All Small Six I ruined a carburetor so you don’t have to

[JoeCrozier]

I just finished cleaning an old 1904 carb (came out great I think):


But it was quite the path to get there.

I previously cleaned up a 1904 without the glass bowl. It was really rusty and so I made the mistake of soaking in in vinegar to clean it up, I left it for too long and it ate up some of the metal:


So this time around I found this glass bowl carb online for $50:

And took a much more cautious approach. I just used soap and water to clean it (blow dried it quickly to prevent flash rust) followed by brash brushes and some copper wool scrubbers.

 

[JoeCrozier]

Quick video of it

 

[frozenrabbit]

Low pressure glass bead blast with single coat of 2k clear. 2k blacked hardware. Could not use clear, but less resistant than factory finish.

 

[JoeCrozier]

Low pressure glass bead blast with single coat of 2k clear. 2k blacked hardware. Could not use clear, but less resistant than factory finish.

Looks great!

 

[hodaka100]

How long did you leave it in the vinegar? This makes me want to try vinegar on aluminum for a short time to clean or etch the surface.
Soaking in sodium hydroxide (Drano) worked great to clean my cylinder head but I also left it in too long (24 hours). No real damage but there was some visual pitting on the head gasket surface.

 

[JoeCrozier]

How long did you leave it in the vinegar? This makes me want to try vinegar on aluminum for a short time to clean or etch the surface.
Soaking in sodium hydroxide (Drano) worked great to clean my cylinder head but I also left it in too long (24 hours). No real damage but there was some visual pitting on the head gasket surface.

Been a month or two, can’t remember exactly but probably a day or two? I also think I made the mistake of boiling it briefly (outside, but don’t judge me) because I got the bright idea that it would ‘circulate inside the carb to clean it’. It definitely got rid of rust but also pitted the metal and left residue everywhere

 

[Kritas]

I've been using a sonic hot bath in a Pine-Sol solution on carb parts. It works well.

 

[powerband]

Carb Porn' - oooh, so nice - but howz it run on an engine? .
.
... I also haunted E-Pay for hidden Holley treasures, often trying Holly / Holey / Halley / etc ...
.
$ 50.oo for any 1904 type is pretty good these days but see demand also decreasing. So many 1904 / 1908 variants it's rare to see two exactly the same. basically just two carb venturi bore sizes - Big and Small (@1-7/16 vs @1-9/16 ?). Only numbers on carb important are the "List Numbers" which is OEM application. (from early 50's up IHC, Dodge, Ford etc)
.
.. got in habit of trying on an engine, even dirtiest ones before opening. Surprise! - some run fine always and some I gave up working on and use for parts (? !)
.
Holley jets are basically universal and parts are 1904 kits/widely available

Mike's Carburetor Parts

www.carburetor-parts.com

.
some 1904 quirks -
bowl vent is on top and barely baffled, some have stone in them but all leak all over carb if 'jostled' like when accelerating.
.
Main jet arrangement on most simply dribbles out onto choke plate which disperses into venturi.
.
Power Valve operation is all internal and another mystery under use.
.
Glass Bowl is the ultimate eye candy but in actual use is a PITA !. Many used carbs have the alum. bowl distorted and never seal., original type Cork&Rubber gaskets don't last long and if alcohol in gas used will leak quickly. Familiarity with assembling and tightening the glass Bale assembly and four tensioning clips is helpful but not a guarantee.

.BTW - picked up an 'offshore knockoff' 1904 abundant on E-Pay / Amazon and an original 1904 glass bowl fit and sealed on the fake.

Carburetor For Ford 1957 1960 1962 144 170 200 223 6CYL, Holley 1904 1940 CARB | eBay

This one barrel is similar to a Holley one barrel model 1904 which was used by Ford from 1957 to 1962. This carburetor is all new universal zinc & aluminum alloy 1 barrel carburetor with a manual choke.

www.ebay.com

.

have fun
.
. .
.
.
.

 

[JoeCrozier]

Carb Porn' - oooh, so nice - but howz it run on an engine? .
.
... I also haunted E-Pay for hidden Holley treasures, often trying Holly / Holey / Halley / etc ...
.
$ 50.oo for any 1904 type is pretty good these days but see demand also decreasing. So many 1904 / 1908 variants it's rare to see two exactly the same. basically just two carb venturi bore sizes - Big and Small (@1-7/16 vs @1-9/16 ?). Only numbers on carb important are the "List Numbers" which is OEM application. (from early 50's up IHC, Dodge, Ford etc)
.
.. got in habit of trying on an engine, even dirtiest ones before opening. Surprise! - some run fine always and some I gave up working on and use for parts (? !)
.
Holley jets are basically universal and parts are 1904 kits/widely available

Mike's Carburetor Parts

www.carburetor-parts.com

.
some 1904 quirks -
bowl vent is on top and barely baffled, some have stone in them but all leak all over carb if 'jostled' like when accelerating.
.
Main jet arrangement on most simply dribbles out onto choke plate which disperses into venturi.
.
Power Valve operation is all internal and another mystery under use.
.
Glass Bowl is the ultimate eye candy but in actual use is a PITA !. Many used carbs have the alum. bowl distorted and never seal., original type Cork&Rubber gaskets don't last long and if alcohol in gas used will leak quickly. Familiarity with assembling and tightening the glass Bale assembly and four tensioning clips is helpful but not a guarantee.

.BTW - picked up an 'offshore knockoff' 1904 abundant on E-Pay / Amazon and an original 1904 glass bowl fit and sealed on the fake.

Carburetor For Ford 1957 1960 1962 144 170 200 223 6CYL, Holley 1904 1940 CARB | eBay

This one barrel is similar to a Holley one barrel model 1904 which was used by Ford from 1957 to 1962. This carburetor is all new universal zinc & aluminum alloy 1 barrel carburetor with a manual choke.

www.ebay.com

.

have fun
.
. .
.
.
.

Thank you for all this!

 

[DON]

I've been using a sonic hot bath in a Pine-Sol solution on carb parts. It works well.

Be aware pine-sol will remove plated carbs. The longer is left in the more it takes off

 

[DON]

I guess I should’ve said platings on carbs

 

[Kritas]

Be aware pine-sol will remove plated carbs. The longer is left in the more it takes off

I don't use it on plated parts. I cycle it through one or twice and rinse immediately. Any further cleaning is done by hand. That's good to keep in mind, you don't want to damage or discolor parts.