Jeff Balazs

Sorry should have read Float valve. You are absolutely using too much fuel. I would think that you are just pouring fuel into it and this could cause some real problems. 12 miles per gallon is probably the lowest you should ever see. Sounds like you need to find the correct carb.

Better check to see if flat valve is working. You must be smelling the gas pretty bad.

It sure is clever. Would look great on the right patina truck. Thanks for sharing. Jeff

Not sure what one could do component wise to increase the thermal efficiency of one of these engines. The piston treatment mentioned earlier is for an air cooled engine. Our engine behaves entirely different from those conditions. If fact I believe these engines take several minutes of run time until they are up to true running temperature. The one item in this equation that does come into play is sparkplug selection. They are definitely not all created equally and I feel that finding the "right one" does make a difference. The only other item that I can think of that has a profound effect on this thermal efficiency is the air/fuel ratio that is actually reaching the combustion chamber. Getting this "adjusted" properly is I believe what will make a difference across the board. Jeff

I don't know as the design of our flathead engines is all that bad but they could definitely benefit from some help in the area of the induction system. The more I think about this the more I think a turbocharger and a throttle body injection system might just be the ticket. I have seen a few write ups on this but nothing really definitive. Jeff

I use one just like in Reg's photo with the my fresh air equipped heater. Btw Mark just wanted to let you know that the heater I got from you has actually been getting some use here the last few weeks. It has been raining quite a bit and I have been using the defroster with the heat off to keep my windshield from fogging up. Works pretty darn good with the blower cranked up. This was the main reason I installed a heater so I am very happy with the results. Jeff

Jim; I sure like what you did. Btw....what & who's cam are you running? Thanks, Jeff

Brent; Yes. They do work but can't handle a 200 watt stereo amplifier when it is cranked up. I use the little cube inverter to power my GPS speedo and stuff like that. Jeff

You are correct......the small cube type transformers will overheat and shut off. I found a much better unit made in New Zealand that does the job just fine. It is larger and has heat sinks and a cooling fan. Don't remember the rating but have had no problems since fitting it a couple of years ago. These were listed on ebay and were around $125 or so as I recall. Hth, Jeff

I really expected to see an old Chrysler Industrial generator. Man talk about a let down..........

Looks like you need to put the doors into a couple of bacon stretchers.............

I know for a fact a bee can make it in ....in one piece

Very interesting........had never seen a set up like that! You would think it would have taken a fair amount of power just to turn it over. Again very interesting and thanks for posting it. Jeff

Can't tell from the picture.....might be a turbo of sorts?

That centrifugal unit sure is an interesting bit of kit. Wonder who made those? Jeff

Any chance the float level is set too high?

FWIW I added cab marker lights like you already have. I highly recommend leaving them as they make a huge visibility difference when driving at night. They are period correct and could have been added by a dealer. Jeff

I wonder why people who have no real interest in a topic feel it is necessary to demean it or drag it off topic? If you don't care about it why not just move on? There are plenty of other threads to read here. We all know that this engine in the stock configuration is never going to set any amazing MPG records. And we have to accept that for whatever it is. But there are some of us who feel that with the right modifications we might gain quite a bit of efficiency and at the same time improve performance. Some of the old speed equipment based mods have been discussed and have some merit but they are all based on decades old thinking and equipment. These for the most part utilize the same old carbs and are limited by that same design. I have spoken with one member who ran dual Carter-Webbers that felt his car ran much better with them than it did with the dual B & B setup. I for one am not surprised by this as these carbs are light years ahead of the old B & B when it comes to ease and range of tuning characteristics. It would be interesting to hear from more people that have had actual experience with this setup. When I was looking for my truck I came across one that had a throttle body injection system installed on it. The owner claimed it ran very well but I never went to see it. Wonder what that was all about? Some other engine related items that may be of interest in this topic are cam selection, free flow exhaust systems and ignition/timing. I think there is a fair amount to be gained from this discussion. I saw where one contributor mentioned having a cable controlled timing adjuster. There may be something there to consider? And I think there are other ways to gain a bit of efficiency in how well these vehicles drive and perform. I get it that most folks are happy just to have a decent runner.......but I can't help thinking there is room for improvement over this. Jeff

Yes me too. And if anyone is running a pair of webers on something like this.

Might just be the difference the Pertronix module makes too. If you stop and think about it this system isn't really subject to problems caused by dirt, moisture or corrosion like a set of points and a condenser. And it is a 1000 times less likely to have an adjustment problem. Jeff

Thanks Jim; I like what you have done. If you have any photos of the routing of your exhaust system I for one would appreciate seeing it. Regards, Jeff

I will be working on this later this spring. I am certain that there is more than one way to get there. Just have to remain open minded. One thing is for certain there is all sorts of room for improvement. And Fred my use of lazy was meant to be collective.......in that it is all to easy for all of us to settle for status quo or less than optimum. Jeff

I drive my truck daily so I care about how efficiently it runs. That is I believe what the OP had in mind when he started this thread. May not be 30 mpg but whatever the best number you can get is better than just accepting a poor number because you are too lazy to give it some thought. I wonder what might happen if we put some new ideas to work here for a change? Jeff

Thanks Jim; Looks very clean. I like that. Are you running dual mufflers ? Jeff

Knuckleharley you are right about how driving conditions affect the outcome. I brought up this tuning technique though to highlight how one might be able to really achieve optimum ....whatever that happens to be. If one were to do this type of tuning at least you would know for certain when you were at optimum for the equipment you have to work with. You could only take it so far with a device like the Carter B & B but if you had something like a Weber then you might be very surprised by the difference a few jetting adjustments makes. Of course there are many parts to the puzzle but it would be fun to see what could be gained. I went through this many years ago with another car I had and just by swapping to Webers I managed to go from 25 mpg to 43 mpg with a heck of a lot more grunt. So it is doable......and potentially a win-win. None of us win any prizes for dumping raw gas out the tailpipe. Jeff