1949 Dodge 230 straight six carburetor

[Andy]

Hi, the Stromberg carb on my 1949 Dodge Coronet Club Coupe with a 230 straight six was rebuilt and for a couple of hours did run ok, but is now playing up the guy working on my car has said it all points to the carb and its pretty worn inside. New carb is needed but need some advice on what carbs and manifolds I can use on the engine and where I could maybe get them from. Thanks for any help

[Mike36]

Hi Andy, difficult to do a accurate diagnosis without seeing the vehicle. Your mechanic may be correct, but I do not think your Dodge would run ok for 2 hours and now the carb is too worn on the inside to work correctly. You may want to get a second opinion. Hopefully another forum member can direct you to a mechanic with experience on these engines that is within driving distance for you. If you post exactly what the malfunction is, we may be able to give you ideas on what to check. Might not be your carb, maybe distributor vacuum advance isn't working. Until we know more ,it's a guess.

[Radarsonwheels]

I have a weber 32/36 clone on my 230 from langdon's stovebolt- it starts instantly like fuel injection and the power and drivability are awesome. 

I had a lot of old junk that if I drove it to work it was too much trouble to crank up and warm up to grab lunch or run an errand real quick but my truck with that carb on it is fantastic!

[Andy]

5 hours ago, Mike36 said:

Hi Andy, difficult to do a accurate diagnosis without seeing the vehicle. Your mechanic may be correct, but I do not think your Dodge would run ok for 2 hours and now the carb is too worn on the inside to work correctly. You may want to get a second opinion. Hopefully another forum member can direct you to a mechanic with experience on these engines that is within driving distance for you. If you post exactly what the malfunction is, we may be able to give you ideas on what to check. Might not be your carb, maybe distributor vacuum advance isn't working. Until we know more ,it's a guess.

Hi Mike, the mechanic is am honest guy that I trust 100%, another friend re built thr curb and said it wasen't great. Howard then got the car running as hadn't been started for about 30 years, he said it needed to be tuned but couldn't get it running right which all leads to the carb. Couple of people told me the stromberg carbs on these can be a bit of a pain. So want to replace as the engine seem good. The carb in a Stromberg 380 383 BXVD-3

[Andydodge]

Andy, being in the UK would restrict the number of options I suppose, inline 6's with a single downdraft carby that come to mind are late 50's/60's Vauxhalls, possibly small Bedford Trucks/vans or what about Ford Zephyr/Zodiacs?.......am trying to think of alternatives that are on British cars.........at least here in Oz we had the GM Holden from 1966 to late 70's which used a 186/202 cube six and single throat Stromberg carby with the same bolt pattern as the Mopar Carter or Stromberg, cheap, plentiful and works well........Tom Langdon at Stovebolt Engineering sells new Weber carbys & adaptors but I thought that they were only suited to twin carb setups but could be wrong...............how bad is your carby?......if the throttle shaft etc is worn then even a full kit isn't going to make much difference..........maybe find a carby shop in the UK who can rebuild it, they ain't hitech..........lol............anyway welcome to the forum from Oz and another Andy........Andy Douglas or andyd   

Edited August 12, 2017 by Andydodge

[ptwothree]

Might have some junk in the gas tank after all this time.

[Silverdome]

X2 on what AndyDodge and ptwothree said. Also double check the fuel line, hose and the fuel pump. After 30 years sitting there's bound to be more wrong than just a worn out carb. If all that has been found to be good a new throttle shaft can be made with relative ease at most competent machine shops.

Good luck and give us some more symptoms maybe we can help.

[Andy]

5 hours ago, ptwothree said:

Might have some junk in the gas tank after all this time.

Brand new tank and fuel line

[Plymouthy Adams]

20 minutes ago, Andy said:

Brand new tank and fuel line

bud did you clean the fuel pump in the process....?

[Andy]

38 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

bud did you clean the fuel pump in the process....?

Yes as a friend rebuilt it but said it was worn

[Plymouthy Adams]

I can't see a rebuilt carb running good for two hours then 'playing up' without some foreign object usually getting in the mix be it under the needle and seat for flooding of the bowl or in a jet to alter the flow....as for the fuel pump...either it pumps sufficient fuel or it does not pump sufficient fuel...have you truly checked the fuel delivery in quantity/time.  Do not be so quick to move to another subsection of the equation as often when doing this you add additional errors/problems and then troubleshooting really takes a nose dive.

[Andy]

Thanks for the advice everything but I'm not asking about why the carb isn't working, we know its the carb at fault and we need a new one. The advice I'm after is to find out what carbs will fit my car and where abouts it the best place to go and get one seen pictures of Dodges with a manifold that takes 2 single carbs and they look great so wondered if anyone know anything about them cheers

[Plymouthy Adams]

yes, the carb may be at fault...but I am only saying don't throw out the baby with the bath when a fresh rinse will fill the bill....but it's your car, time and money.

