Sorry, this update is going to be long...
The vent line suggestion was right on the money. I stole the fuel line barb from my 32/36 and installed it in the 5200, rehooked up the fuel line and look ma, no gasoline fountain.
Actually, the new carb gives me a lot of hope.
When I first hooked it up (didn't hook up the linkage though, so that made it fun running from the driver's seat to the engine compartment), it started but ran terribly. As long as it was choked it would run, if I disenguaged the choke it would die. Then I remembered I had the old pcv valve that was leaking vacuum and leaning out the mixture.
With it running, I plugged the pcv line and then I could disenguage the choke - it was running lean like it should with the bad pcv! So far so good. I also verified it was running lean by partially covering the the top of the carb and it smoothed out as well.
I put the new pcv valve in and then I could run the carb with or without the choke - also a good sign that this carb was not running rich like mine. I was starting to set the carb to factory settings and see how it went when my ignition switch picked the perfect time to break.
The switch has been acting up every now and then for weeks. Some times I would turn the key and nothing. Then if I turned it back and tried again, it would start right up. This would happen maybe one in 20 tries. Last night it was every other try and then finally nothing. In fact, at one point I turned it to accessory and then it started and continued to try to start. I'm not sure what broke there, it was too dark to troubleshoot. It felt like the switch came off the cylinder... I am taking suggestions.
As for the carb, it looks like the old carb was running really rich. I am not sure why. I can say that when I took the old carb off, the gas that came out was brown. The gas coming out of the fuel line is clear. It may be that the inside of the carb is still full of varnish even after the rebuild. Also, the carb linkage has been starting to bind up on me receintly, but I may have been cranking the carb down to the base too hard to avoid vac leaks. Any ideas on why it was rich?
GTM and I have some ideas from some various books on how to correct the rich condition in the carb, but the brown gas and throttle concern me.
I am thinking it is time to bite the bullet and buy a new carb. If I do, I think I am staying with Weber. I have already learned so much about it now and the Holly would be starting from scratch (not to mention trying to fab a linkage). The question is, should I get another 32/36 or a 38?[/u]