The Carter WCFB on my '58 needs a little help. This carb was recently rebuilt, but it seems the person who did the work did not do a great job on it. The choke did not work; on taking it apart I found that the spring was installed backwards.

Two problems remain:

1. After sitting for about a day, the carb needs to be primed with a few drops of gas before it will start. The choke now works fine. Could it be that the bowl is draining while sitting? If so, what is the fix for this?

2. It drives fine, except when I floor it. It then hesitates and coughs. This does not happen under more gentle acceleration. Could this be a problem with the accelerator pump? Or jets? It has a new fuel filter, so that's not the problem.

Thanks for your help!

 

Northern, a couple of things come to mind that you should check. First, when the engine is up to operating temperature, is the choke plate opening fully to a near vertical position? If not, it could be restricting air flow under wide open throttle use. Check to make sure that the choke plate doesn't stick and opens fully when the choke spring is heated.

Does your carburetor have the secondary air valves above the secondary throttle plates? If so, are they free to open and close easily. They open according to how much airflow is being drawn into the engine under wide open throttle use. The exterior bob weight allows the air valves to remain closed under normal part-throttle operation. If they stick shut, and can't open fully, they hinder the airflow and the release of gas to the secondaries.

It's possible that you may not have the air valves on the secondaries and too much air is entering when you go to wide open throttle causing a stumble or hesitation until the fuel flow can catch up. In other words, a lean condition. Some WCFB's do not have the secondary air valves. If yours doesn't, it was probably a service replacement or a wrong application installed on your car.

Also, check to make sure that the correct gasket was installed between the float bowl section and the lower throttle plate base. It's possible that a wrong gasket was installed that is covering a hole or opening. Good luck.

 

Check adjustments on your metering rods!
And add the bushing to stop left turn flooding

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

The choke does open completely (plate straight up) when the engine reaches operating temperature. The secondaries do have the bob weight in place, and the secondaries open freely without sticking.

I haven't checked the jets and metering rods yet - I could use more information on what to look for and how to do necessary adjustments.

Does anyone know of a good on line site with detailed information on rebuilding/setting up these WCFBs?

How about the problem of needing to prime the carburetor before it will start? Any ideas on that one?

 

1955 Copper, Do you have a reference article on parts and how to do the bushing trick? My carbs run perfect except for mild stalling on the left hand turns! Thanks, Chris

 

WCFB's don't normally have the same problem as Q-Jets with fuel drain overnight. I don't have a problem starting my 61 unless it sits for weeks, which is normal.
I agree with all the advice so far.
The things I would check for the hard start in the morning is:
1- Does the choke snap close completely when you open the throttle in the morning? If not then turn the cover to thighten.
2- Before starting open the choke, look down the carb as you open the throttle a couple of times. Do you see two steady streams of fuel? If not, the accelerator cup might have shrunk. They are made of leather and I soak them in oil to swell them. Common problem.
3- Check the float levels. If they are too low it could cause both of you problems.
AS fas as the acceleration problem, make sure your timing is correct, the centrifical advance is working properly and the rest of the ignition is OK.
Many times the porblem is in the ignition system but the carb. takes the blame.

 

Some Carb kits have the bushing , if not buy a pipe size to fit, it does work

 

[QUOTE=plaidside;1561231834
2- Before starting open the choke, look down the carb as you open the throttle a couple of times. Do you see two steady streams of fuel? If not, the accelerator cup might have shrunk. They are made of leather and I soak them in oil to swell them. Common problem.
3- Check the float levels. If they are too low it could cause both of you problems.
[/QUOTE]

Good ideas!

Can you tell me the best way to access the accelerator cup. I haven't had a WCFB apart before. (Most of my experience is with Holleys)

And what are the specs for setting the float levels?

Thanks.

 

northern, The accelerator pump can be accessed by removing the top casting of the carb. Check out the link I am posting for some good info that will help you.

http://members.capital.net/com/studiog/CarterWCFB/

Good luck.

 

Coves4me, thanks for the link; it looks very useful. I had done a net search and had not found much.

 

It does sound like the accelerator pump is not working. This could be the cause of both of your issues. You need a few squirts from it to start a cold engine. No need to tear the carb apart yet. Just look down into the primaries and see if it is squirting when you work the throttle.

Best of luck,

 

It may just be the accelerator pump as no gas is squirting when the throttle is pumped.

It looks as if one can access the accelerator pump and cup by removing the dust cover. Is that correct, or is it necessary to remove the entire air horn?

 

You must remove the air horn.