A GDYNETS®
PUBLICATION
© 2010, G. DAVID
Car Collector
Chronicles
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
Volume III, Issue 8 Car Collector Chronicles
Exploring:
 Car collecting today
 Classic rides
After far too much procrasti-
 Reports from the field nation, I finally undertook the
rebuild of the carburetor on
 Oldsmobile The Gray Lady. In the hopes
that readers may find my ex-
 Cadillac perience helpful, I thought this
month I would discuss this pro-
 Allanté
ject?
 Corvair This project has been on the
"to do" list since the fall of 2009.
I finally made the determination
I would cross it off my list! The
first task was to order the re-
build kit. I bought mine online
from Daytona Parts Co.™. I
purchased it only after confirm-
IN THIS ISSUE: ing via email that the kit materi-
als were ethanol compatible.
The cost of the kit for a ‘55
Caddy was around $50.
Rebuild of a Carb 1 In preparation I bought a
bunch of used Kent-Moore™
tools/gauges, and a Moroso™
carburetor stand. I also col-
GDYNets 1 lected as much Rochester Car-
On the Web buretor info/data as I could.
Rebuild Photos 7
GDYNets on the Web
Coming Next 7
Issue
WHERE YOU WILL FIND
GDYNets (me) on the WWW:
Dave’s Den -
http://GDYNets.WEBNG.com
Saved 62 -
http://www.freewebs.com/
jeandaveyaros
The Gray Lady - 55 Cad de Ville
Car Collector Chronicles -
EMAIL:
OldsD88@gmail.com
®
August 2010
Rebuild of a Carb
TOOLS REQUIRED: Cam-
era, box wrenches, flare
wrenches, screwdrivers, ham-
mer, needle-nose pliers, a good
metal ruler with a set capable T-
bar graded in 32nd's of an inch,
parts cleaning fluid, parts clean-
ing brushes, toothbrush, q-tips,
a source of compressed air and
of, course, shop towels. De-
pending on your circumstances,
you may also need a tubing
cutter, tubing bender and a tube
flaring tool.
Let's get a little nomenclature
down at the start, to assure we
are all on the same page when
describing both the carburetor
and the rebuild process. My use
of the term carburetor refers to smaller, but nevertheless critical
the entire assembled unit. In
parts.
this instance we are specifically
referring to a Rochester 4GC, 4 Step #1, to mention the obvious, is
bbl. carburetor. It is made up of to remove the air cleaner housing. In
3 main parts. I shall refer to doing the actual rebuild, the very first
them as the airhorn, fuel bowl
tool I reached for was my digital
and throttle body. Each constitu-
ent part has a number of Continued on Pg. 2 -
DAVE’S DEN: A website SAVED 62: A website devoted
devoted to a myriad of inter- to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dy-
ests. Foremost is extensive namic 88 convertible. The site
information on the “Steel City” also has a lot of information on
of Gary, IN. There are also Oldsmobiles and its founder,
offerings on steel making, U.S. Ransom Eli Olds.
Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine
THE GRAY LADY: This web-
Corps, M14 assault rifle, of
site features our 1955 Cadillac
course Oldsmobile, and the
Coupé de Ville and Caddy infor-
tragic story of the murder of
mation.
Gary, IN Police Lt. Geo. Yaros.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 2

ROCHESTER CARBURETOR REUILD—Continued

camera. I took pictures of the carb in place, from all sides and angles.
This was so I would have a visual reference of how a properly in-
stalled carb should look when I got around to putting her back on the
engine. I took shots of the linkage connections, automatic choke set-
ting, etc. I also made a handwritten note of the choke setting. Here is
what the carb looked like at the start of the project —
I next disconnected all the
linkage, so the carburetor
would be free to come off the
manifold once it was unbolted.
Then I removed all the lines
going to the carb: choke tube,
fuel line and vacuum line (?).
The question mark is there
“The airhorn is because there is a small di-
ameter, flared metal line with
what one sees a fitting attached to the base
when looking of the carburetor/throttle body.
This line runs down between
down at the the underside of the intake manifold and the top of the engine valley
top of the cover, toward the back of the engine. I have yet to ascertain what this
line is for, or does? [NOTE: ==>] I have since ascertained that it is, in
carburetor.” fact, the distributor vacuum advance line.
Once I removed the four nuts from the intake manifold mounting
studs, the carburetor came off easily. (I was surprised at how much it
weighed!) At this point I covered the intake manifold ports to prevent
dirt or parts from falling into the manifold, and ultimately the engine.
The airhorn is what one sees when looking down at the top of the
carburetor. In vintage cars, the air cleaner sits directly on top of it.
The airhorn top is home to the accelerator pump and choke butterfly
plate. On the right (passenger) side of the airhorn is the automatic
choke. The underside of the airhorn is where one finds the floats,
power piston, float needles and seats.
With the carburetor on the workbench, I drew a diagram of the top of
the airhorn, giving each airhorn screw a number. Each screw was re-
moved and then labeled with the appropriate number. This permits
putting the same screw back into the same hole on reassembly. One
thing I did notice when removing the airhorn screws was that none of
them seemed to be terribly tight; nor were the carburetor mounting
nuts for that matter. In fact, they all seemed to be rather loose for my
Car Collector Chronicles Page 3

