holley rebuild

[Rescue Diver]

ok i found another main body but i have a ? this main body is a 3837 the only info i can find on it is it came on a 396cid chevy. can i use this main body and put my baseplate and fuelbowls off my 1850 on it.

I have no idea what size a Holley 3837 is? The body determines the CFMs and it has to match the base. Odd are that if it's been used on a 396 big block chevy, it's way too big for your AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , and it probably won't work with your base plate. I would seriously look into just fixing the carb body you have. It doesn't take a lot of torque on the screws to hold the float bowl on a Holley without it leaking. If you don't want to do that, I'd be looking for another #1850.

 

[dalefan88]

one web site i found said it was a 585cfm.

 

[Rescue Diver]

one web site i found said it was a 585cfm.

Got a link? If the base size actually matches the bores of the main body, it should work. But that's a big if. 585 CFM seems pretty small for a big block Chevy, but ya never know. Was it the stock carb on some late 60's Chevy?

 

[dalefan88]

Got a link? If the base size actually matches the bores of the main body, it should work. But that's a big if. 585 CFM seems pretty small for a big block Chevy, but ya never know. Was it the stock carb on some late 60's Chevy?

this is what i found on a google search.

CFM on a Holley 4160 list 3837?? - Chevelle Tech

 

[Rescue Diver]

this is what i found on a google search.

CFM on a Holley 4160 list 3837?? - Chevelle Tech

Well it might be about the right size then. That link says it's a 4160. Does it also say 4160 on it?

I found this link for a 600 CFM 4160.

Holley 0-80551 Model 4160 Marine 600 CFM 4-Barrel Vacuum Secondary Electric-Choke Carburetor - Reviews & Prices @ Yahoo! Shopping

I'd say if the barrels match the size of the base and the gasket matches up, you're probably ok using it.

 

[DHugg]

Rescue Diver, I had some Holley 4160 stuff in my data bank. I just posted five files to DOCS. If it doesn't violate copyright, anti-trust, and any recent Supreme Court ruling, oughta be up in a day or so.

bonne chance

 

[CJ]

Rescue Diver, I had some Holley 4160 stuff in my data bank. I just posted five files to DOCS. If it doesn't violate copyright, anti-trust, and any recent Supreme Court ruling, oughta be up in a day or so.

bonne chance

Approved.

 

[dalefan88]

well i looked on ebay and a ebay one rebuilt is $1,200 buy it now. so i went and bought it anyways for $10. if it dont work i might be able to make some money of it lol.

 

[Rescue Diver]

well i looked on ebay and a ebay one rebuilt is $1,200 buy it now. so i went and bought it anyways for $10. if it dont work i might be able to make some money of it lol.

Well Dale, just rebuild the darn thing, sell it and buy a brand knew holley 390 and a new winch with that $1,200!

 

[dalefan88]

Well Dale, just rebuild the darn thing, sell it and buy a brand knew holley 390 and a new winch with that $1,200!

dont think ill get that much lol. its just the main body. looks like a double pumper so i cant use it anyways.

 

[Rescue Diver]

dont think ill get that much lol. its just the main body. looks like a double pumper so i cant use it anyways.

Bummer! The 4160 marine carb I saw in that ad was a vaccum secondary.

 

[MN CJ7]

well i got the carb rebuilt now the bad part. when i bought it, it was missing two screws for the primary fuel bowl. so i order some and now found out why 2 where missing. one of the threads is stripped in the main body

I have seen a very good demo and used the same material to repair aluminum. I do not have a good picure in my mind of you screw location... but the alumiRod materials can be applies with swirl propane, acetalyne, or oxy acetalyne (hot) if carefull. Evalluate/look to see if any other heat senative items in the area and looks to be good app. There are a few others below that would work too.... Good Luck... here is a bit more... do not miss the need for Stainless Steel Brush clean up... a steel brush will mess up the applicaion of alumirod.

The AlumiRod is stronger than alumium and is used like braze. I have repaired a few alumium cast decks and it does work..

Will have to clean away any surface oxide.
SS brush has to be used... if steel is used it will not stick to steel and some of the steel on the alumium will not allow the alumirod to wet. Some of the tech sites omit the SS brush trick so dont forget.

This can be used to fill a hole, while molten put in steel fastener and molten alumiurod will solidify and not stick to steel threads. Will need to find steel fastener that matches the carb hardware. This will give you a threaded hole that is much stronger metal than the base alumium.

Could also just fill the hole and drill and tap too.

Seen this fill the broken ear on aluminum castings with steel below and a curved pc of thin steel to make the ear mold.... Fill the steel mold and let cool... Several time stronger than the orginal aluminum ear.

