Folks,

I apologize for "shutting the hood" as a respondent said....it was my intent to tell this part of the tale two days ago when I got called to the front door and signed off. Then got into tuning and forgot the forum note.

Basically I had never NOT been able to fix a carb, but that humbling time had come and I was stumped. Problem was super rich condition in a Holley 8007 that had been running fine until I changed 2 jets in the primary block. Easy enough you say, why can't "rock" fix that? And the usual list of suspects emerged .... many thanks to those who offered such as trash in the inlet, trash in the idle adustment, trash in the emulsion circuit, vacuum leak, etc

My problem shows the perils of being lazy, but not even unlazy would have solved this problem. I don't have compressed air but have rebuilt carbs for 30 years with no problem by blowing out passages with a bicycle pump. So to start with, after having you all confirm my list of suspects I get another $40+ rebuild kit, go lazy by not separating the main body and throttle body, leave them on the engine and dunk the metering blocks and bowls in the goood old fashioned cleaner (the king that smells like creosote). Figuring I had just missed some trash I bicycled the parts out again and remounted. No change, only clouds of black smoke and idle mix screws able to be turned all the way in.

OK, another $40+ kit, re dunk, but this time go to an air compressor friend with 120 psi and blast passages with compressed air.. reassemble, clouds of black smoke, no change from before. Pull er off, make some changes in secondary idle adjustments per Holley, check throttle plate openings again, remount, no change, clouds of black smoke.

Ok you say, its time for the body and the throttle plate, and why didn't rock do that before? He was lazy, didn't want to take off all the goodies for what was OBVIOUSLY a trash problem in the blocks, right?

All apart this time...bowls, blocks, bodies dunked, this time in new cleaner, cause I wondered if my old cleaner was too weak. Reassmble (another $40+ kit), blow out all with compressed air at 12 psi......no change. Clouds of black smoke, etc. OK, the secondary idle transfer slot is dumping still early, so finally I drill the plates. Remount, no changes. Clouds of black smoke. The beginnings of anger develop.

This is getting to be an obsession but I am beginning to weaken in my love for Holleys, even though I am bewginning to price new Holleys and pull my Eddy off the shelf, and remember DW's warnings (Dennis Weaver)..can he be right about Holleys??!!

Then the gods smiled. It now being another holiday season at a party I run into a guy older than me (getting rarer) who is an old nascar carb builder who "loves them Holleys" as he says.. He has be bring the problem child over.

IMMEDIATELY as soon as he takes the throttle body off the main body he says....'that ain't the right gasket...it has this hole partly bocked". He swaps on what he says is the right gasket from his box full...he says "take er home, she will work now".

He was right, now I am back to Holley joy. Now how did I get the wrong gasket and not know it? I bought the carb used, the previous owner had "fixed it" and it ran fine, just a tad rich. What started me rejetting was the tad rich, it never had a stumble. You all can read where I went down to 4.5 PV and 37 jets at which point it woudn't run, and I was moving back up in jets. Not having ever seen the right gasket between the throttle body and main body I replaced what was on the carb when I bought it, and kept on doing so each time I rebuilt. It seems that the wrong gasket works well enough most folks would never notice the problem, but folks like us who really tune and who pull lots of vacuum upset a delicate balance at about the 51 jet size. I know it worked unfixed with 49 but not with 53.

So the moral is somewhat as Slant Six Dan says, just because an expert tells you he "fixed it", you still need to check. Of course several corollaries apply...(1) you can do everything right to something that starts out wrong but if you don't fix what is wrong, it will still be wrong. (2) you can always learn something. In this case I have read and known for years that Holleys have lots of variations in metering block gaskets and that you need to be careful to use the right ones. Now to my store of knowledge I must add how critical it can be to have the right gasket between the metering block and throttle body. If you buy used be sure that gasket is the right one. (3) Pouring money and sweat into a problem are no guarantee of solutions. It is better to ask.

So there you go....and i now have a fuller spare parts pile and a tire burning slant again. On 275 60R 15's with a 3.91.

Happy New Year,
rock
'64d100

Rock,

Thanks! for the "Rest of the Story"........it was better thab Paul Harvey!

_________________
Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

had a related experience how humbling......

Question: in the throttle body of the 8007 the center hole ids occupied by a jet of some sort - air bleed perhaps? I can not find references to it

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Regards,
Fanie Gerber
It's never junk, it's just a part you're not currently using

http://www.valiant50.co.za
Just say I own a few Mopars

now that is how you don`t let a problem get the upper hand , way to go, happy tire burning year

Instructive post, and slow to "It can't be fixed buy a new one."