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Shorty Carb For F-Head

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Hans View Drop Down
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    Posted: 22 Oct. 2008 at 6:32pm
Roc asked if I would elaborate on my carburetor in my CJ, so here you go Roc!

As you may or may not know, I just bought my first Jeep, a '46 CJ2a a month ago. As I bought it it had an F-Head engine with a Holley carburetor that fit underneath the hood line. The carb didn't work very well and had not worked very well for some time, as evidenced by the fact that the screw bosses for the float bowl had been distorted to the point that there was a 1/4 inch distortion in the housing made up by several gaskets and the grace of God preventing noticeable leaks.

 My first stab at fixing the stall when climbing hills was to get a carb rebuild kit, which is when I discovered the evidence described above, the carb was unusable. I rebuilt it anyhow and used it while I was waiting for the proper "fix".

 Next, I was thinking of finding a carb from an old Ford Falcon or Ranchero 6 cylinder ( I have owned a few in the past and the carbs are a close enough match) and my research led me to the one I am currently using which is a combination of the baseplate from the carb that came on my CJ and another Holley body that I got at Ace Fuel Systems in San Jose CA (He rooted through his pile of old cores and found the closest thing he could find to the one I had and was a closer match to 135ci displacement engine I would be using it on) The core he found is off of an early '60s IH Scout Mail Truck. I got a rebuild kit for it and rebuilt it myself.
 
 The key here is to find a carb that has  a close match to the engine size. The Scout has a 152ci 4 cylinder engine, the Falcon/Ranchero has a 170ci 6 cylinder, so that would have been less desireable. This may be the reason that the original carb did not work, if it came off of a 270 Dodge slant 6 like I suspect there would not have been enough air volume being drawn through the carb (CFM) to operate properly at idle. If I can eventually find a carb that came off of a 134 ci engine then I will change to that.

 I do need to reconfigure the throttle and choke cables though. I am thinking I might put a bell crank on it to make the throttle work, If I do that the existing choke setup will work OK but as it is the two linkages are on the same plane, so I can't have the choke cable hooked up without interfereing with the throttle.

Oh yeah, they had cut the center hood seam down to flush to clear the airhorn. I don't have a picture of that here, but it is a pretty simple mod to the hood.

Hope this gets your mind working! Let me know what you think of all of this (I'm sure yoy will).
 

Hans
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Oct. 2008 at 6:37pm
OOOPS! I didn't include the other photos. Here is another one


Hans
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocnroll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Oct. 2008 at 6:52pm
Seems like you have a pretty good handle on 'making it work'.....good to know it fits under the hood.
 
Thanks for posting the info and pictures. Thumbs Up
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeperkyle46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Oct. 2008 at 2:39am
what the holley's carb number on that?   i have two.  One at the farm and one here that i thought would work for the fhead that's in my 2a but i wasn't too sure if the holley low carbs i have will actually work.

by the way, those pics of your setup are the best pics yet i have seen with that carb.  thanks for posting this topic....
'46 cj2a #71673(project)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Oct. 2008 at 4:08am
Thanks, It is all in the camera I use.

I freakin' KNEW that I should have included my carb number in the original post! It is a Holley  ST-4171. If you want to know the application for the carbs you have, check out Ace Fuel Systems at http://acefuelsystems.com/ or call them at (408) 727-2838. Please do not feel the need to drop my name because it will do no good (or harm?).

Anyhow, the owner there was able to root through his pile of carbs for a similar one to what I brought in and then identify it by the stamped number. He did this all rather quickly (maybe 10 minutes) and I walked in cold off the street.

 If you can't figure it out that way, I might be inclined to recommend that you try the one that has the smallest throat as that will be the one for the smallest displacement engine. It would be interesting to know (if you want to experiment) how your Jeep runs on both carbs. If I get a chance I will try to track down the engine displacement for the first carb I had and see if that is helpful.

My other thought was to take the original F-Head Solex carb and cut and weld it shorter to eliminate the nearly 2-inch tall stand-off. This is rather extreme, but I could do it relatively easily. The problem is that I can't make it short enough for my satisfaction unless I also reshape the airhorn to be shorter as well while maintaining a minimum of one inch clearance between the top of the carb and the top of the airhorn (it could probably be less, but why risk it?). But then where do you stop? I guess that is the real question.   

Where do you stop??
Hans
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote m38mike Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Oct. 2008 at 4:17am
I've got a couple friends who have used the Holly 1904 carb with good success on F-heads in flatfenders.  Used by Ford in some early 60's 4 cyl engines.  I think it was also used by Scout for a few years.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Oct. 2008 at 4:52am
I forgot to mention that I had to "massage" the valve cover to clear the carb. But just a little bit.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Oct. 2008 at 4:58am
I just Googled Holley 1904 and came up with this http://www.tocmp.com/manuals/Carbs/Holley/H1904-IHC-1953/MCarbHollIHC53E322B/MCarbHoll_IHC_53B2.html

I would love to have a glass float bowl on my CJ!
Hans
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeperkyle46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Oct. 2008 at 2:16am
yeah thanks.


i have read an article in either peterson 4wheeler mag or Fourwheeler that the L-head solex carb can work by shortening the cylinder off for the airhorn to fit better or some makeshift airhorn.  Then how the choke is routed on the carb will have to be redone a different way as well.

That link you mentioned Hans is very helpful. I am reading over it now.



Edited by jeeperkyle46 - 25 Oct. 2008 at 9:06pm
'46 cj2a #71673(project)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote J.R. Welsh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Oct. 2008 at 5:56pm

Great photos Hans!

I just finished putting a 1904 on my 3A and was curious if you also had to lossen the oil filler tube? I also had to give the valve cover a small, ah, adjustment.............Wink Routed a new choke cable from the other side.
 
I had to get several 1900 serries carbs off "epay" to get what I wanted and got a glass bowl in the process. Drop me a note if you really want one.
 
               J.R.,  just to the north
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeperkyle46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Oct. 2008 at 9:50pm
Hey J.R.   is that a offer to sell yours or are u asking us to ask u about where we can find one of these carbs??  

I, too, have gotten two other  holley carbs to see about this but they wont be able to work.  What could you come up with if you can find one for me as i have that unsightful tin bowl bondo'd to the hood of my 2a.   AND the cool thing is that i have a hood that is in great condition that i want to use but i need to get a shorty carb that will work.


'46 cj2a #71673(project)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote J.R. Welsh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Oct. 2008 at 1:19am

Guess I could have worded it better.

I was ofering to sell the glass bowl one if Hans really wanted one. The carb is in bad shape and I believe it is the International one and wont work on the F head but the bowl and top body are ok.  Ebay is where I found mine.  J.R.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeperkyle46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Oct. 2008 at 1:37am
okay.  understand.
'46 cj2a #71673(project)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Oct. 2008 at 3:07am
Hey,
 I'm interested in a glass bowl, but as the carb I have working fairly well (in the pictures) will do me just fine, I think I will pass right now because I just don't have the time to figure it out. I am a hands-on kind of guy, so if I don't have my hands or eyes on it I have a hard time figuring it out.

 I am in the midst of my harvest right now and it is a banner year. I won't be done until January so if you can hold onto it until then I might be able to think about it then.
 
Hans
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote J.R. Welsh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Oct. 2008 at 4:25am
Hans understand the busy season,   PM sent. Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gtowle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan. 2022 at 3:42pm
Im trying to do the same thing, do you have the pictures, I didn't get them.
Also how did you get the air cleaner to clear the under side of the hood
Thanks
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Michaeltru Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan. 2022 at 3:50pm
Might start a new thread and that one is over 13 years old.  Good lucky 
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