Original Carburetor Identification

[OldChargerGuy]

How would I know for sure what carburetor was originally installed on my 1966 Charger? A former owner lost the original carb years ago; he installed an Edlebrock 4-bbl. The 361-cid V-8 was available with a 2-bbl only in '66. If I was to seek an original mid- to late '60's 2-bbl carb and intake manifold, how would I verify its authenticity?

That said, I don't mind the 4-bbl carb on this car, but it must be stock, like the 4-bbl carb installed on the 383-cid engine option for this car. I'll be heading to the Mopar Nationals this weekend and plan to browse through the vendors and get me a genuine 1960's 4-bbl and air cleaner setup. I need help identifying the parts I want. Getting a right-side rear-view mirror is easy, the engine stuff is a challenge for me.

Thanks, folks.

[carbking]

Try this link:

THE CARBURETOR SHOP / DODGE APPLICATIONS

Jon.

[keiser31]

Is your car an automatic or four speed?? My book shows #4130S Carter AFB for the manual 383 in 1966 and #4131S Carter AFB for the automatic 383 in 1966.

Edited August 10, 2012 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[OldChargerGuy]

Is your car an automatic or four speed?? My book shows #4130S Carter AFB for the manual 383 in 1966 and #4131S Carter AFB for the automatic 383 in 1966.

Thank you for the info, keiser31. I'll jot it down and take my notes to Columbus. Oh, my Charger is an automatic. Thanks again.

[keiser31]

Thank you for the info, keiser31. I'll jot it down and take my notes to Columbus. Oh, my Charger is an automatic. Thanks again.

Just to let you know....I got my information from a friend who is the MoPar muscle guru, Galen Govier in Wisconsin.

[NTX5467]

ONE key thing is that the air cleaner "circle" AND the mounting flange "pattern" will be smaller than the "Holley" pattern on those earlier Chrysler-spec AFBs. Also, while the GM/Chevy AFBs had a velocity-controlled counter-weighted set of extra throttle plates in the secondaries, the OEM Chrysler carbs did not have these in them in '66-'67. Just a "straight-thru" full-manual secondaries set-up. Seems like they were 1.56" for all 4 throttle bores.

As for the 361 2bbl in '66, I suspect it might have the Stromberg WWC3-___ 2bbl carb, but it could have the similar Carter BBD 2bbl. Throttle bore diameter should be 1.56", while the similar carb on a 318 could have had smaller 1.44" throttle bores.

BUT, as you'll be at Mopar Nats, you can find a literature vendor with the factory service manuals. In those manuals, you'll find the very well-illustrated carburetor sections! At the end, you'll find the appropriate specs section with CARBURETOR NUMBERS. On the AFBs, they'll be stamped on the baseplate. On the Strombergs and Carters, there'll be "a colored, stamped tag" attached to one of the upper air horn-to-main body screws.

Our '66 Newport 383 2bbl had the Stromberg WWC3-262 2bbl carb. The automatic cars had one number carb, the manual trans cars had another one, with detail differences in the jetting and such. These Strombergs, like many other 2bbls of that time frame, were very succeptible to "air horn warpage", due to the center wing nut of the air cleaner being over-tightened (which was very common, due to the design of the air cleaners back then). When it warped, it allowed the gasket for the float bowl to not seal against the air horn, which is also the part of the carb where the power valve's "piston" gets its vacuum through. So, "full power mixture" all the time. I fashioned some gasket sandwiches to work pretty well, but the real fix was a '70 Chrysler-spec Holley 2210 2bbl. Worked very well with better fuel economy! But, it had the same warpage issues, BUT it was much easier to fix with a factory "bridge kit" from Chrysler. These Holley 2210s were used from 1970 to '75 on the 400 2bbl applications, with the later ones having the extra vacuum lines for an EGR valve set-up. The '72s had a non-open bowl vent, as they used the carbon cannister to collect fuel vapors -- not a big deal.

Only thing about trying to find a correct AFB at a swap meet, even the Mopar Nationals, YOU need to know exactly what you're looking for, stamp numbers and all. Get one that's applicable for a 383, too, although many might be for 440s. The 383-spec carbs were about 550cfm with the 440s being larger. The 440 carbs also had different jets and metering rods in them, too, so you'll need to get one of the "Strip Kits" to recalibrate the jets to 383 (or earlier 361 4bbl) specs.

On the OTHER side of the deal, if the current Edelbrock AFB works decently well, you could be looking to purchase something that'll need more than a normal kit to make it work. MAKE SURE the throttle linkage is all there AND works freely! AND get a carb that most closely matches your vehicle's application, or for a similar 383 4bbl car . . . model year and everything.

What you might have better luck doing is to find a single-snorkle air cleaner that would be correct for a '66 383 4bbl Charger. Then you can take the "Road Runner" base and use it under the stock snorkle "top", which will be an incognito open element air cleaner as the RR base fits the larger air cleaner "circle", but not the outer diameter of the air cleaner top. AND, it might be that the Road Runner air cleaner was more correct for that model year of Charger 383 4bbl, too, as Chrysler C-bodies usually had snorkle air cleaners back then.

There ARE some model-year specific issues with the snorkles, though. Our '66 Chrysler had a round, flared snorkle, but the '67 and '68s had an "inserted" end snorkle. OR if you want to spend a few $$$$$, look for a dual snorkle, round snorkles, air cleaner.

I just feel that trying to find an original or a "close, will-work" carb can be more trouble than it'll be worth, especially with it being a "used" part of unknown origin (meaning YOU have no way of verifying what the seller is telling you, with all due respect, even fellow Mopar buds).

Starting in '68, I believe, the Edelbrock DP4B aluminum intake for 383s had a factory Chrysler part number on it. That made it legal for NHRA drag racing. I suspect the later Performer is reasonably close to it, or a little better. The factory 4bbl manifolds can be identified by their casting numbers. All were dual-plane intakes. Finding one of thsoe intakes, which hasn't been hacked-on, might be good, but if you've already got a Performer on there, might make an interesting object to have in the garage.

Good luck, take some SPF30 sun screen (the spray type for your head, too!), and enjoy the "Mopar Overload" to get your "Mopar battery" recharged! Buy the multi-day parking pass and tickets and park in the field across the road from the main entrance. If you're going to be specifically "swap meeted", then there's another field just north of the swap meet area, with an entrance off of the main road that crosses US40 a little ways east of the main event entrance. On that east-west "side road", you'll pass the local airport and such before you get to the entrance to the field, where the swap meet vendors enter.

Hopefully, you've got hotel rooms already!!

ENJOY!

NTX5467

[OldChargerGuy]

A Long Overdue Update on The Carburetor

 

I didn't get a carburetor at the Mopar Nationals, but my online search successfully procured one Carter AFB 4131s 4-barrel carburetor. It was delivered freshly rebuilt, and it worked well for a while, but premature leaking prompted a search for a carburetor genius to do a lasting rebuild. I found him. The Gray Ghost has been running well ever since the last rebuild.

A big surprise was the air cleaner. The original air cleaner for the 2-bbl carburetor fit snugly on the "new" Carter AFB! Unless you're looking for it, you can't see the 4-bbl carburetor. It looks bone-stock. The underside of the stock air cleaner was perforated for extra air flow. 

 

A thing of beauty . . . a 1966 Carter AFB 4131s sitting on a 1966 361cid engine. The intake manifold was sourced from the 383cid engine of a junked Plymouth Fury, a good original look for a HPOF car. 

 

What a wonderful surprise. The stock 2-bbl air cleaner fits nicely on the 4-bbl Carter.

END POST.