flux on the hole, heat the plate with a propane torch and sweat the solder into the hole? Acid core?

Any advice you can give me on doing this is appreciated?

- - - Updated - - -

Q/F has a cast plate,1/2 the price of the billet ( picture attached) and there are no fitment issues or float interference but you have to get it directly from Q/F.As for Promax,never could figure out why they are priced as high as they are. I have quite a few plates if you choose to go with original.You say you are running rich,at speed or at idle and also what jets in center carb?

Hey 62Max, I just sent you a PM. It's good to hear that the Quick Fuel plates fit well. Do you have any idea what the idle fuel restriction size(s) are? These plates (& Promax's plates) address the main fuel circuit with Holley jets, but I haven't seen any adjustment for the idle circuit.

Soldering up a pot metal piece is fairly straight forward. Just like soldering aluminum, it's entirely feasible provided you use the correct solder. Try this for ideas:
http://www.caswellcanada.ca/shop/solder-it-pot-metal-repair-paste.html

 

[62MAX]

the plates are made of zinc. pretty sure solder won't stick.

That would be correct,only way is if Zinc is pre plated then joints become brittle.

 

[Photon440]

That would be correct,only way is if Zinc is pre plated then joints become brittle.

Ordinary solder, sure. But there are special zinc fluxes and solders. Check eBay, Amazon, or my link in the above post.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Thanks for all the help everyone.... I will investigate zinc soldering/drilling if my Quick Fuel plates don't work out. I had a thought about metering plate hole size vs. Q/F jets. If my front carb should have a -34 plate, and the main fuel holes on those plates are .089"pass/.089"driver, then I should use #80/#80 jets, right? And for the back carb with a -35 plate that's .086"pass/.093"driver, I should use #77/#81 (or #82) jets in back, correct?

I'm trying to put the carbs back as close to stock as possible to track down my rich idle. Does all this make sense?

 

[Photon440]

After all that, I'm thinking that the fuel holes shouldn't be affecting your idle as they won't be in the circuit yet. Do your end carbs have the idle screws still hidden by the plugs like this picture shows?

View attachment 314995

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Thanks again Photon440. I have the lead plugs out of the front/back carbs & a Promax base on the back carb. With the center carb idle screws only 1/2 to 1 turn out, the outboard idle screws get turned all the way in & the car is still running very, very rich at idle.

I'm sort of grasping at straws for the last year. The engine has idled very rich with low vacuum. A year ago I pulled the 292/509 cam and put in a milder one hoping to get the vacuum at idle up (was 2"-4" at idle and is now 9"-10" at idle). The engine idle only improved a small amount (this might not be related, but I thought I'd mention it). Just before I changed the cam, the carbs were pouring so much fuel into the engine at idle that I had to change the oil twice because it had a quart or two of fuel in it (not joking). I rebuilt the carbs, trying to put them closer back to stock, and it doesn't contaminate the oil, but it's still very rich at idle. I'm wondering if I put in some wrong gaskets or something....I'm not sure. I'm going to rebuild the carbs again & try to get to almost 100% stock and tune from there. I'm also going to try to dial in the timing as dead-on as possible. My goal right now is just to get it idling without blowing smoke out of the tail pipes. The next step is to put a 4 bbl. on it and shelf the six pack for the next few years...which I don't want to do.... but I've got to finish this car!

 

[spchallenger340]

Q/F has a cast plate,1/2 the price of the billet ( picture attached) and there are no fitment issues or float interference but you have to get it directly from Q/F.As for Promax,never could figure out why they are priced as high as they are. I have quite a few plates if you choose to go with original.You say you are running rich,at speed or at idle and also what jets in center carb?View attachment 314838View attachment 314839

Have any #41 plates ?? Thanks Steve

 

[RJRENTON]

I've got a '70 4spd six pack setup with front carb #4382. It's been running "pig rich" and the carbs have been modified, so I'm trying to put them back to stock and work from there.

This particular carb (#4382) calls for a 34R-6153-34 metering plate. I can't seem to find this metering plate (at least Chicago Carburetor & Six Pack Performance don't have any). Right now, I have a 34R-6153-35 metering plate in BOTH my front & rear carb since that's all I can find. Art at Six Pack Perf. was kind enough to tell me the orifice holes on the -34 plate are .089" pass. & 0.093" driver's side. I'm trying to avoid the expense of the ProMax metering plates with regular Holley jets in them.

Does anyone know how I can make my own -34 plate? Is there a similar secondary metering plate out there (same configuration with smaller holes) that I can just drill out to .089"/.093"? What about the -35 metering plates?

Thanks for Your Help!

YES.....you are correct...the Promax metering plates are a little $$$, but IMO, are totally worth it. As you are considering (?) making your own, how were you going to do the various passageways...including the emulsion channel's ? The idle fuel restrictions are pretty much constant or made slightly rich (0.002" - 0.003") to fix a lean idle mixture or remove the sealing plugs on the "hidden mixture screws". Over the years of buying Holley metering plates at swap meets, looking for a solution to uneven mixture distribution, I bought the Promax plates, to use the standard Holley jets, and experimented and wound up with the ability to stagger jet the carbs to get better fuel distribution and more even spark plug coloration. Just a thought......
BOB RENTON

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Problem Solved - Actually a couple years ago. I rebuilt my center carb again, let it soak a long time, then used compressed air to blow out all the passages. One one particular hole, a big "glop of oily goo" came out, so my idle circuit(s) was blocked off.
Related - I now have promax plates front & rear with jets set to match the 34/35 metering plates. I also got some tiny little "jet screws" (can't remember name - top of metering blocks, inside the trenches, left/right) for the metering blocks to better match the factory metering plates. Now I've got basically "stock" carbs with light yellow springs in the outboards...runs WAY better