All Small Six SCV Check Ball

[FuzzyDriver]

The 1964 Comet service manual does not show a SCV check ball. The Mike's Carburetor tech guy says all Autolite 1100's with AT and SCV have check balls. I've seen threads where posters say that cars never have an SCV check ball, citing parts lists with SCV check ball sizes for trucks only. The Mike's guy sent me a service manual drawing for a different year (different model, too, maybe?) It clearly shows an SCV check ball. This is driving me nutty. The carburetor that was on my engine when I got the car did not have an SCV check ball. I bought an identical, remanufactured Autolite 1100 on eBay. It DOES have an SCV check ball.

There's no way that everyone is right. Or wrong. Does anyone know FOR ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN whether a 1964 200-6 Comet should have the blasted SCV check ball?? Here's the 1964 Comet service manual drawing (no SCV check ball):

 

[TrickSix]

I happen to have 1966 and 1969 Ford shop manuals. Both of them show only 2 or 3 check balls in an 1100 for manual or automatic transmission cars. I've put many carb kits in the 1100s I've had on my car over many years, and they always had extra check balls left over. Not once that I remember did those many iterations of instructions instruct me to use all 4 balls. I don't assign equal validity to every source I see online. The many mistakes I've made on here are a clear example of why doing so may be a bad idea... Perhaps Mike's Carbs has discovered that the 4th ball does indeed have a beneficial effect with the modern gasoline blends we use today. Or something. But without an explanation for why the factory manual put out by the factory engineers is wrong I'd be skeptical of alternate recommendations.

 

[sixtseventwo4d]

the question you are asking may be more pertinent as to the altitude that the carb is being used or built for.
Also consider the check ball may serve as protection in case of backfire; so the SCV doesn't get damaged?

 

[FuzzyDriver]

Not once that I remember did those many iterations of instructions instruct me to use all 4 balls. I don't assign equal validity to every source I see online. The many mistakes I've made on here are a clear example of why doing so may be a bad idea.

I hear you, TrickSix!

The Mike's Carb guy provided me with a real, Ford service manual exploded view showing 4 balls, so it's certain that some 1100's use 4 balls. The part that got me was when he typed that he's never seen one without 4 balls. I've got both (one with, one without), you've never seen one with 4, and Mike's never seen one without 4 balls???

Per Ford instruction sheet 50-465-1, the van gets a .223" ball; the truck gets a .262" ball. It may well be that 1100's in cars aren't supposed to have one, and larger vehicles are supposed to get one (to alter distributor advance).

Just as an aside, the 15253A Walker kit I got had 4 balls, but they are all the same size (.1875").

I'd love to hear from a ninety-year-old Ford carburetor engineer! And Bubba...we miss you!

 

[TrickSix]

My impression from rebuild kit instructions is that the 223 and 262 refer to the older truck/van six-cylinder engine families. The numbers are engine displacement in cubic inches, not check ball diameters. Maybe they don't have a LOM distributor, so no SCV, so it needs a check ball there instead. I don't know.