The fuel magically disappears from my carb!

[moparedtn]

The engine came with this supposedly rebuilt Edelbrock 1407 (750 cfm) and the first thing I did with it was open it up and check to see that it had (at the least) was the jetting/rods/accelerator pump they come with from the factory.
It didn't - in fact, all three of those were dead wrong, so I replaced all back to factory issue with new parts, then made sure all passages and such were open.
Needles and seats are pretty and new (Well, they were when I had it open anyways).
The car has run much better since I did that, although I still have some tuning to do.
Sure wish I had on O2 sensor setup to read A/F...

The plugs I pulled recently looked "just right" with their light brown deposits, so it's in the neighborhood at least. No, I haven't done the "beat on it, then immediately shut it down" method yet, since the whole she-bang doesn't even have 300 miles on it yet.

As far as the float levels go, I set those using the drill bit method as instructed in the Edelbrock guide, so I think they're fairly close.
I'm not partial to these carbs at all really, but I'm starting to learn about them.
I'd just as soon have the usual Holley 3310 family carb on there, but my last experience with one of those wasn't real good either.

 

[moparedtn]

Ed, we got ya covered old buddy

View attachment 511322

 

[Sonny Black]

had same problem with old carb ....rebuild carb etc........
Then Sonny got NEW one of these, (holley) problem solved!
problem magically disappeared!

pump 2X and starts...can sit 2 weeks!

 

[moparedtn]

had same problem with old carb ....rebuild carb etc........
Then Sonny got NEW one of these, (holley) problem solved!
problem magically disappeared!
View attachment 511326
pump 2X and starts...can sit 2 weeks!

Sonny cracks Ed up with how he refers to himself in the third person.

You know, I do remember from all the 3310's I used to run that the worst thing about their sitting was the shellac that would form in the bowls with age....
the fuel would eventually evaporate and leave the deposits, but it hung in there a lot longer than with this Eddy.
With this carb, the fuel is gone before deposits can even form.

 

[khryslerkid]

EDIT:
I decided not to wait for the "next time". I used a plastice bottle with a nozzle (the kind you'd use for olive oil), filled it with gas and squirted about 1/4 - 1/3 of it down the metering rod hole. Put the cover back on the metering rod and cranked her over. She came to life in an instant.

Hey Ranger, you don't have to remove the metering rod cover to fill the bowls. I've used a mustard bottle and filled through the vent holes. Each side holds about a third of a cup.

 

[eldubb440]

they need to put little reed valves on the vents, air in but not out......that's it! I'm rich!

 

[carfanatic222]

Hi guys. I think this is everybody that owns anything with a carb type deal. The ethanol isn't going away and it causes steel gas tanks to rust and all kinds of other problems. Just like corn liquor, it does have some water in it. There are supposed to be some additives that help with the ethanol. Its kinda sucky but, I guess that's why the auto-makers put loads of stainless line and plastic fuel tanks on the new cars and trucks.We still have a few stations that do sell non-ethanol gas, a little higher, but still affordable.

 

[moparedtn]

Hey Ranger, you don't have to remove the metering rod cover to fill the bowls. I've used a mustard bottle and filled through the vent holes. Each side holds about a third of a cup.
View attachment 511339

Guess I'll have to invest in a mustard squirt bottle - although I suspect using a ketchup squirt bottle is probably worth a tenth in the 1/4.

 

[moparedtn]

they need to put little reed valves on the vents, air in but not out......that's it! I'm rich!

Wonder if cigarette filters stuffed in there would work?

 

[toolmanmike]

Wonder if cigarette filters stuffed in there would work?

Interesting idea. I have seen racers connect the two bowl vents with a rubber hose. I wonder how well that works.

 

[moparedtn]

Interesting idea. I have seen racers connect the two bowl vents with a rubber hose. I wonder how well that works.

Good question?
Wonder if one of those "stone" type filters (like those on fish aquariums - porous stones) would work?
Wonder if my air filter should reek of fuel by now from all the evaporating fuel?
(Unsilenced filter - wonder if that contributes to the issue?)

 

[toolmanmike]

I think it's more the Carter/Edelbrock design. The fuel is too close to the base which is a big heat sink. The Holley guys don't seem to have the problem .

 

[miller]

Oh, brother...nothing like a bucket load of ideas.

Yeah, I know, I'm warped! Personally, think it's a matter of the build, parts used, that either help, or hurt. Fully understand about the fuel BS, that it doesn't help any.
Just strikes me funny, as on mine (aluminum crossram), motor warmed-up, I can put my hand on both the valve cover, then the manifold, and there's quite a difference in temps. But, that's just the heating issue. No sign of fuel boiling. Don't know what to tell ya.

Know for a fact...Holleys, AFBs, or Edelbrocks, if everything is adjusted right, with good clean parts, there's no damn reason it shouldn't work. Losing fuel like that...either a mechanical issue on the carb, or something totally different, that affects the carb.
Don't know what else to tell you. Working on carbs, no matter what type, is not rocket science...just a little common sense.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Check the aluminum plugs they use for the drill port closure, when I rebuild them I smear a bit of JB weld over them, yes they can/will leak.

 

[khryslerkid]

Guess I'll have to invest in a mustard squirt bottle - although I suspect using a ketchup squirt bottle is probably worth a tenth in the 1/4.

He he!
You can try a ketchup bottle but you'll probably spill gas all over the place trying to hit those small holes. I like the newer mustard bottle for the small nozzle on it. They're even a bit transparent so you can see what's in it.

I got the idea years back, running with a Super Comp team. It was convenient for reaching into the scoop and giving the toilet bowl a good shot for fire up. Alcohol dragster.

I don't remember but you're running the stock cast iron manifold? Crossover blocked?

 

[Darter6]

Lets just blame the government ! It's a conspiracy ! The politicians are in the oil companies pockets ! They are forcing electric cars on us ! Rant, rant, Bit#h ! Just messin' with you guys... I do know that today's gas evaporates in the blink of a eye. Out here in the desert with temps above 110* My tank goes down faster sitting then when I drive it. Could be that it sits outside in a car port too.Guess it is the fault of the old open vent to the air system of yesteryear..

 

[eldubb440]

just dont put any on your hotdog

 

[ckessel]

Some carbs are more prone to the issue than others. Another thing you can do that will help a little is to block off the heat riser to the intake. Mother Mopar has the intake bath tubs with it blocked off for the b motors. Most likely they have them for the la motors too. This will help keep some of the heat off the intake.

 

[Ranger16]

Hey Ranger, you don't have to remove the metering rod cover to fill the bowls. I've used a mustard bottle and filled through the vent holes. Each side holds about a third of a cup.
View attachment 511339

Thanks Kid!

That is going to make priming this sucker after a long sit MUCH easier.
I kind of suspected those were the bowl vents. I had looked at them as a possibility, but when I poked a screwdriver down there, it bottomed out and when I look in with a flashlight, it seemed to go nowhere.

P.S.
The two sides are connected so you should only have to add fuel to one side.

 

[Ranger16]

So I know it will evaporate in a week (faster than I had expected). The question now is how many days does it take for the bowl to go dry?

Here are the results of another little test I did in order to get a better handle on this question. I took one of those magnetic parts dishes you use to put nuts & bolts in when disassembling things. It's was 3 1/2" in diameter and I put 1/4" of gas in it at about 1000 hrs. By about 1800 it was down to 1/8" and by this morning it was all but dry. Now I'm not sure how the open surface of the parts dish as opposed to the surface area of the float bowl with only a vent would affect the evaporation rate, but I think it is safe to say that fuel evaporates pretty damned fast. Faster than I would have guessed.