The Ford Barn

Rigley · 12-14-2013, 07:27 PM

What is the 4 bbl carb of choice for a late flatty ?

Charlie ny · 12-14-2013, 08:05 PM

Rig,
My choice is the early 50's Rochester as used on Olds and Caddys. Looks right at
home and EASY to dial in.
Charlie ny

Fourdy · 12-14-2013, 08:31 PM

Charlie,
I had a rebuilt Rochester on my 276 for awhile. It ran great but always had a bog when leaving the stop sign or going into passing gear. (C4) I was told that the secondaries are vacuum controlled and adjustments had to be made to the internal weights. That sounded quite wizardly to me at the time so went to a 390. Can you shed any light for me. I still have the Rochester plus 2 or 3 more.

Thanks in advance,

Fourdy

Mart · 12-15-2013, 04:25 AM

No personal experience but isn't the Carter WCFB well thought of as a nostalgic upgrade if you want a 4 barrel? I think Barner Flat Ernie ran one on his 36 pickup.

Edit: see the first part of this thread: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103474

Mart.

Ol' Ron · 12-15-2013, 10:11 AM

I kinda like the early carter.

uncle max · 12-15-2013, 10:15 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Little known terminology:
WCFB is GM's abbreviation for White Cast Four Barrel.

flathead4rd · 12-15-2013, 10:24 AM

Yep. The carter WCFB is the best.

Charlie ny · 12-15-2013, 11:24 AM

The Carter WCFB in my experience is more sophisticated than the early Rochester...
sort of like comparing the Ford 94 to a Stromberg. My reality is the Stromberg and the
Rochester are extremely forgiving. In most cases they'll swallow a load of dirty gas
and get you home. Vacuum leaks are tolerated without strangling the motor. 94s
and Carter WCFBs are great but more finicky and not as easy to dial in...that's the
way I see it.
To reply to Fordy....the Rochester I use is mounted in the same fashion as
it was intended when on the '52 Olds I removed it from. It is not a good idea to rotate
the carb so the secondaries are forward, this is done mostly to get the linkage on
the RH side to make it easier for hookup on early Fords...again this a no no because
the vac operated secondary 'flapper' is not happy working this way. I moved the
linkage from the left to the right to accomodate this quirk. Moving on... I did find
that there are good and not so good acc pumps and kits....I happily settled on
Classic Preservation Coalition kits as my choice ,absolutely world class. The bog you mentioned
could be a gasp for too little fuel or a choke for too much fuel. The culprit might
be an ineffective ball check in the acc pump well. FINALLY I purchased an air/fuel
meter from Summit and installed the o2 sensor in the RH head pipe and set the carb
using the readings on the dial. This required blocking the PV circuit and satisfying
the A/F requirements with the main and secondary jets. I have not touched the carb
in 4 years ,except once to remove a drowned fly that some how got into the bowl
and blocked a jet.
From my perspective performance is outrageously good and mpg is about 15,
284 cu in , 3:78's. No bog at all and in any gear if the pedal is mashed the response
is immediate. I dunno maybe I just got lucky.
Charlie ny

12-14-2013, 07:27 PM	#1
Rigley Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Powers Lake, Wi Posts: 85	carb What is the 4 bbl carb of choice for a late flatty ?

12-14-2013, 08:05 PM	#2
Charlie ny BANNED Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 3,019	Re: carb Rig, My choice is the early 50's Rochester as used on Olds and Caddys. Looks right at home and EASY to dial in. Charlie ny

12-14-2013, 08:31 PM	#3
Fourdy Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Port Townsend, WA Posts: 601	Re: carb Charlie, I had a rebuilt Rochester on my 276 for awhile. It ran great but always had a bog when leaving the stop sign or going into passing gear. (C4) I was told that the secondaries are vacuum controlled and adjustments had to be made to the internal weights. That sounded quite wizardly to me at the time so went to a 390. Can you shed any light for me. I still have the Rochester plus 2 or 3 more. Thanks in advance, Fourdy __________________ My 24 T https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread...ghlight=fourdy

12-15-2013, 04:25 AM	#4
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 8,746	Re: carb No personal experience but isn't the Carter WCFB well thought of as a nostalgic upgrade if you want a 4 barrel? I think Barner Flat Ernie ran one on his 36 pickup. Edit: see the first part of this thread: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103474 Mart. Last edited by Mart; 12-15-2013 at 04:32 AM.

12-15-2013, 10:11 AM	#5
Ol' Ron Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chester Vt Posts: 8,857	Re: carb I kinda like the early carter.

12-15-2013, 10:15 AM	#6
uncle max Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: SLC Utah Posts: 798	Re: carb Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Little known terminology: WCFB is GM's abbreviation for White Cast Four Barrel. __________________ RIP Tyler... My Son, Helper & Best Friend. Feb '78 to Father's Day '10. www.97-express.com ~ [email protected]

12-15-2013, 10:24 AM	#7
flathead4rd Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 505	Re: carb Yep. The carter WCFB is the best.

12-15-2013, 11:24 AM	#8
Charlie ny BANNED Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 3,019	Re: carb The Carter WCFB in my experience is more sophisticated than the early Rochester... sort of like comparing the Ford 94 to a Stromberg. My reality is the Stromberg and the Rochester are extremely forgiving. In most cases they'll swallow a load of dirty gas and get you home. Vacuum leaks are tolerated without strangling the motor. 94s and Carter WCFBs are great but more finicky and not as easy to dial in...that's the way I see it. To reply to Fordy....the Rochester I use is mounted in the same fashion as it was intended when on the '52 Olds I removed it from. It is not a good idea to rotate the carb so the secondaries are forward, this is done mostly to get the linkage on the RH side to make it easier for hookup on early Fords...again this a no no because the vac operated secondary 'flapper' is not happy working this way. I moved the linkage from the left to the right to accomodate this quirk. Moving on... I did find that there are good and not so good acc pumps and kits....I happily settled on Classic Preservation Coalition kits as my choice ,absolutely world class. The bog you mentioned could be a gasp for too little fuel or a choke for too much fuel. The culprit might be an ineffective ball check in the acc pump well. FINALLY I purchased an air/fuel meter from Summit and installed the o2 sensor in the RH head pipe and set the carb using the readings on the dial. This required blocking the PV circuit and satisfying the A/F requirements with the main and secondary jets. I have not touched the carb in 4 years ,except once to remove a drowned fly that some how got into the bowl and blocked a jet. From my perspective performance is outrageously good and mpg is about 15, 284 cu in , 3:78's. No bog at all and in any gear if the pedal is mashed the response is immediate. I dunno maybe I just got lucky. Charlie ny