Good evening! Long time no see because it was too painful to hang out here when my poor Genevieve was sitting in the garage looking completely forlorn and not running.

A friend of ours who is a mechanic came over tonight after work (we're going to pay him, not expecting a freebie). He had previously said that it was a flooding problem. He got a chance to take the carburetor apart. He looked at all the little parts and finally figured out that one of the floats had a leak & had gasoline in it! Of course, it couldn't float if it was full of fluid...so there we had the problem!

We put it in hot water to find the leak, he carefully used a dremmel to allow the gas an escape route & we painstakingly got it all emptied out. He used our (totally inadequate) soldering iron to try to seal it, but that part of the process failed. He took it home where he has a good one that will get hot enough to seal the leak. He's hoping there's nothing on the schedule Sunday & he will come over after church to put it back together again!

I am completely excited that we finally have the problem diagnosed and partially fixed!

I got a chance to see him take the carburetor apart and see all the little parts and pieces. William explained to me the function of the parts and how they went together. It was very educational for a non-mechanic but wanna be mechanic like me!

So, I thought I'd give the latest on Genevieve. YAY, she should be up & running soon!
Stacie

Cool!

What motor is it? What carb is it?

It's a Chevy 4.3 liter V6 with an Edelbrock Performer 1406 carb. (that makes me sound so knowledgable but really John was feeding me all the words)


I was going to try to link back to the pictures John posted with the spooge on the garage floor from the smoke, but I couldn't find the post.

Stacie

Ok, John sent me the thread.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=57677&hl

In case you'd like a look see of what we've had going on.
Stacie

Ahh, I missed that thread. Why repair the float? Why not buy a new one? They've got to be available.

i agree. the #1406 is still in the catalog so parts should be avail. my guess would be that your local edelbrock distributor can source the float for you. 600 cfm w/elect choke. www.edelbrock.com. tech line # is 1-800-416-8628, 8-5 pst.

k

edit. edelbrock's catalog is nice. the float level is checked with a 7/16" drill bit.

Great idea! We didn't think we'd be able to find anyone with it in stock around town and John did a search & didn't see any local brick & mortar places listed with the part.

I checked out Edelbrock's website (which you gave, thanks!) and voila, I was able to find one locally with it in stock. It involved a during-rush-hour trip downtown, to the "bad part" of town (I took my 15 y.o. wrestler son with me for protection and company) where the store was going to close in about 30 minutes, but I MADE IT and Genevieve is worth it.

We have the part. Our mechanic-friend is still planning on coming over on Sunday to install and test it. He said he thought I could do it if I'd seen how the linkages were connected, but I didn't....

I've waited this long, though, so I suppose I can wait another few days.

Btw, the trip TO the parts store only took about 20 minutes, but the trip home took about an hour!! Ugh...I hate rush hour...but I love that I work from home & don't have to commute usually!

Stacie

good to see your on the mend. 600cfm may be more carb than the 4.3 needs. I would switch to a 500cfm 2 barrel. On of the most common mistakes novice hotrodders make is over carbing. Have you guy check to see what jets are in there and what power valve is in there. Also, check the power valve. If you've had a back fire chances are it's blown.

Rick,
Thanks for the advice. I'll have him look into it & see what's up on that front.

I don't know a whole lot about the person we bought it from, so I don't know his level of skill on the upgrades (whether he's a novice or not).

I absolutely cannot wait to have Genevieve up & running again. It's been far too long. We live in central Alabama & the weather right now is absolutely perfect 914 weather. Pleasant and sunny.

Hopefully next week I'll be putting some miles on her!
Stacie
p.s. The guy at the parts store was funny. I told him what I needed the floats for and he had all kinds of questions. He was amazed that a Chevy V6 (in my case...a V8 in John's case) could be put in a 914. He was saying things like, "wow that car is light...with that engine, I bet it really GOES, huh?" It was fun talking with him about it. His eyes lit up during the conversation.

I did the same type of repair to a float on a 780 Holley dual-feed. The engine ('71 Dodge Charger with 440 Mag) had flooded, backfired, and my wife walked away from it. A man heard the backfire, ask if he could help, she said yes, he opened the hood and then put out the fire. )It only melted the air intake scoop a bit).

It flooded because the float had a hole in it and it was full of gas. I used a high temp soldering iron to heat the float and the gas. The gas evaporated and shot out the pin hole (so I knew where the hole was). I made sure the gas was all out and soldered it closed.

Now to answer the question of why repair the float, I was making <$350.00/month and I had a car payment, rent, insurance, food, etc. to pay for. It was a simple decision for me. Of course that was back in 197[3-4] at Minot AFB, Minot ND. Sometimes it is an easy decision.

I understanding taking the inexpensive way out when needed -- altogether too well, as a matter of fact.

I had no idea that the floats were going to be inexpensive (<$20 including tax)...or that we would be able to find a local source that had them in stock (we didn't want to wait an extra week for shipping time and for another opening in William's (our mechanic) schedule...he's got a wife, full time job and two very young children.

When we owned our 914 in 1988 I would have taken the soldering route because we were struggling college students at that point.

So your fix worked way back when?

Stacie

Ok, I'm gonna scream! Our friend and I got the new floats put in the carburetor and got it all put back together...no flooding problem anymore.

I get in it to start it & expect to hear the wonderful pur of the Chevy motor. Nope...I hear the fuel pump go on & then hear the starter make noise and nothing else.

We did some investigating. Apparently the gear on the starter is totally sheared off (the teeth?). He removed the starter & showed me how to replace the piece that is broken in case we go with a new gear rather than a whole new starter. Not an incredibly difficult fix, but I'm really supremely bummed at the fact that my car is still not working when I was so anticipating driving it today (PERFECT convertible weather today!).

So, thought I'd give the update.

Stacie <still grounded...sigh>

it will push start. park on hills and don't stall the car at a light.

Sorry about your luck bonita. I know any good shop can fix a sympl Chevy problem at a reasonble cost. And you don't have to second guess the mechanic's knowledge of your engine since it is a common one from here.

Good luck!

so, how's the weather out your way? We used to live in Glen Allen (the "fashionable west end" as all the real estate rags used to say). We moved to Alabama about 4 1/2 years ago...great weather for 914 driving.
Stacie

I had the same leaky float problem on an edelbrock carb - I wouldn't want to get a hot solder iron near a gas filled copper tank!!

Also, no power valves in the performer carbs - that is a Holley thing. These use stepped needle valves and springs. Get the kit - around $30 and it has all the springs and needles to tune.