Essex Carburator Troubles

30essex

My 1930 Essex Sedan is giving me more headaches. On my last outing it ran fine but would begin to hesitate and cough whenever it went over 40 mph. I assumed this meant it was fuel starved. I checked the vacuum cannister and fuel filter and they were both fine. I tried to find a rebuild kit but was unable to find one locally so I took the carburator apart, cleaned it thoroughly and put it back together. When I put it back on the car would not start. I have since repeated the process a couple of times and checked everything carefully but still the car refuses to fire up. It would start and run fine before I took off the carburator. Any ideas as to what I can do to get this thing running again?

Unknown

is the carb bowl full of gas?

30essex

Yes, the bowl is full of gas. In fact gas drips out of air intake after you turn it over for awhile. I checked the spark plugs and they are dry. By the way, the event I was trying to drive to but didn't make it to was the Hudson Meet in Leduc West last Saturday.

Geoff

The fact that it ran before you took the carb off indicates that it must be something that has occurred in that process. Try putting your hand over the intake as you crank the engine on the starter, with throttle wide open. You should feel a strong suction. If not, check the gaskets, or the hot box for leaks. If you do have strong suction, then it will be sucking fuel in, and you need to double check the spark and timing, and also that you have all the pipes connected properly to the vacuum tank. Don't laugh, but I have seen the vacuum pipe and fuel pipes transposed. You may need to check that the flapper valve is operating correctly. If this is stuck open you won't get it to run. Good luck,

Geoff.

30essex

I got the Essex running again. The main problem was the air valve screw. I should have counted the number of turns when I took it out but didn't. I turned it out as far as the book said but in order for the car to run it needed to be a long way out. The top of the bowl was also bent and cracked and of course it broke in two when I tried to straighten it. I glued it with epoxy and it works but it ain't pretty.

When I finished with the Essex, I thought I would renew my appreciation for 1930's engineering by changing the plugs in my Ford Explorer. I think automotive engineers must lie awake at night thinking of new ways to make fixing your car more difficult.

I figured out a great way to make cardboard gaskets. I put the carb parts on the scanner, scanned an image, and printed it on cereal box cardboard. All I had to do was carefully cut the outline of the picture to make an accarate gasket. Here are pictures to show what I mean.

[Deleted User]

It sounds like you still have an air leak if you have to turn the idle mix screw out so far. I think you need to keep searching for a leak.



Harry