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I’m having a brand x worked on. The float bowl over-runneth. It was happy
with its vacuum tank, but that no longer works. The electric pump that worked with no regulator in the past, now floods the carb. I am about to purchase a Mr. Gasket 0-6 lb. adjustable regulator that probably doesn’t do what it says it will do and might give me a range of 2.5 to 3.25(?). Can any of you direct me to a proven superior product or a single pressure device of 1 or 2 lbs.?
I have used the Mr Gasket regulators in a pinch but their quality is lacking.
There are some expensive options out there (as far as fuel regulators go) but this one seems to be well made and it pretty consistent.
The vacuum tank on my Rickenbacker never worked properly so an electric pump has been used for decades on the car so I’ve gone through a few different fuel regulators over the years.
I’m a proponent of using the original pieces when possible.
We just rebuilt a vacuum tank on a 1927 Dodge Brothers cabriolet. With carb and vacuum tank dry, just a few turns of the engine will get gas to tank and start car.
Vacuum tanks are good systems, they just have to be clean and tight.
Remember that a car with a vacuum tank had maybe a two foot drop to the carb, so you only have about 1 pound pressure at the carb (0.43 pounds per foot of drop).
I agree with David: you can’t beat gravity for reliability !!
The vacuum tank system is actually quite simple. And it works well.
Adding another couple of devices like the electric pump and pressure regulator just adds to the complexity, and the number of parts that can potentially go bad.
Tony: if you will post a photo of the vacuum pump canister and mechanism, we can probably get it working again.
Greg Long
Greg: Thanks for all the help you have given so freely. After a new clutch
and brake overhaul the Rambler is alive ($4,500) It took over a year to get
it back. Learning how to post photos is on my New Year resolution list. Vacuum
tanks work well when they work well. I had one quit on me after hauling the car
5 hours to a tour.The needle and seat won’t work with the electric pump/
regulator. I intend to follow Craig’s advice and if that fails, mount a
Carter BB1. It’s for a ’22 Stude Big Six that’s trying to work up to be a 20
footer some day.
Is that vacuum tank one of those ingeniously simple complex devices that are trouble free once you get all the problems fixed? Jim
My problem with the vacuum tank on my Rickenbacker was finding the correct parts to even attempt to make it work properly.
Easier to look for parts these days with the internet but also harder to find said parts because of scarcity.
After traveling 100 miles to nab a BB1, my mechanic notified me that the
car was running beautifully thanks to a donor B&B carb that materialized.
Jim,
Vacuum tanks can and do run flawlessly once sorted out.
There a a ton of Stuart-Warner vacuum tanks offered for sale on eBay.
Even if the tank itself is not correct for one’s car, some of the internal parts, float, etc., are interchangeable.
One major issue is getting a good seal on the top with the cork gasket (permeated helps).
Then there is a possible problem with rusty float springs, but once replaced (SS springs) you are good for another 90-years.
Peter
Attached link to a friendly fella that rebuilt mine. He came highly recommended.
James
James, thanks for the link.
I will contact him and see what he has for the vacuum tank on my Rickenbacker.
Tony:
I’m VERY happy to hear that the Rambler is alive and well!! Will you bring it to the Modoc this September? I’ll be there with my ’25 S80 touring. I ‘d really love to see it run the Modoc tours. What a car !! I think my left are is STILL longer than my right one, from all that pulling on the crank starting that beast !!
Regarding the SW vacuum fuel tank system: you know how a toilet bowl float system works? The Stewart Warner vacuum system is just about like that with a few ‘twists’ included.
I guess i could ‘hold class’ at the Annual meet in Rohnert Park, and show what the system looks like and what it takes to make it work.
The one in my ’27 s80 in the museum worked flawlessly for about 5 years before I donated the car. The SW tank in Miss Helen works well. The SW tank in my S80 7pass touring works well, as did the one in my ’25 right hand drive ‘Aussie’ 4p touring.
George’s ‘Humphrey’ was reliable as was his S80 4p Deluxe Coupe. All run on the vacuum / gravity system.
I’ll bring a spring/gasket kit for the SW tank and a few spare parts to Rohnert park for the swap meet.
Greg Long
Tony, until you get your vacuum sorted out….
