1956 Buick 4 bbl WCFB carb

Hey guys, I'm looking for a 1956 322 WCFB or equivalent. I would like to retain the original air cleaner assembly. Do any of the aftermarket carbs have the same size air horn? What variants of the Carter WCFB will fit on the 322?

Question 1: no

Question 2: http://forums.aaca.org/f120/holley-600-my-322-nailhead-391524.html

Jon.

Hey Carbking guess I got the right guy lol so the early Rochester 4-GC will work with my manifold and my air cleaner?

Hey Carbking guess I got the right guy lol so the early Rochester 4-GC will work with my manifold and my air cleaner?

Some of them will. Watch the flange mounting pattern, and make sure you get one for Buick. With the Rochester, the 1955 and 1956 versions were much improved over the 1952-1954.

Jon.

Hey Jon, any particular reason I'm looking for a buick only Rochester? Will the other gm's fit?

Hey Jon, any particular reason I'm looking for a buick only Rochester? Will the other gm's fit?

PM sent.

Oops. PM sent to the wrong guy.

My car no longer has the pedal start switch. Push button under dash. So can I use the other gm carbs? Does the linkage match up?

My car no longer has the pedal start switch. Push button under dash. So can I use the other gm carbs? Does the linkage match up?

So what does your car have, does it have the original carb? If so, why not just have it rebuilt which would probably correct the carb starter switch problem. You should consider rewiring to enable use of the cool *** accelerator start. Not very complicated, hell even I was able to do it to one of my Roadmaster's years ago that someone had converted to an alternator charging system. Typically a good cleaning will "fix" a bad carb starter switch. I may have a '56 Carter that would need a rebuild, would work with your original breather and in my opinion is the carb of choice over a Rochester. PM me if interested.

My car no longer has the pedal start switch. Push button under dash. So can I use the other gm carbs? Does the linkage match up?

Take a really HARD look at the third line in my signature!

Different carbs were produced because different engine/transmission combinations have different needs.

The calibration of a carburetor takes into consideration, among other things, the engine displacement (helps to size the carburetor venturii for acceptable air velocity), the mass of the vehicle (engine load), and the engine design (oversquare, undersquare).

The carburetion engineer has a clean slate to produce the correct calibration. Remember that in addition to the gasoline jets, other variable PRESSED-IN AND THEREFORE NOT CHANGABLE TO THE AVERAGE HOBBYIST are air bleeds, restrictions, bypasses, etc. If a carburetor is migrated from one application to another, the average hobbyist can change only gasoline jets.

So in answer to your questions:

"So can I use the other gm carbs?" - Sure, depending on how well you want the car to run. I once knew a guy that put a 750 CFM Comp Series Carter 4 barrel on a 4 cylinder Toyota. It worked. It wouldn't pull the hat off your head below 3500 RPM, but at 6k plus it ran like a scalded dog! He was a racer, and happy with the change.

"Does the linkage match up?" Probably not, but if a sufficiently large hammer is used, it can be made to work.

If you really want to do this, Sherline makes an excellent miniature metal lathe and milling machine at about $1200 each, both of which are exceptionally useful in the fabrication of precision carburetor calibration parts. I have been using them for years.

And finally, take a look at the fourth line in my signature.

Jon.

I was going to send these pics to the OP of a rebuilt 55 Rochester, but they wouldn't go through the forum PM system. He could pull the push button off and start it like a Buick ought to.

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....... I may have a '56 Carter that would need a rebuild, would work with your original breather and in my opinion is the carb of choice over a Rochester. PM me if interested.

I would respectfully mildly disagree.

If both are properly rebuilt, there should be absolutely no discernable difference in performance ON A STOCK ENGINE from the stock Carter WCFB to the stock Rochester 4-GC, even on a dynomometer.

HOWEVER - if the engine has been modified, or the carburetor(s) has been migrated to a non-stock application; the Carter, due to the metering rod technology, is easier to modify the the new engine requirements. Also, if one resides at a altitude of 4000 plus feet above sea level, the Carter would be easier to adapt to the higher altitude engine requirements.

Perhaps the relative ease of modification was the basis for your comment.

EDIT: one of the reasons the Rochester 4-GC can offer less than optimal performance is the function of the auxiliary airvalve (on models that use this feature). The spring WILL fatigue over time, and any carb with 60k or so miles SHOULD have the spring replaced (yes, Virginia, the springs ARE available). Also, I searched for years to find the correct spring setting. It is 1/2 turn (180 degrees) tension past when the plates touch closed. A fatigued or out-of-adjustment spring will allow the airvalve to open sooner than desired, thus causing a hesitation on initial opening of the secondary.

Jon.