 

[Andy]

1 minute ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

I can't see a rebuilt carb running good for two hours then 'playing up' without some foreign object usually getting in the mix be it under the needle and seat for flooding of the bowl or in a jet to alter the flow....as for the fuel pump...either it pumps sufficient fuel or it does not pump sufficient fuel...have you truly checked the fuel delivery in quantity/time.  Do not be so quick to move to another subsection of the equation as often when doing this you add additional errors/problems and then troubleshooting really takes a nose dive.

It didn't run go it just ran and it still does but its not running very well at all, we have spent hours going through everything and it all leads to the carb so its time for a new carb. Just asking what people are running and where to find them

[Plymouthy Adams]

20 hours ago, Andy said:

Hi, the Stromberg carb on my 1949 Dodge Coronet Club Coupe with a 230 straight six was rebuilt and for a couple of hours did run ok, but is now playing up the guy working on my car has said it all points to the carb and its pretty worn inside. New carb is needed but need some advice on what carbs and manifolds I can use on the engine and where I could maybe get them from. Thanks for any help

 

1 minute ago, Andy said:

It didn't run go it just ran and it still does but its not running very well at all, we have spent hours going through everything and it all leads to the carb so its time for a new carb. Just asking what people are running and where to find them

sorry but I read two different reports from post one to that of just now...just trying to establish if the carb got a fair shake....I have no suggestion for replacement...

[Andy]

2 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

yes, the carb may be at fault...but I am only saying don't throw out the baby with the bath when a fresh rinse will fill the bill....but it's your car, time and money.

 

With what its cost a new carb is by far he best way to go, the guy that works on the car works just on 40's and 50's cars and ww2 army vehicles and everything leads to the carb and the mate that rebuilt the carb said its not the best carb so maybe hit and miss

[Andy]

Just now, Plymouthy Adams said:

 

sorry but I read two different reports from post one to that of just now...just trying to establish if the carb got a fair shake....I have no suggestion for replacement...

People were trying to help with the problem trying to sort it which is great that they are happy to help but we know the problem and need help finding a new carb

[Plymouthy Adams]

3 minutes ago, Andy said:

People were trying to help with the problem trying to sort it which is great that they are happy to help but we know the problem and need help finding a new carb

I hear you........I would think the mate with all the 40/50's and vintage military models would have experience changing carbs to a different/modern model based on the cfm and air fuel ratio for selection of proper jetting.

[Andy]

19 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

I hear you........I would think the mate with all the 40/50's and vintage military models would have experience changing carbs to a different/modern model based on the cfm and air fuel ratio for selection of proper jetting.

He would like me to stick with a new Stromberg or Carter as he likes the cars to be as they were when new, but I would like something a bit different but he will set up what ever I find. I have seen a picture of a dodge where the manifold took 2 single carbs and it looked great but can't find anything about it

[Mike36]

Andy, for a 2 carb manifold contact Earl Edgerton at Edgy speed shop. I'm sure he can answer many of your questions as he manufactures speed parts for your .engine.

[Andydodge]

Andy, the Offy twin carb intake manifold is still made by Offy apparently & is available via US ebay, I had one for the 230 I was building as shown in this pic, it also shows those Holden Strombergs.......Don Langdon at Stovebolt Engineering sells the twin Weber carbs as well as the HEI dissy that I used on my 201 and it also fits the 230.........andyd.

[ptwothree]

12 hours ago, Andy said:

Brand new tank and fuel line

Sorry...I missed that.

[Andy]

20 hours ago, Andydodge said:

Andy, the Offy twin carb intake manifold is still made by Offy apparently & is available via US ebay, I had one for the 230 I was building as shown in this pic, it also shows those Holden Strombergs.......Don Langdon at Stovebolt Engineering sells the twin Weber carbs as well as the HEI dissy that I used on my 201 and it also fits the 230.........andyd.

Thanks for that Andy, I will look in to it

[Andy]

22 hours ago, Mike36 said:

Andy, for a 2 carb manifold contact Earl Edgerton at Edgy speed shop. I'm sure he can answer many of your questions as he manufactures speed parts for your .engine.

Thanks Mike will look in to it

[greg g]

Just remember that old saying about 90% of carb fuel problems are cured by fixing the ignition, and 90% of ignition problems are fixed by repairing the carburetor.  Did you check for vacuum leaks after the carb was reinstalled?  Other than the throttle shaft, and accelerator pump plunger, what is there on a carb that wears out?