The last part of my tome on vapor lock in PASB will cover mechanical and electric fuel pumps, but I don’t have any experience with vacuum pumps, and I don’t know what the limits of pressure are for them. However, basically I have found only three 6 volt electric pumps available anymore. There are two versions of the small Airtex thumper pumps, they look to be identical except one is rated for 4-6 psi and the other 3-4 psi. I believe the higher pressure is E8011 and the lower is E8902 but you can confirm on the Airtex website. I use them for priming the carburetor mainly. I haven’t had very good luck with them. The third 6V pump is the rotary which is overkill in terms of flow and goes up to 8 psi and definitely needs a pressure regulator. They are available as both an Airtex E84259 and a Carter P4259. I have one of these on my Pierce with an adjustable Holley regulator. It initially was adjusted to near zero fuel pressure so I think it should work. I got it from Summit racing in Sparks.
Jim
Thank you all for the remedies and for making this discussion group
the most useful and interesting of its kind.
Can I interject with a question here? My 1933 1236 has an electric fuel pump added. When I was first looking at the car, the mechanic who kept the car up, Bob Burkhardt of the Franklin museum, told me just to use the electric pump for starting the car. I’ve driven another member’s V12, and the electric pump was used whenever the car was running. Going back to my uncle’s Cadillac in Chicago’s pre expressway days, I remember vapor lock hitting the car when caught in rough traffic on hot summer days. He had to carry a 5 gallon can of water in the trunk, and put cool damp rags on the fuel pump to get running again. So, my question is, should I use the electric fuel pump in hot weather? The car does run fine with it off. It was 85F here today, and I got caught in a massive traffic jam with my 1236, and had no problem with either the fuel or overheating.
My ’29 has an electric pump just to prime the carb and then it runs on the stock fuel pump.
Even with the very hot weather here in So Cal I have never had an issue with vapor lock.
My guess would be if the cooling system is in good working order then vapor lock should not be too much of an issue unless you’re stuck in traffic in over 100* weather.
But then again, maybe the early 8 cylinder cars have less vapor lock issues than the later 8 cylinder cars do.
Ken Muellner, just be ready to switch on the electric supplemental pump if the engine stumbles on a hot day. Occasionally I’ve found it useful to turn on the pump just prior to stopping for fuel and for five minutes after fueling on a hot day, due to the potential for seat soak and vaporization while the engine is off for fueling.
Tony,
BTW, did someone look to see if the fuel bowl shutoff is adjusted properly?
I am talking about the screw in the center on the top of the fuel bowl cap that adjusts the float location / height / range.
On my Stromberg O-3 carb, there is a nut on the front of the fuel bowl that when removed will leak / spew fuel if the float is not properly adjusted (allows in too much fuel).
I “screwed” with that problem / adjustment a bunch until I got it correct.
Now, I never touch the adjustment on the Top Center of the float bowl cap.
In addition, did anyone check to see if you have a float that will not float because it is filled with fuel and sinks to the bottom of the fuel bowl?
Cracked brass fuel bowl / carburetor floats are quite common.
If a cracked / leaky float is the problem, advise and we can discuss how to best get the fuel out of the bowl BEFORE you attempt to solder the leak.
Peter
Thank You Peter. The car is a ’22 Studebaker Big Six (354 cubes). The carb
a Ball & Ball. It is an odd-ball as it is a two stage. It runs on the lower
part at normal speeds. At speeds above 40MPH an upper part kicks in with
additional air (maybe more fuel?). I have an ad with a Canadian Police Dept.
claiming their stock vehicle would go 75MPH and at times would ferry 15
officers to crime scenes.
The carb works now after a needle and seat transplant. I lucked out on the
float. I’m missing the cap that screws on the needle on the portion that
sticks through the cap. I had expert help with this to conserve my brain
cells. Luckily I have somebody who doesn’t take no from uncooperative carbs.
Both our 1936 1601 and 1933 1247 have run full time on electric pumps with NAPA regulators set at 3 lb. since acquired in 1994 and 2000 respectively. I use rotary type pumps available from NAPA and have enjoyed many thousands of trouble free touring miles. The use of the regulator to lower pressure is very important.
With both cars I warm start with the pump off, then switch on. With cold starts I run the pump for no more than 30 seconds before starting.
I also use the same setup in our 1941 Cadillac with similar positive results.
Dave