Carbs. for Sale for your early project

[alsfarms]

I have two very nice carbs for sale that are commonly used for replacement carbs. on our early or Brass Era cars.  The first is a Carter BB-1.  This is an earlier version and is all cast iron, very clean and not worn out in the pivot points.  This carb. is most suitable for engine sizes of 190 to 250 CID.  The BB-1 has a mechanical accelerator pump.  The second carb. is a Zenith 63AW-11, is larger best suited for an engine size of 180 to 320 CID.  This carb. is NOS and is in very nice condition.  The Zenith has a vacuum actuated accelerator pump.   I prefer to trade for early pieces needed for a current project.  These pieces needed include a brass dash oiler, speedo, speedo drive, fuel tank pressure pump and a few other sundry items. 

Al

Edited July 22, 2018 by alsfarms
addition (see edit history)

[Steve Hammatt]

Al

Hope everything is going fine with you.  Regarding your Carter BB-1, I have learned (in a time-consuming manner) about BB-1 carbs and their use in gravity-fed vs. pressure-fed fuel systems.  The main inlet needle valve located above the bowl is in a horizontal position and comes in two basic versions, one for gravity feed and one for pressure feed.  The difference is in the needle jet opening diameter, the larger opening is designed for gravity feed while the smaller diameter opening is designed for pressure (fuel pump) feed.  My memory may be slightly off, but in my case the diameters were equivalent to something like "number drill size 31 vs. number drill size 38" with the larger diameter being the smaller drill size numerical number.  IIRC, there was something like a 40% cross-sectional area difference between the two drill sizes.  In my case, I'd been working with a gravity fed design (1914 Overland 79T) but had a Carter BB-1 with the small cross-sectional area (number drill size 38) which worked (barely) OK when on the flat and level, but with any sort of hill, my gravity fed system ran low on fuel pressure and failed to open the horizontal needle, even if the bowl float had dropped; even on the flat and level I had to run on the upper half of the fuel tank.  After chucking the needle seat in a lathe and opening the diameter to the larger size we (assisted by Gary Harris, a fellow Overland 79T owner) were able to run the tank dry.

One added item; it was a Saturday afternoon, trying to get the car ready to go on a tour and we were literally minutes away from swapping out the Carter BB-1 (used because it had a built-in accelerator pump) for a factory original carb when the #31 vs. #38 information was first uncovered; I didn't have a number drill index handy when all this happened so I used a fractional drill index and bracketed (using go vs. no-go drills) to quickly determine what was the actual situation with my initial set-up.  I hope this information can be of use to others.  Up until then we'd been fighting this problem for many tours.

BTW, the oil spot (under the tappets) shown in the attach photo is no longer a problem.  There is a cure that worked for us, but that's another story.

 

Steve

 

 

[alsfarms]

Steve, Thanks for your comments regarding the Carter BB-1 carb.  All in all, they are a very nice carb. to run as an alternative to the under producing original carbs.  I am aware of the needle seat sizing for a gravity fed system.  I can add one thing to your comments.  Once the seat has been opened up, by re-drilling, your needle will seat deeper and change the geometry of the float in relation to the seat.  Rather than bending he float arm, it is better to get some shim stock and fabricate the proper amount a "lift" to keep the float and needle in the same place as they were originally.  OK, Steve, I am ready to hear your other "Story" regarding oil leak mentioned above and the remedy.

Al

[Steve Hammatt]

Al

The background on the oil seepage on the '14 Overland (plus similar Overland years) engines probably belongs in a different section, other than the For Sale group....so maybe soon I'll gather my memories, check some facts and do a write up about my experiences.  However, I did mean to mention a couple of other changes I made as backup to the changes in seat i.d. of the fuel inlet valve.  I found a similar sized needle, but with a Viton tip, and exchanged it for the original all brass needle.  The new needle had a groove around the blunt end, near the float "flapper".  I found a tiny SS spring designed to snap onto the blunt end of the needle (it snapped into the groove mentioned earlier) and then the other end wrapped loosely around the float flapper.  When the float dropped, the flapper pulled the needle open and fuel flowed.  I considered this my backup method and not the primary means of fuel control.  I was tired of occasionally having to back up a hill!  Someday, when I pull the carb for cleaning I'll try to remember to photograph my changes.

Steve