I've rebuilt Holley 2 barrels in the past with no real problems.... so far after 30+hrs of soaking my Holley 4 barrel parts the 'tar'/gasket crap they use hasn't budged much. Over the last 8 hours I've been using my scraper, removing a layer, or a few chips, then dumping the parts back into my cleaning tank to marinade for 2 hours. I'm getting a little leary of using the scraper too much or my stainless bristle brush on the throttle bodies, and plates since they're aluminum and I can scratch up the mating surfaces pretty badly. One of my candidates still has the metering plate stuck to the throttle body, I couldn't get it removed even using a hammer and a screwdriver (thought a soak might take care of it...not!)...

Anyhow, does anyone have a particular favorite tool to clean up these surfaces without causing major havoc? I have a friend who's used a little rubber 'scrubber' attachment on his 1/4" die grinder he got from Snap On, but I can't find a store in town that sells that item....(may have to borrow his...).

Any tips or tricks from the more experienced carb. builders on getting these cleaned up quicker /better?

Definately think Cecil's vaseline tip's going to make changing jets and power valves easier...

TIA

-D.Idiot


"Arrrrgggghhhh..."

What kind of solvent are you using to soak them in? Not all are made equal, I find napa's carb cleaner to be the best. It's expensive, $100 for a 5gallon bucket (they also sell them in the gallon bucket for $20-25 I believe) and it works miracles. Anything I have ever dipped in it either came out clean or could be cleaned by rinsing it off with a water hose. I believe it might be labeld "Mac's" brand cleaner.
You can also try aircraft paint stripper. That usually does the trick as well, and it works relatively quick for gasket surfaces already exposed. Kragen has it by the quart and aerosol can format in Mar-Hyde brand.

I started out by using my 5 gallon can of Berryman's (the orange stuff that makes your hand numb and burn if you try to retrieve you carb parts manually...). That didn't work out so hot on the gaskets, but sure ate the grease and dirt off of everything. Hosed them off, then dumped them into my 15 gallon parts cleaner and let them sit in the 'bath' (locally made petroleum distillate blend-xylene, toluene, and a few other hydrocarbons that aren't so nice to humans either...) for a couple of nights then started on them today. I have 1/2 a can of aircraft stripper I could try, but am leary of that since it uses an Ammonium dirivative that would 'eat' on the aluminum in the parts, etch them, and probably lead to corrosion....of course I could do a test dunk on the Holley 2300 and see if it kills it, then use it on the 4160's...

Thanks Pierre! will see what comes up....

-D.Idiot

If your worried about that you can dump the carbs back in the berryman after the aircraft stripper. The aircraft stripper might weaken if you dip the whole carb in it, I would just apply the stuff with a brush and just let it sit on the carb for a while. 1/2 hour should do it.
Also if you feel creative you can go to your local hardware store and get this stuff.. made by Jasco <sp?> brand, it is flooring adhesive remover, used like when removing linoleum from floors to install tile or carpet. That is some pretty strong stuff as well.

Side note.. where on earth did you scrougne up all these carbs from? Makes me feel almost sorry I paid $270 for a brand new holley 4160 390cfm from summit....

Sounds like a plan, I put another 'cleaner' candidate into the berryman's an hour back, I may rebuild it instead of the 1850-2....

So far, my spoils have come from a buddy who own's a tow company...I put the bug in his ear a couple of years back to start stripping cars/trucks going to the junkyard of carbs and HEI distributors, and anything else that might be good to grab....We also used to do demo derby together so my carb stash looks like: 3-4 Holley 1945's, 2-3 Carter BBD's, 3 Carter TQ's, 1 Holley 4165/4175, 1 Holley 2300, 350 cfm, 1 Holley 5200, 3 Holley 4160-600cfm, 1 Holley 4150, and I got the little 390 cfm about 18 months back from a guy on slantsix.com for $80 (pretty clean on the inside, but had varnish in some places....)

Anytime a mopar comes into the yard I get the grand opportunity to 'strip' the car of anything useful, on the condition that he gets a 'cut' if I sell anything, and he gets to use my 'library' when a weird car comes into the yard (still trying to decipher the two Dodge/Plymouths he picked up...one's a cranbrook...both are 'project'/parts quality)....

I guess I just get really lucky, or know the right things at the right time...know anyone who needs some 120 amp mopar alternators?


Thanks for your help again Pierre...

-D.Idiot

I am a huge fan of single-edged razor blades. Essential tool for many uses, and perfect for gasket surfaces like those. Really cheap too. Look for a box of 100 at a hardware or parts store for a few bucks.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I agree with Dart270. If I encounter a gasket that won't come off with a flat bladed scredriver i reach for the X-acto knife. Never fails.

Reed