49 truck carb rebuild or upgrade

[52diesel]

Well, I haven't found any interest in anyone wanting to buy my 49 B1B, so I'm slowly starting to talk myself into restoring it.

First things first, try and get it to run. The oil in the motor looks pretty good, it turns free, so I'm going to change plugs wires fluids and see if i can get it running off a gas can.

This brings me to the carb. It obviously needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Which one should I do? This is a factory 218, It will probably remain stock internals, might hot rod it with exhaust, intake, etc in the future, but not right now.

Is it worth it to rebuild this carb or do most people just end up replacing them with something aftermarket or adapt a 2bbl or something to it? I'm not afraid to build or modify and intake, but do these motors really need that to run good?

[HanksB3B]

A soft wire brush and a Dremel can reall make it look good. I have a spare I'm working on. I was really dissapointed in spending close to $200.00 on having mine rebuilt by a "carb rebuilder". I'm convinced it was working before I sent it out and I think they just tested it and shipped it back a little cleaner that's all. It leaks. So from now on or until I find someone local I can trust, I'll rebuild my own components. At least I'll know what I put into it.

Just my thoughts,

Hank

[JBNeal]

I hate to put a damper on yer enthusiasm, but ya might want to take a systematic approach to component inspection before sparking some charged air. If that engine has been sitting in the Texas heat for decades, odds are every seal from timing chain cover to rear main is crunchy and the valves might be gummed up in their guides. What bugs me about that truck is why was it parked in the first place, that kind of information would be gold. My '48 was parked for 20 yrs by my Dad cuz it ran fine but burned oil; turns out the rings were stuck, no internal damage. My '49 was parked purty much for the same reason for 20 yrs, as evidence to the crud I scooped out of the oil pan & water jackets. Both have leaky main & cover seals that I will need to address asap cuz I'm not allowed to park in certain driveways & local parking lots.

A few suggestions to mull over: if the oil looks ok, see if you can drain it out & re-use it. If the pan plug can be removed but sludge is blocking it, see if ya can get the sludge out with like a coat hanger or other stiff wire. I've taken one, bent it so it can swing around inside the pan, and taken samples from the '48 to see if any crud has built up in the past ten years.

Inspect the valve area for valve + lifter movement. If they are gummed up & there is lots of sludge in the chambers, get some good parts cleaner and a stiff nylon brush & have no mercy on the enemy. Getting that area moving freely is a must.

Pull the distributor & soak the advance mechanism in Marvel Mystery Oil. Those little parts freeze up and you'll have heck getting the motor to run right. Cap rotor points condensor might be in order if they are too far gone. Odds are the vacuum advance diaphragm is toast, so don't expect too good of performance without replacement. I eventually sent my distributors off to a pro in Michigan who tore down, cleaned, serviced & tested them on the right equipment. It cost a few bucks, but so far so good...

Remove the cover from the regulator & inspect the points. Clean, square points are best for the 6V system. The innerds might be full of spider eggs & whutnot and that

will need to be blown out.

I highly recommend pulling the generator & starter and taking them to be serviced by a pro. I had them take'm apart, cleaned them thoroughly, replaced all the critical parts with new, lubricated and tested for less than $75/each. With the exception of a starter pinion shearing after 5 years, those electrical parts have been trouble-free. Check with Bigham Implement or Williamson Cty. Equipment for recommendations if ya don't already have a guy.

As for the carburetor, check the air horn for the model & order a kit. The kit will have an exploded view of the assembly, as well as installation instructions. Once disassembled, soak it in parts cleaner for a couple of days to get all the varnish & crud softened up. Get a small stiff wire, such as a strand form a copper wire, and snake out any visible passages carefully. Shoot compressed air in all of the passages, assemble & prime. The fuel pump will need the same attention, but this can be bypassed with a temporary gravity feed gas can.

Anyhow, that's a lot of work but it will save a lot of headaches. It's not a full engine teardown, but it'll address some critical areas that can bring about a satisfactory end result.

