willits18

I rebuilt the carb again and raised the float level a little higher than specs. It runs better at higher speeds and doesn't flood. That seems to be the problem-starving at higher speeds. Is there anything else I can do to get more fuel at higher speeds other than a different carb?

I did set the timing to 10 before. Seems to help around town. I haven't taken it on the highway yet. A vacuum advance will not help increase speed? I didn't know that. As far as the rear end ratio I was looking at the service manual which lists 3.90 for most including mine. Is there another way to tell without lifting the rear end?

I converted the truck to 12 volts last year. It does get up to 55-60 downhill, but 50 is all I get on the level-sounds like that is about right for my setup. I was looking at converting to electronic ignition. I saw one on the internet for around $200 complete with the vacuum advance distributor. I might try that. I already put a new mechanical fuel pump on and backed it up with a Holley electric to the pump. That did seem to help-I could barely get to 40 before! I don't want to change the gearing. My manual says it is 3.90 and that seems about right to me. I will try the electronic and let you know. It will be a while though as my neighbors 100' tree just fell on my garage and machine shop. A total loss along with 2 of my classic cars.

I have a 1950 B2D pickup. I have gone through everything including the fuel system and electrical and the truck only goes about 50 mph. I don't know if that was common back in the day for this truck or not. When I am on the highway and go up a steep grade it will drop down to 40. This truck does not have a vacuum advance on the distributor-from the factory it looks like! Can I put a newer distributor with a vacuum advance on this truck. I don't know if it's possible but and electronic ignition would be even better! I just put one on my 65 Plymouth and it really helps! All help appreciated. Thanks, Tracy in Omaha.

Thanks Guru. I already picked one up. I am going to install this along with new glass and a rubber kit for winter driving. It has the deep cleat rear snow tires.

It seems to take a long time (about 3 miles of driving!) to get the engine good and warmed up. The heat riser is not working. I have ordered a new spring and will replace it. After the truck is good and warm it will go 50-55mph on the highway. I don't know if they were meant to go much faster. I also got a new mechanical fuel pump and am running the electric from the tank to the mechanical pump and the mechanical pump to the carb. That seemed to make a difference as well.

How fast do these go?? I converted to 12 volts and that definitely helped the loss of power in the first 3 gears. When I'm in 4th gear it seems like it is still lacks some power. I could only get up to 40 mph on a downgrade in 4th gear. I put in a 12 volt electric fuel pump. I took the filter out of the glass bulb before the carb. It has a clear plastic filter. It looks like the filter is struggling to keep up. The glass bowl however remains full all the time. One thing I noticed is that when I turn in the air bleed screw on the carb it doesn't seem to get richer. I pulled the plugs to do a compression test thinking that it may have a couple of bad valves. It does not. All cylinders were between 120-130. When I put the plugs back in I noticed that they are all very clean-look like new! No carbon-they didn't look like they had been used. On a positive note it is running better in the first 3 gears. I wonder if I should go back to the mechanical fuel pump. The electric pump is rated at 4-7 psi. I haven't tested it yet.

Thanks Don.

I converted my B2D to 12 volts. What an improvement. Everything came to life! It solved the poor-high end performance. Everything seems to be working fine now except the heater blower motor. It worked on 6 volts so I put in as voltage reducer. It won't work on 12 volts with the reducer. maybe I should look for a 12 volt blower motor. How far into the future should I look for a 12 volt blower motor that will still fit in the box?

Update. The weather is more conducive to outdoor work here in Nebraska-I only have a MODEL T garage. I put a timing light on it and made an extension so I could advance the throttle while watching the timing light. When I advanced the throttle the timing mark stayed where it was-it didn't advance. pulled the distributor and took it apart. There is a mechanical advance there. It was not visible from the top. The advance was all gummed up with oil and sludge. I cleaned it and oiled it. It now works fine. The truck has more power now-I made it up a steep hill in 3rd gear! Thanks to all. I will post a picture of my truck. Thanks again, Tracy in Omaha.

When I rebuilt the carb I soaked it for 3 days and sprayed Gumout Carb cleaner through the jet and every other opening and port. I could have left some dirt or small debris in there. I am going to go back through the carb just to be sure. Thanks Merle and everyone else.

Is there supposed to be a chassis ground on 6 volt systems? I rewired most everything under the hood and all of the front and rear lighting systems. I ran a new ground from the positive battery terminal to the transmission just as was original. There was no chassis ground, and as near as I can tell-there never was. I didn't add one as I thought that was how a volt was supposed to be. I have a 52 Packard also with a 6 volt positive ground as well and it doesn't have a chassis ground either. I don't know if that would cause any problems or not.

I did totally tear down the carb. I will just take the cap off and see how it runs. It is not a pressurized system and shouldn't matter. The tune up parts are all new. I will pull a plug and short it against the block to see how the spark is. As far as I know there is no other way to test the spark output. Like I said before when I bench tested the carb it squirted, but I felt that it was not what it should be, however I am used to doing 2& 4 barrels and have never done a 1 barrel before.

The cap looks very old. I doubt it is original but probably from the last century for sure! Would the vacuum (if the cap was bad) affect the fuel pressure test that I just did?

I have good fuel pressure to the carb-6 PSI. That is just a bit high but the carb is not leaking and the engine doesn't seem to be running rich at all. I probably need to go back into the carb. I rebuilt it 3 months ago, but have never rebuilt a Stromberg or a 1 barrel. Everything seemed to work ok. I cleaned out all of the ports and the jet. When I did the squirt test it squirted but I didn't think it squirted like it should. It just seemed a little weak. I have rebuilt many carbs before, but never a Stromberg or a 1 barrel. Anything special I should look for or give special attention to?