<VV> ebay, carbs, a lesson learned

[Ramon Rodriguez III]

Today I put an end to the carburetor troubles mystery.  I installed the
carbs and started the engine, I discovered the idle circuit on one is
functional (at least partially) and the other is not, so I pulled that one
off and finally just took it apart (confidence bolstered by taking apart one
of my two "junk" carbs).

I suppose I'll go short and to the point here, I discovered that the idle
fuel pick-up tube was mostly clogged.. so the CORSA tech guide trick would
have done the job if I'd managed to find the right gauge wire or if I used a
torch tip cleaner, drill, or any of the other suggestions you guys made.
The wire that I'd done the job with was about .001 too large diameter to go
the last tiny bit through the tip where it was clogged....  it got so close
that based on the measurement of how far it should go in I had thought it
worked.

Now the long version.  A year ago I brought home a $350 63 Monza 102/pg
coupe that had been in a barn since 1983.  Just a day after bringing it home
I got it started (just to make sure the engine was intact internally) and
all was well except for the carbs which leaked fuel pretty good.  I didn't
tinker with it much, as soon as I knew the engine would run I went to work
on the car.

A month or less later I happened on a great deal on a pair of "rebuilt"
carbs on ebay.  Sadly I don't know who the seller was and I don't think
there is any way I can find out since the transaction was so long ago.  The
carbs looked great when I got them, shiny new butterfly valves etc...  all
the visible stuff.

Some time later I got the car put back together and started her up...  she
wouldn't idle...   I tinkered for a bit then decided to swap on the
primaries from the 65' Corsa project car that wasn't going anywhere any time
soon.  It ran fine, so that pair of carbs stayed on the car and the
"rebuilt" pair got set aside.  It  had been too long for me to feel right
about complaining to the seller that the rebuilt carbs didn't work right.

One year later....  the time has come to get the 65' Corsa running but it is
short two carbs.  I dug out the troublesome "rebuilt" carbs and started
trying to fix the idle problem.  After a few days of tinkering I installed
them and found one still wouldn't idle so I took it off and took it apart
(finally).

Well I discovered the idle fuel pick-up tube was mostly clogged... problem
solved right?  Well.. in the process I took the top off the carb and found
the float bowl contained about a teaspoon of garbage that looks like
granola.  It is a lighter yellowish color and the bigger pieces are probably
over 1/16th of an inch across.

There is no way you can convince me that this amount of garbage accumulated
in the carb in a year of sitting on the shelf, and there is also no way this
stuff got past the filters...  so apparently this guys rebuild didn't even
extend to cleaning the massive amount of junk out of the float bowl!!!
Also there is no excuse for the idle pick-up tube not having been cleared...
it takes seconds to clear it while changing the gasket beneath it and you
can look right through it to see if it is clear or not!!!  Needless to say
I'll be taking it's mate apart (ordered the gaskets today) and cleaning it
up since it is likely in the same condition as this one.

I'd really like to get my hands on this guy right now!  (the carbs were
rebuilt by the seller according to the listing, he also included the rebuild
kit paperwork with the sale).

To make matters worse, in taking apart the original carbs that I bought
these to replace I found all the passages nice and clear... and the float
bowls clean..  all I'd have needed to do to get the original carbs working
is take them apart, clean and unstick the floats, and reassemble with new
gaskets.  I guess at least now I'll have an extra pair for future use, I'm
bound to need them eventually.

Needless to say I learned my lesson, Evilbay indeed!!  On the bright side
this chain of events forced me to familiarize myself with the internal
workings of our Corvair carbs, and in the future I'll be armed to
troubleshoot them effectively.  It also made me even more appreciate the
fantastic rebuild job that Grant Young (Wolf Industries/The Carbmeister) did
on the four carbs for my 66' Corsa 140.  The carbs I sent him had some nasty
issues (PO tinkering troubles) and he really took great care of me.  Those
carbs continue to work beautifully.

-- 
Ray "Grymm" Rodriguez
Lake Ariel, PA