ROCHESTER CARBURETOR REBUILD—Continued

taste. I wondered if they had ever been touched since being origi-
nally installed over a half-century ago, = w a y => back in 1954? For
inexplicable reasons, one of the 13 airhorn screws did not have a
lockwasher? Nor was there an in-line fuel filter in the system?
One of the airhorn screws also holds the carburetor ID tag. While
not critical to the operation of the carburetor, it is very important for
both identification and historical purposes. It provides the carburetor
model # and the manufacture date code. The numbers on my tag
are 700790 and M4. For the date code, the letter "M" is the month.
The number "4" is the year in the decade. M4 equates to December
of 1954. This is because M is the twelfth letter of the alphabet, in se-
quence ("I" not being used to avoid possible confusion with the num-
ber ‘1’.) Do not lose, or destroy this tag and be sure to reinstall it!
BE ADVISED: The folks at Daytona Parts must assume if you are
buying one of their rebuild kits that you know what you are doing.
This is neither a good, nor a necessarily valid, assumption. (Even “ The carburetor
though I have turned a lot of wrenches on a lot of cars, and even re-
ID tag, while not
placed carburetors in the past, this was my first ever carb rebuild.) I
say this as, the accompanying kit instructions are more than sparse. critical to the
To determine what went where, I found myself visually comparing the operation of the
replacement parts with original parts I could spot and remove. Not
the best way of doing things, in my humble opinion! It is also a bit carburetor, it is
frustrating, as not all of the supplied parts are actually used in the re- important for
build. both
Ok, back to the airhorn, specifically the underside. Here one finds identification
the float assemblies. The float assemblies are held in place with and historical
(drift) pins. These pins come right out by hand. Each float arm piv-
ots on a needle which travels inside a needle seat. BE CAREFUL purposes.”
HERE! It is critical that one observe which way the needle is posi-
tioned inside the seat. It can be installed two different ways. NOTE:
Make a written notation which is the seat end, and which is the pivot
point end. To a first timer, which end is which is not readily apparent
at first glance. With the needle removed, the needle seat comes out
easily with a wide, flat blade screwdriver. Be sure to put the supplied
gaskets on the new needle seats before installing them in the air-
horn.
My floats had a slight coating of gunk on them. I presume this
coating could affect float movement/travel? Consequently, it was
gently removed with a toothbrush. Once cleaned, the floats have to
be inspected for leaks. If a float has a pinhole leak, the float can fill
with fuel, and not function. A simple test is to place the float in a pan
of water. Does it float? If it does, all is ok! If not, you have to either
repair, or replace it.
Car Collector Chronicles Page 4;;