[Frank Ollian]

I would just rebuild your original carb, get it running and see what you have to work with. Get a base line, this way a new carb or intake won't complicate any tuning problems you may have. The kits don't cost too much and it's not too complicated. You may get lucky and it will run real sweet. Good luck.

[jmooner3]

Just ordered one from NAPA for a 50 B2D Number on carb: 382884, it's a stromberg. Ordered NAPA part "CRB 25106" $26. Should be in my mailbox next couple days...

[my48stake]

I hate to put a damper on yer enthusiasm, but ya might want to take a systematic approach to component inspection before sparking some charged air. If that engine has been sitting in the Texas heat for decades, odds are every seal from timing chain cover to rear main is crunchy and the valves might be gummed up in their guides. What bugs me about that truck is why was it parked in the first place, that kind of information would be gold. My '48 was parked for 20 yrs by my Dad cuz it ran fine but burned oil; turns out the rings were stuck, no internal damage. My '49 was parked purty much for the same reason for 20 yrs, as evidence to the crud I scooped out of the oil pan & water jackets. Both have leaky main & cover seals that I will need to address asap cuz I'm not allowed to park in certain driveways & local parking lots.

A few suggestions to mull over: if the oil looks ok, see if you can drain it out & re-use it. If the pan plug can be removed but sludge is blocking it, see if ya can get the sludge out with like a coat hanger or other stiff wire. I've taken one, bent it so it can swing around inside the pan, and taken samples from the '48 to see if any crud has built up in the past ten years.

Inspect the valve area for valve + lifter movement. If they are gummed up & there is lots of sludge in the chambers, get some good parts cleaner and a stiff nylon brush & have no mercy on the enemy. Getting that area moving freely is a must.

Pull the distributor & soak the advance mechanism in Marvel Mystery Oil. Those little parts freeze up and you'll have heck getting the motor to run right. Cap rotor points condensor might be in order if they are too far gone. Odds are the vacuum advance diaphragm is toast, so don't expect too good of performance without replacement. I eventually sent my distributors off to a pro in Michigan who tore down, cleaned, serviced & tested them on the right equipment. It cost a few bucks, but so far so good...

Remove the cover from the regulator & inspect the points. Clean, square points are best for the 6V system. The innerds might be full of spider eggs & whutnot and that

will need to be blown out.

I highly recommend pulling the generator & starter and taking them to be serviced by a pro. I had them take'm apart, cleaned them thoroughly, replaced all the critical parts with new, lubricated and tested for less than $75/each. With the exception of a starter pinion shearing after 5 years, those electrical parts have been trouble-free. Check with Bigham Implement or Williamson Cty. Equipment for recommendations if ya don't already have a guy.

As for the carburetor, check the air horn for the model & order a kit. The kit will have an exploded view of the assembly, as well as installation instructions. Once disassembled, soak it in parts cleaner for a couple of days to get all the varnish & crud softened up. Get a small stiff wire, such as a strand form a copper wire, and snake out any visible passages carefully. Shoot compressed air in all of the passages, assemble & prime. The fuel pump will need the same attention, but this can be bypassed with a temporary gravity feed gas can.

Anyhow, that's a lot of work but it will save a lot of headaches. It's not a full engine teardown, but it'll address some critical areas that can bring about a satisfactory end result.

Who did your distributor rebuild in Michigan? I'm in Michigan and would like to have mine rebuilt (it hasn't run since 1973)

[JBNeal]

Burton L. Norton Company in Grand Rapids...found'm in the Hemmings, they advertised that they used a Sun Machine and they did a heck of a job on my '48 & '49 distributors. That was 10+ yrs ago, so I don't recall how much they charged, but it was worth it I reckon. Take a good picture of your ID tags though cuz they'll come back bare after they strip the crud off.

[HanksB3B]

you could always pop-rivet them back on, even spruce them up a bit with some red paint.

Hank