Gases and Air
Mixing It Up
Maggie left the factory with a Zenith 361V carburetor. She still had the Zenith when I poured gas down her throat and she burst to life. The Zenith carburetor, however, comes with a sordid history of warping across the top plate. This warpage can cause a plethora of ills. Fellows (and ladies) have resorted to lapping the parts with valve compound on glass, to obtain a level joining surface, and then tempering the carburetor in their oven. Just ask around and you will hear about the Zenith warp, as well as the interventions. Well, I have my own solution.
The Rochester carburetor. Click the picture to learn more about it. Fortunately, this particular carburetor was an old one off Beula. It was a known good carb, and it fit right on. I did have to change around the throttle linkage. The bellcranks were a bit different than Beula's were. I guess the reason is that Beula came with a Solex carb originally. I bent one of the bellcranks, and put the linkage cluster back together with the bent bellcrank on backwards. Now the linkage will pull down to open the Rochester throttle, versus going up to open the Zenith. I hooked up the fuel line with a clear inline fuel filter before the carburetor. Maggie's fuel tank is rusted out seriously, so I stuck the other end of the fuel line into a can of gasoline sitting to the side of her.
Once I had a clear fuel filter installed at the carb, I saw that I was getting no gas there. I checked to make sure the line was all the way to the bottom of my gas can. I blew out the fuel lines with no positive result. I took off the fuel pump, planning to combine it with my spare, but the diaphragm in each had a hole. I considered patching the diaphragm with Permatex, but it would be nice to be able to rule out the fuel pump from a troubleshooting algorithm. Another call was made to British Pacific, for a rebuild kit. I went ahead and started prepping a boat tank to stand in a while as my fuel tank.Because I am waiting on a good water pump deal, I now found myself piddling. I noticed that there is no Positive Crankcase Ventilation system on Maggie. A PCV system removes explosive gases from the crankcase and sends them to the intake manifold to be burned. As much as I believe in the Less is More philosophy, I have to agree, she needs PCV.
Maggie did not have a stitch of PCV left. The manifold inlet was plugged with a bolt. The outlet on the oil filler pipe was blocked off with a stick. While I may be able to get the original valve used, I am going to plumb my own system.I got a 90 degree 5/16 brass elbow fitting to place in the manifold inlet, and after a wrap of teflon tape, screwed it in. I then stuck on a bit of rubber hose, and a Purolator PV1029 PCV valve. A Fram FV333 would do as well. Using rubber hose and copper tubing, I ran the plumbing around the front of the engine and to the oil filler tube. There, it is able to suck out any explosive gases.
Maggie now starts quickly and and hopefully, with a rebuilt fuel pump, will idle well. I am needing to put on a waterpump and hook up the radiator. Then I can warm her up and see if any bad juju appears. A proper cooling system will be next.
[ Rover Assessment ] [ Steering Straight ]
[ Minimal Wiring ] [ Worth $500? ] [ Fuel Supply ]
[ Idle Thoughts ] [ Tough Decisions ] [ Spinning Wheels ]
[ Stripping Down ] [ The Bulkhead ] [ The Bulkhead 2 ]
[ Maggie's Motor ] [ Chassis Prep ] [ POR15 & Parabolics ]
[ Synergy ] [ The Breakfast ] [ Waking the Neighbors ]
[ A New Look ] [ Test Drive! ] [ Designing Woman ]
[ Mystery Solved ] [ More Juju ] [ Whoa Maggie! ]
[ Finish Line! ] [ Epilogue ]
[ Due Thank Yous ]
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