bepnewt

Thanks, Tom and Ed. I'm sending the link to this thread to my mechanically minded coworker who got it running so he can read all the good info provided so far. Since I doubt my car has the missing tube for the choke housing, I'll need to procure one. Is that something I should be able to source at a local AutoZone / O'Reilly's? We'll have her running soon. -BEP

Thanks, Ed. The carb I pulled off of my car didn't have an automatic choke so this tube likely doesn't exist on my car right now. Is it easy to describe where on the exhaust manifold the tube connects? -BEP

Update time. A coworker came over and we diagnosed the issue. The fuel pump was dead. We replaced that, the fuel filter, and some of the hose and now she starts up. She isn't running well, though. There is definitely one thing that isn't plugged into the carb that needs to be and is causing a vacuum leak and there may be a leak elsewhere, too. I don't have a pic of the new carb from Tom on the car. This pic is an old carb but it has an arrow pointing to something that I think needs a vacuum hose or something on it. On my car right now, the thing sticking out doesn't have anything on it nut feels like it is sucking air. Is there a hose that belongs on it? If so, where does the other end go? Right now, after the engine warms up, it runs better when the choke is open, not closed. Very odd. -BEP

I drove it the day I got it fired up. I tried to start it about a week later and couldn't get it to turn over. After syphoning out as much of the bad gas as I could with what I had, I added about 4 gallons of ethanol free fuel and that didn't help. I don't think any gas is making it to the carb, now. I think I need to bypass the tank and have it pull good gas from a can or something so I can see what is going on. I also need to replace the fuel filter. Is there an easy way to get all the gas out of the tank besides trying to syphon it? My friend's uncle who knows all things about cars and engines is going to come visit sometime soon to help me get it started if my friend will drive him over here. I'd rather not wait until that day if I can figure some of it out myself. The heater and AC don't work so this is some good weather for me to drive it in. -BEP

Yes, it was definitely unfortunate, since it was sold to me as a carb to rebuild. -BEP

The old carb was finally mailed today to the Cook St. address. Thanks again. -BEP

I forgot to mention... IT'S ALIVE! She started right up with very little coaxing. In fact, it was easier to start it this time after a year of sitting than it was back with the previous carburetor. I will need to tweak the choke and idle some but man, that felt good hearing the roar of the Nailhead after sooooo long. -BEP

Good deal. It finally hit me that I had the messed up carb still so I took it to the hardware store and got a bar of all-thread that fit it along with a matching wingnut. Thanks, Ed. I ordered a filter, it will be at the parts store tomorrow. The old dirt and grease was caked on the air cleaner pretty good. I decided to use a wire wheel to get it clean and that of course took off the paint. So, after I finish taking all the paint off, I'll have to repaint the air cleaner. I planned on using a black high-heat rustoleum spray. Is there a better option than that? -BEP

Thanks, Tom. I moved the vacuum hose and I shortened the fuel line. I probably should have tied the fuel line down because it does rub when I have the air cleaner set on the carb. Now, it's so short, there's no slack to tie it down. I'm heading to the auto parts store anyway after I know what set screw(?) to get so I'll get some more hose while I am there. The aftermarket carb that was on the car when I bought it had an aftermarket air cleaner as seen in the first pic of this thread. I do have an air cleaner that is supposed to be for this '64. The air cleaner sits well on the carb but the lid fits inside of the cleaner. Is this correct? I could see it being correct if the filter is what holds it up. I'll attach a picture. Also, I don't have the set screw that holds the air cleaner lid down on the air cleaner. Does anyone know what size set screw I need - length, diameter, and threads-per-inch? Tom - I need to get the bad carb and parts I have mailed off to you. Is the Cook St. address where I should send it? -BEP

Well, I had a local Buick Guru set up to come over and I was going to pay him to get it all hooked up correctly but he didn't show and has gone ghost. I looked at the instructions again on the previous page and did my best to move things around where I thought they went. Here is a current video of what I have going. Am I getting close? I'm sure the instructions by Ed and Tom are spot on, but I don't know what half the car parts they mentioned are so I just kind of winged it and guessed. Latest Cab Video on YouTube -BEP

The carb is still sitting there bolted onto the manifold. My life has been and is still: wake up, go to work, come home from work, eat, log back into work, sleep. Rinse and repeat. On weekends, it's get out of bed, log into work, go to bed. It's been this way since the beginning of October. This cycle isn't going to stop until some time in mid-January ( I hope ). At that point, I will be able to look at the car. I appreciate you checking up on me, I just wish I had better news. -BEP

I hope to have time Sunday to get back on this. I'll thoroughly read yours and Ed's posts to see what I can get done myself. After I do make some progress, I'll post some updated pics. There's a guy about 1.5 miles away that has a '64 Riv in his driveway that isn't in great condition. I spoke to him once and I think he said it was his fathers many years ago. I'm going to see if I can catch him and take a look at his engine to see if it has everything hooked up. -BEP

Thanks so much for all the great information. I'm on a deadline at work that won't allow me to do anything productive at home for about a week. I'll pick back up on this after these design docs are completed. -BEP

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll do more on this during this week, I hope. Re: Choke - I said something in our email exchanges about an electric choke. I had been watching general carb installation videos and they had electric so had it in my head that mine was electric, too. It was a brain fart moment. I used the round plastic black choke adjustment thingy off of the other carb I had. The spring was different, though. I'll attach a pic of the one that got cracked (left side) and the one that I had (right side) and used. If I need to swap springs, let me know. I watched a video on how to set the choke initially on these type chokes. -BEP

Sure did. Tom provided one for me. -BEP