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If anyone needs one, there is one listed under Pierce Arrow.
Just passing info on.
Item #231216659886
To anyone considering bidding on the carb: Be very careful. There are many UU2’s that were used on other cars and they have smaller venturis than a true Pierce-Arrow UU2. A good thing to ask the seller is what number is on the two hex head jet plugs that are visible by looking at the bottom of the outside of the float bowl. For a Pierce carb they should say “.046 Jet Plug””. A smaller size jet is a red flag.
Buyer beware.
Bill”
Bill is correct, and also more than 80 percent have internal issues that make them just good for parts. John has a scrap box with more than 40 UU-2 carbs in it, they just don’t hold up as well as the uur-2 carbs. Ed
The early UU2’s are the worst because they have zinc die-cast throttle bodies which suffer from crystallization and cracking. The later UU2’s have cast iron throttle bodies and are somewhat better. FWIW the one pictured in the auction has a cast iron throttle body as near as I can tell.
Bill
Yes Bill you are correct. BUT the UU-2 has a higher zinc content in the bodies than the UUR-2 bodies, that’s why UUR-2’s are ten times more stable than the UU-2. Ed
Interesting stuff-thanks for posting gents! John
Hmm, I always thought it was antimony that caused the crystallization problems.
Bill
I sent a question to the seller, the jet sizes are 34 and 35, so it’s definitely not a pierce carb.
Alimony causing crystallization?? , Sorry, couldn’t help..
I think it’s the water in the gasoline, I’m sure a carb that is kept full of good gasoline will not turn white, I have one UU2 that has a ‘high-water’ line in the float bowl, below, it’s all white and crusty, above, is much less corrosion, and in some areas no corrosion.
Greg L
So, even if the jets are wrong, couldn’t they be swapped out for larger jets or are the internal passages also under sized?
Venturies are wrong size, both large and small, as well as idle circuit tube, main jets, air bleeds, choke and choke horn, economizer valve, idle discharge tube, linkage, idle mixture screw, idle channel holes, and several parts of the casting are different. (There are no less than 5 main body castings and three different upper castings.) A Pierce engine is either 366 CID, 385 CID, and the 1930 model C 358? But UU-2 carbs were built to run on engines from 198 CID to over 500 CID. SO yes there are huge differences from one carb to another. You could easily spend 700.00 on buying correct parts to convert it to PA. Add another 400.00 if you need another choke horn. It’s cheaper to buy the correct carb than to install the wrong one and burn a valve running lean.
Greg,
I really did mean the element antimony. I collect pre-WWII Lionel trains and in that world truly “Original Condition” is the most prized of all the trains. Unfortunately all of the train manufacturers starting putting zinc die-cast parts on their trains starting in the mid ’20s or so. By the ’30s there were a LOT of die-cast parts used and many of them by now have disintegrated. It is disheartening to see this happen while the train is sitting on your display shelf.
What happens is the metal begins to blister, swell and crack. It eventually warps and breaks into pieces. It’s been called “Pot Metal Disease” among other things. My understanding is that there were other elements in the zinc diecast mix that caused the decay and antimony was one of them. It seems that by the early forties the mixes changed and the castings got much better and less prone to disintegration.
All of this applies to the zinc die-cast parts used on our cars. It’s most evident when interior trim pieces begin to fall apart but carburetors and fuel pumps are also involved as well. I think all of the Stromberg carbs with die-cast float bowls used on Pierces are vulnerable and the UU-2’s are the worst.
It is a good idea to pull your carburetor off the engine every year and inspect it thoroughly for signs of blisters in the die-castings. Those blisters are usually the first signs of trouble. The most dangerous this is to develop a crack in the float bowl and have an uncontrolled gas leak.
Thanks for the complete rundown, Ed.
I have a decent running, original UU-2 on the car now but was wanting to find another one with a good, solid body to transfer the parts from this over to.
That was the crux of my question about what all was different about the various models of carbs.
Guess I’ll have to keep an eye out for a ‘Pierce’ UU-2 since I know all of the old car bodies are on borrowed time.
Bill, I intentionally miss spelled ‘antimony’ into alimony. Sorry for my attempt at sarcasm and cynicism.
I know a lot of the white ‘crust’ in the float bowls is Lead Oxide, and the various other chemicals in the gasoline that is left behind when the gasoline evaporates.
It just seems that on the few UU2’s I’ve opened up, those that had been regular drivers, and almost never sat dry, were in much better condition.
No doubt that the Pot Metal is a great problem for our cars..
I’m happy that the S80’s had brass interior knobs, handles, fittings.. EXCEPT for:
EXCEPT FOR the items on the instrument panel: ignition and headlight switch handles and switch housing,
speedometer housing, and the PRIMER handle.. All usually will cause problems for the owners.
Greg
Well I might as well ask, what kind of issues are there with EE-3’s since that is what I have?
Bill
EE-3’s have no issues. The UUR-2’s are MUCH better than the UU-2. Ed
I’d like to choke the choke on my EE3’s! They have a
strong attitude, and it isn’t a good one.
750.00 and still 2 hours to go. People like to gamble. I wonder where it will end up. Notice the extra hole in the choke horn and the moden fitting on the drain. Not a good sign that it is a old spare, more of an indication it’s a take off with problems.
Sold for 750.00.