Could also use JB weld or similar and drill and tap it.

Pematex has a metal filled epoxy that can repair this issue too. Used for bearings housings and metal fill. Can be machined and turned and worked like metal. I have it in 3min and 5 min if remember right. 2 part epoxy.

I would use the alumirod if you have heat source...

Search the braze alumium, aluminum repair, alumirod and it should pop up. Alot of local stores in my area have it now too. Cool stuff.

 

[Rescue Diver]

the alumiRod materials can be applies with swirl propane, acetalyne, or oxy acetalyne (hot) if carefull.

Is that the same stuff I saw used at an auto show a few years ago where the guy fills a big hole in the bottom of an aluminum can and has you try and punch a hole through it with a screw driver? The can crushed before the aluminum solder would puncture. It was pretty amazing. I still wonder how well the stuff really works. It seemed almost too good to be true.

As far as the stripped thread in the Holley main body. The Fuel bowl is held to the metering block and the main body by four screws, one at each corner. I would be weary of heating the main body much because if it warps, the metering block will not seal and it'll leak fuel internally, causing the carb to run very rich and unpredictable.

A simple solution I thought of is that maybe there are some good threads remaining deeper down past where they are stripped? If so, a longer screw that would reach the good threads could be used. He just needs to be careful not to torque it down so much that he strips the remaining good threads. They aren't meant to be tightened too much. They should only be snugged down anyway so it doesn't warp the metering block.

 

[Rescue Diver]

Hey Dale, one other thing just came to mind. Your carb only has a primary metering block. The secondaries have a plate that is completely covered by the float bowl. The screws for the secondary float bowl are much shorter than the screws for the primary bowl because the primary bowl screws have to go through the bowl and the metering block before they reach the main body. Which bowl has the stripped threads? If it's the front(Primary) bowl, make sure it has the correct, longer screw than the secondary bowl takes. I've never managed to strip a screw in a holley carb in countless rebuilds because they go so deep into the threads that you would really have to be cranking down on one to strip it. That makes me wonder if the previous owner used a wrong, shorter secondary bowl screw.

Also, are the stripped threads in one of the top or bottom screws? If it's in a top screw hole, that's above the fuel level so it'll be far less likely to leak if it's not tightened enough.

 

[dalefan88]

Hey Dale, one other thing just came to mind. Your carb only has a primary metering block. The secondaries have a plate that is completely covered by the float bowl. The screws for the secondary float bowl are much shorter than the screws for the primary bowl because the primary bowl screws have to go through the bowl and the metering block before they reach the main body. Which bowl has the stripped threads? If it's the front(Primary) bowl, make sure it has the correct, longer screw than the secondary bowl takes. I've never managed to strip a screw in a holley carb in countless rebuilds because they go so deep into the threads that you would really have to be cranking down on one to strip it. That makes me wonder if the previous owner used a wrong, shorter secondary bowl screw.

Also, are the stripped threads in one of the top or bottom screws? If it's in a top screw hole, that's above the fuel level so it'll be far less likely to leak if it's not tightened enough.

it on the primary side (longer screws) if everything is off it will thread in but when you put everything on it dont. i can look down the hole and see where it is stripped and at the very bottom there is good threads.

 

[dalefan88]

Well Dale, just rebuild the darn thing, sell it and buy a brand knew holley 390 and a new winch with that $1,200!

i put the other main body on cl and already got a offer for $50. thats a $40 profit lol. im holding out for more

 

[Rescue Diver]

i put the other main body on cl and already got a offer for $50. thats a $40 profit lol. im holding out for more

Good deal! Since it's a pretty rare factory carb from a car that people like to restore, you have all the power!

 

[Rescue Diver]

it on the primary side (longer screws) if everything is off it will thread in but when you put everything on it dont. i can look down the hole and see where it is stripped and at the very bottom there is good threads.

Go to a good fastener supplier and find a longer screw! Who cares if it matches the other three on that bowl.

You never answered if it's an upper or lower screw???

 

[dalefan88]

Go to a good fastener supplier and find a longer screw! Who cares if it matches the other three on that bowl.

You never answered if it's an upper or lower screw???

lower

 

[Rescue Diver]

lower

Still shouldn't be a problem if you get a new screw that's long enough to utilize all the remaining good threads and don't over tighten it. I'm still trying to figure out how the PO managed to strip one of those. Are they the type that take a regular flat blade screw driver or do they take a socket? He must have really cranked down hard to strip one of those. They really only need to be snugged down as long as the bowl gasket and the round screw gaskets are good.