ROCHESTER CARBURETOR REBUILD-Continued

A critical step in reinstalling the floats is to be sure to FIRST INSTALL THE AIRHORN
GASKET. Once the float arms are in place the gasket will not go on! The airhorn gas-
ket must be in place, as its absence throws all your measurements off. Measurements,
what measurements? The float levels must be precisely set for the carburetor to func-
tion properly. The float levels determine when the needle comes off the seat, allowing
gas to enter the carburetor fuel bowl. The float arm travel parameters determine the low
and high levels of gas in the fuel bowl. This is where use of a good ruler graduated in
1/32nd's of an inch, with a settable T-bar, is critical. Technically, one could use the
flimsy paper ruler that comes with the rebuild kit. Truthfully, I did not find it to be very
handy, practicable or useful. All required measurements are taken from the underside
of the airhorn, with the ruler held tight against the gasket. Without it being in place, all
measurements are off by the thickness of the gasket. The rebuild kit does provide a
measurement specification sheet. This sheet also tells you where to bend the float arm
to adjust for the needed measurements. A WORD OF CAUTION: The float assembly
is delicate. Handle it with care. Be prepared to have to make repeated measurements
and adjustments. When setting the float for the closed position, don't be surprised to
find that doing so may throw off the open position setting! One must also make sure the
floats are parallel, and are able to travel freely within the confines of the fuel bowl. The
best way to assure this is, with the float arms in the closed position, does the airhorn
gasket clear the floats?
Now, it is time to start buttoning up the carb. First, install the throttle body back on the
bottom of the fuel bowl, using the new gasket that comes in the rebuild kit. Next, insert
the new accelerator pump spring in the accelerator pump bore/well of the fuel bowl. Put
a small amount of gas in the fuel bowl to ease the initial start. DO NOT TRY AND FILL
THE FUEL BOWL! I recommend filling it 1/3 full. Install the new accelerator pump in
the airhorn. Batten down the airhorn to the fuel bowl. When tightening the airhorn
screws, use an alternating, criss-cross pattern.
The next step is to install the new idle adjusting needles/air mixture screws in the
throttle body. THE CURRENT SETTINGS OF THE OLD SCREWS MUST BE DETER-
MINED BEFORE THEY ARE REMOVED. This is accomplished by counting and re-
cording the number of turns to lightly seat each screw. Once that is accomplished, the
screws may be removed. The new air mixture screws are installed and lightly seated.
Then, they are backed off the precise number of turns you previously recorded. This is
your starting point when adjusting the settings on your installed and running carburetor.
It is now time to clean the intake manifold gasket seat. Use a scraper to remove all
traces of the old gasket. TAKE CARE THAT NO GASKET DEBRIS ENTERS THE IN-
TAKE MANIFOLD. Install the new carburetor gasket on the intake manifold. No gasket
adhesive is required to be used here, or anywhere else in the carburetor.
HINT: Now is the best time to do any work you want to perform on the distributor. Your
access to it will never be better. At the very least, check and set the point gap before
reinstalling the carburetor. Oil the distributor bearing while you are in the vicinity. In my
case, at this point I also installed an in-line NORS glass bowl type fuel filter. I cannot
believe there wasn't one in place! Hopefully, the fuel filter will capture all the previously
observed gunk before it can enter the carburetor?
Car Collector Chronicles Page 5;

ROCHESTER CARBURETOR REBUILD-Continued

Installation of the carburetor is the reverse of the removal. Put it in place and attach the stud
mounting nuts. Now, attach the linkage. Check that the linkage moves freely through its normal
cycle. Then attach your fuel and vacuum lines, and the choke tube. At this point it is necessary to
adjust your choke setting to assure it closes properly, and opens correctly during the engine warm-
ing process. The choke butterfly should not be tightly closed on a cold engine. In fact, the specs
say there should be .040 clearance between the closed butterfly and the carburetor bore.
If the fuel bowl of the carburetor is bone dry at this point, it will take some pumping of the accel-
erator pedal and considerable cranking of the engine to fill it. Remember, without gas in the fuel
bowl, the engine will never fire.
Once she fires, adjust the idle adjusting needles/air mixture screws to fine tune the carb to run at
its most efficient. Set the fast and slow idle speeds and enjoy your newly rebuilt carb!
Ok, now let’s talk about mistakes made and things learned while rebuilding this carburetor -
MISTAKES MADE: So far [Day 1], the only mistake made was in the purchase of a carburetor
stand. The one I bought accepts two different sized carburetor bases. Size selection is accom-
plished merely by flipping it over. The problem, neither size matched the base of the Rochester
4GC. While it was still able to be used, it did not work as well as a proper one would.
After proselytizing on the subject of determining idle adjusting needles/air mixture screws settings, I
proceeded to remove one without first counting the needed turns to seat it! So, I had to default to a
generic setting. Not good!
When I bent my fuel line tubing, I did not pay attention the location of the fittings. When I made my
bend both fittings were at the same end of the tubing. Needless to say, that makes it impossible to
slide the one fitting around the curve you have just created in the tubing!
LESSONS LEARNED: The taking of "before" pictures turned out to be more than helpful. I had to
resort to one photo to properly reconnect the accelerator linkage.
If you are lucky, you will not need to replace any metal fuel lines. Unless one is experienced and
adept at bending and flaring tubing, have someone perform this service for you. My initial attempt
at trying to install the glass bowl in-line fuel filter was a disaster. It leaked like a sieve at every pos-
sible connection! The first flaring tool I bought/used simply did not work. It would not grip the tub-
ing tight enough to permit the flaring head to do its thing. The second one worked much better.
The problem with the second tool is that the tube tended to crack/split at the flare during the proce-
dure.
Bending of tubing is a bit of an esoteric art. It does require the use of a tube bending tool. My re-
quirement called for two 90° bends. That in itself is not that difficult. The problem arises from the
fact that what is really required on one end is a compound bend. The 90° bend at the filter end is
routine, and no problem. However, to get the tube fitting to line up with the fuel filter fitting, the tub-
ing needs to also be bent on its axis. That is no easy task! Since it is not, I am now looking at us-
ing an angled fitting (elbow) on the fuel pump to attach the fuel filter in such a manner that it will line
up properly with the line running out of the fuel filter and into the carburetor. It is hard to explain,
but when one is under the hood trying to make all the necessary connections, it becomes painfully
obvious what is required. [SEE: A very crude rendition of my fuel line on the next page.]
Car Collector Chronicles Page 6;;

