Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Need Help/Info Carter W-1 carbs

I have been starting to fashion together a 2x1 set-up for my 292. I am straying from the typical mono-jets and opting for the more vintage look of the carter W-1.

As a result I have been collecting several W-1 carbs trying to restore the best ones to use.

Here's the thing though. I have 4 at the moment. Two of them have vertical linkages that go from the throttle shaft to the choke shaft. These ones apear to close the throttle butterfly when the throttle shaft is pushed in a direction that would indicate acceleration.

The other two I have do not have the vertical linkage, and as expected open the throttle butterfly when the throttle shaft is pushed toward acceleration.

So I'm kind of at a loss here trying to figure out why some would close while others would open with the same model carbs. I'm thinking that maybe it was a difference in thottle linkages maybe? Can anyone explain the difference to me and point me in the right direction?

At the top of this page is Carter Carbs
http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/Carbs/index.html

Also you might check the "Other Sites" at the bottom of that page. Please note: Some of the pages have JPEGs of Shop Manuals and are slow to load on dial up. If you print them you will use Lots of Ink.

Thanks for the link. I've been frequenting that page lately to try and make sense of it all.

I got some good info from the stovebolt forum. It turns out that the linkage on the side is a "fast idle" linkage.

The operation still does not make sense to me, but it has been said that this version is the best version, incorporating all design upgrades to teh W-1. It was only made for the 1949 model year and was the last W-1 in production.

I haven't decided if I am going to keep them or not. I might sell these ones off and opt for the YF or rochester model B. We'll see.

I'd appreciate any input based on personal experience on teh matter.

Thanks.

The older the carb the harder it is to find parts for. It kinda depends on if you are trying to stick with something that looks original or if you want reliability / performance.
When going with a carb... bigger is not always better. If you are putting too much fuel in the motor will bog down.
Try googling: carb cfm formula or carb cfm calculator - and find one that you understand.
Keep in mind that real world Volume Efficiency is more like 80 percent than 100 percent. Also real world Max RPM for an I6 is more like 4000 RPM not Ten Thousand RPM.
One quick check said about a 250 CFM carb is what you would need for 250 CID at 4000 RPM at 80% Efficiency.
Other considerations are: Is this a Highway Car or Work Truck? What kind of axle gears and transmission and if you have headers or a fancy camshaft.
To answer your question... If you can find some more common carbs and have two plus one spare, and a spare rebuild kit. That is what I would get.

The W-1's to use are 483 and 574, they all have the same feature, and that is a fuel bowl vent tube. If it doesn't have this, it is too old and shouldn't be used. The good carbs also all have two bends in the throttle lever arm. If it has three, or is flat, its the wrong one to use.
The 684 was the last one in the series, and can be used also, but they are a little more expensive to rebuild. These can be identified by the fast idle linkage going from the throttle up to the choke.

Carbking is the guy to talk to about these carbs. He had posted a really nice guide for these carbs, but I think its gone now.

The 1949 Models with the fast idle linkage are the ones I have. I have 4 of them right now. But after tracking downa nd talking to carbking. He seemed to feel that the W-1s won't put out enough for a 292. So I'm re-considering the idea and thinking about going with a couple Rochester Model Bs that were used on the 235s. I figure they should be fine. Trying to sell many of my 1bbl carbs so I can get a couple of the Holley remanufactured model Bs. Autozone sells them for $150ea. Would save me a lot of time to start with ones that are known to be remanufactured to spec and actually match.

worse comes to worse, I'll mount my 4bbl intake and use that until I can get the 2x1 worked out.

I'm a bit surprised he would tell you that. He hates the Model B, and loves his Carters.
I would think that 2 W-1's would have more CFM than the original 292 1 bbl would have???

I do NOT recommend the rebuilts from Holley/Autozone. Ordered one; it was poor right out of the box so they sent it back and reordered a second one. It was bad also. Never left the shop. I ended up having mine rebuilt for about $170. Guaranteed Carburetor right here in Tampa. They did an awesome job and it looked way nicer than the Holley rebuilds.

http://www.guaranteedcarbs.com/

Bryan

He didn't recommend the model B's. He just suggested against the use of the W-1. He didn't think two of them would be enough. I don't really think he made a suggestion to be honest. But I figure that the Model B was used for many years and must have worked alright to stay in production for so long.

The Carburetor Shop is the one where I read that Model Bs would be good with a 292. http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/RochestermultipleB.htm

The fact that I could also get them rebuilt/remanufactured played into the choice also. The other thing is that I'm trying to keep a vintage look and the mono-jets, holley webers, etc look out of place. They also won't fit my early 1940's chevy truck air cleaners.

I purchased two of the Model Bs listed for 235ci engine. I got them through autozone, but the were remanufactured by CPI. I have no info on the company. I suppose if these don't work out, I'll try somewhere else or maybe try a different type of carb.

Suggestions are welcome.

In the 'Tech Tips' section of the website there is a good writeup by Pat Smith on setting up dual model 'B's.

You guys shouldn't be afraid of rebuilding a Model B yourself.

You guys are throwing away alot of money on these iffy rebuilds. A kit is only $12. As long as the body isn't warped, and the throttle shaft hole isn't worn out, there's no reason you can't rebuild them. It doesn't require any special tools. Everything is explained in the factory shop manuals, and they provide a exploded view in the instructions that come with the kits.

I use a very very small amount of Hylomar sealant on the main body gasket for insurance and I have had no problems with leaks.
The "B" is much maligned by many, but it is a very simple, cheap and attractive carb by comparison, and if you pay attention to what you are doing, there is no reason they can't work well. I use them.

I'm not afraid to rebuild them. I've rebuilt several 2Gs, Q-jets, holleys, Carters, etc. However, I didn't have any matching cores and didn't feel like tracking any down. I also wanted a "like new" finish on them and don't have much capability to di-chromate.

If it's an iffy rebuild.... I return it and get my money back, no time wasted, aside from finding out it wasn't right. Then I go get them somewhere else. I've gone the route of buying a bunch of cores and doing them myself and once I figured how much time I was spending searching for cores, waiting for shipment, inspection, fixing warpage, rebuilding.... on top of the compounded cost of buying the core, buying multiple cores to fix other cores, having the cores shipped, buying rebuild kits, $3ea can of carb cleaner, etc. It just seems like a wash to me and I'd rather spend the time doing something else on the project.

If I'm lucky, they will be just fine and I'll go along my merry way. I guess I'm willing to take a chance and get lucky. If I'm not lucky, I get the money back, no big deal.

Well- I admit when I am wrong. And I'm saying straight away that you guys were right about the autozone carburetors. When they showed up, they didn't match. One had two passage holes in the base plate the other didn't. Neither had rebuild tags or any way to identify if they were even for the 235ci motor. The fast idle linkage was hanging on by two threads on one of them and the other had a badly dented air horn.

In any event, I've returned them and gotten my money back. So now I need to know where else to look.

I've tried Jim Carter and they have no cores and are way too over-priced. Chevs of the 40's has them at a fair price, but they look like they were cheaply remanufactured by the pictures and have a spray-paint finish. Carburetor Shop doesn't seem to have any available.

Can anybody point me in the right direction of where else to look for a quality rebuild? I'd even be willing to consider Carter YFs at this point. Also still willing to listen to other suggestions as long as they include carbs that have the air horn that will accept the early 1940's truck clamp-on style air cleaners.

I appreciate it.

Possibly http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/ He helps on this site as Carbking.

It says in his article that they no longer remanufacture Model Bs. Thanks anyway.