Why do I have high fuel pressure...

[steve meltzer]

I came to the same conclusion and the carb is ready for the reinstall. Blew out all passages with compressed air, new needle/seats, gaskets and new power valve. Floats set to horizontal with bowl upside down. thanx...more later. s

[1795]

Steve,

I have been following this thread from the start. Patrick is a great resource (don't let him know that I said that) and it is nice to see how much you have learned and are progressing. Can't wait for the post that says "She is running like a champ!"

[steve meltzer]

Yep and this isn't the first (nor probably the last) time Patrick has rescued my sorry glutes!
Set the carb in the turkey pan this PM, but didn't have time to plumb all of the stuff....gotta walk the mutts, don't you know! Thanx for your interest. More later. s

[patrickt]

Here's a factoid of which you are probably unaware, but since you wrote that you set your floats "dry," it came to mind, so I went down and pulled my bowls off to snap this pic. Most people think that the bowls are the same on both the primary and secondary side (aside from the fuel inlet fitting direction). But you can see from this pic that the sight hole for setting the float adjustment is noticeably lower on the secondary side. And you know you can do "micro-tuning" by turning up the float a bit, which will act like a slightly bigger jet, or turn the float down a bit, which will act like a smaller jet. Now I'm not talking much, maybe an eighth of an inch or so. But you do have to set your floats "wet" as soon as you get your carb fully hooked up. Even if the car is running great, you have to set them. And, of course, start with it set to "just barely a dribble" out the hole when you rock the car.

[steve meltzer]

Patrick, thanx for the trouble you took to shoot the photo. Got the carb on, but the carb flooded, I think....no leaking anywhere, but couldn't get it started. I think I tried too many times and now the starter whirs but won't engage. I've done about 10 Holley's in the past, so I think I rebuilt it right, but there was just too much fuel to light. Again, floats set dry, that is to say, perfectly horizontal with the bowl inverted. s

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

Patrick, thanx for the trouble you took to shoot the photo. Got the carb on, but the carb flooded, I think....no leaking anywhere, but couldn't get it started. I think I tried too many times and now the starter whirs but won't engage. I've done about 10 Holley's in the past, so I think I rebuilt it right, but there was just too much fuel to light. Again, floats set dry, that is to say, perfectly horizontal with the bowl inverted. s

OK, that's kind of interesting.... I actually set my floats without ever starting the engine. When you say the carb flooded, are you seeing gas pour out of the boosters? Usually the dry method sets the floats low, so when you crank it a little bit, and stop, you can see the level down below the sight hole. Then I just loosen the screw, adjust the nut counterclockwise, tighten the screw, put my thumb over the sight hole, crank, and recheck. After two or three adjustments, and cranking, it's done. It doesn't take a whole lot of cranking either. What do you mean the starter "whirs, but won't engage?"

[steve meltzer]

First of all, i set the floats on the bench, as noted. Followed the instructions, as I have before. To set the floats with the sight plug, the car must be running, right? Or, can you do it just cranking? And yes, fuel was coming from the primary venturis.

When everything is working correctly, and you crank the car, the sound of the starter is more of a staccato "wha-wha-wha", deeper and not all the same pitch, then the engine fires up. Now, my starter makes this high pitched sound that is constant and makes me think the pinion isn't engaging the flywheel. I wacked the starter a few times with a broom handle, but I probably need to get under there and really whack it with a rubber hammer, and probably take it out. Could it be the firewall mounted solenoid (it's only 6 mos old). I think i burned up the starter, fartin' around yesterday. thanx for seeing me through this saga. s