ROCHESTER CARBURETOR REBUILD-Continued

_____
|Carb |--------------------
|_____| /
/
/
(o) Fuel Filter
|
Fuel Pump O ----- |
Much to my surprise and dismay, even though I took pains to be sure I did have gas in
the carburetor fuel bowl when I remounted it, the engine to date [Day 2] has yet to fire?
I am getting explosions, but not sustained firing?
[Day 3] I have removed the fuel filter entirely, and have reverted (temporarily) to using
the original line, sans filter, that ran from the fuel pump to the carburetor.
When I was finished I found, to my chagrin, that I had a check ball left over. That I did
made no sense. So, I sent off an email to the Daytona Parts Co.™ folks asking what it
was, and where it went. To their credit, I did receive a very prompt reply. The leftover
check ball goes in the bottom of the accelerator pump bore/well. A spring sits on top of
it, and the accelerator pump sits on top of the spring. Depending on the position of the
accelerator pump during operation, the left over check ball controls the flow of fuel to
either the carb fuel bowl or the primary venturi cluster. Without it being installed, all fuel
entering the carb went to the fuel bowl. Without it being installed, pumping the gas
pedal only yielded exercise of the ankle/foot muscles! Duh! No wonder the car would
not start? I never did figure out what happened to the original, missing check ball?
[Day 4] The carb is again removed from the engine and opened up to install the left
over check ball in the accelerator pump well/bore. After installing it, closing the carb
back up and remounting it on the engine, with a little cranking she fired and ran!
(Shouts of “It’s alive!” were heard to emanate from the car barn.) I will admit, at first she
sounded a bit like a concrete mixer. Once I got the engine warmed and the carb able to
idle on her own, I was able to make the necessary idle adjusting needle/air mixture
screw adjustments to simulate normal operation. Then I checked operation on accel-
eration. She accepts the gas feed and has very good response.
I also have my fuel line leak situation rectified. It took an hour of searching through
parts cabinets and catalogs with my local NAPA™ parts guy to find the right 90° elbows,
male-to-male fittings, etc., but the fuel pump now sends the gas from the tank into the
filter before going onto the carburetor, and it does it without leaking! There now is only
a single tube running from the fuel filter-out port to the carburetor, and it has a single
bend of 80° or so. The fuel pump is now directly connected to the fuel filter-in port via
fittings, eliminating the need of any tubing there. This part of the project was better
suited for the skills of a plumber, than a mechanic. Nor am I at all ashamed to acknowl-
edge that not only is plumbing not my forte, but that also, I hate plumbing!
BOTTOM LINE: Carburetors are not as complicated as they appear. It does not take a
specialist to do a rebuild. An individual who regularly works on/maintains cars (by that I
Car Collector Chronicles Page 7;;

ROCHESTER CARBURETOR REBUILD-Continued

mean more than merely changing oil and anti-freeze) is certainly up to the task. What it
does take is a solid base of knowledge of engine mechanics, a bit of patience, lots of
attention to detail and clean working conditions. If you are contemplating taking on this
task, I hope you find my experience as a first time carb rebuilder to be of help. Don't be
afraid to give it a shot. My advice is, by all means go for it! Go to the GDYNets® Gray
Lady web site for more info on the rebuild and Rochester carbs.
Here are some pics of the work in progress:

Ok, I have had my say for this month. Now it is your turn! I invite/encourage submis-
sion of your comments, opinions and contributions, and ask that you help spread the
word about our pub. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions
should be sent to CCC at: OldsD88@gmail.com

_______________________________________
-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM!
COMING NEXT ISSUE:
 Car Barn Activity
 GM Marketing
 Put a Shine on that Baby
 Quiz