I was thinking...

...last year when I experienced the carburetor float issue it took me a few weeks to locate and have delivered a used float. Rojo was out of commission for this time. In my mind it was peak operating time for her (e.g. Early Spring driving weather, Kid's baseball games, trips to Dairy Queen). In order to avoid future downtime I decided to look for a replacement carburetor in the event something similar happened again. A simple search on ebay motors helped me locate a seemingly perfect replacement carb for the same price I paid for the float one year prior - $40!

A Carter Ball & Ball E7T2

Could It Be The Carburetor Again?

While driving my truck for the first time this season, I experienced something eerily familiar when she stalled on me one Friday afternoon on my way to pick up my 2 sons from school. Almost exactly 1 year prior, the engine would on occasion get flooded by what I later determined to be a faulty carburetor float. But how could this be happening again, the carb was rebuilt with a new kit and carb float? I had my trusty Ecuadorian mechanic, Byron, make a house call to help diagnose the problem.

Removing the top of the carb revealed that some particulate was still finding it's way from the gas tank. Last year we talked about installing an inline, transparent gas filter near the gas tank and now was the time to do it.

Update: It looks like the inline gas filter has solved the problem. Rojo has been running like a watch the last several weeks. It will be interesting to monitor how long it takes the filter to become visibly dirty. All it takes is a quick peek under the driver's side of the undercarriage.

Now that's a Party

This past weekend my wife and I threw each other a combined 40th birthday party at our house for 70 guests. The real show-stopper of the night was incredibly delicious brickoven pizza of 20+ varieties prepared, cooked and served out of a 1946 International Harvester. The company apparently has 3 of these type trucks and business is so good that they do not advertise and are booked solid throughout the Spring, Summer and early Fall.

Big Green Truck Pizza

My Garage Sign

I have long had an affinity for old signs and have envisioned a garage full of them on display. Recently I had the idea of creating a personalized one of my own. With the use of photoshop and an internet printing company, this will soon become a reality. How do you like the design?

Tribute to My Nephew

In this year's 2010 NFL Draft my nephew, a very big kid from a small school, was taken in the fifth round by a team that was very impressed with his quarterback skills. Can you guess the team?

Carburetor Rebuild

Memorial Day weekend my truck cutout on me while cruisin' a few blocks from my house. It appeared as if I had ran out of gas, however, my tank was atleast half full (or half empty, depending on how you look at things). It later became apparent that the engine was not starved of gas but was getting too much and flooding itself. A friend of mine recommended a mechanic that would come to the house and take a look at it. A few days later an Ecuadorian guy named Byron came over and had my carburetor in pieces within seconds. The carb clearly needed a thorough cleaning. Unfortunately after reassembly the needle was still not seating correctly and the flooding continued, so a carb kit was ordered from NAPA.


Carburetor rebuild instructions

Update 7/21/10:

I now know what has been causing the flooding problem and I should have diagnosed it earlier, but hey I'm a novice and up until a week ago I had no idea how a carburetor works. The issue is a heavy float that has somehow taken on some gas. Unfortunately a new replacement float to replace the original brass float is not included in a carb rebuild kit. I was able to source one on the other side of the country at Mikes Carburetor Parts and Restoration.

Update 7/23/10:

Yesterday's mail included the usual bills, advertising circulars and 1 "new" brass carburetor float for my truck. I hope to make time weekend to get this project done and my ol' girl back on the road. Stay tuned....

Update 7/26/10:

New carburetor float, carb kit, gas filter and spark plugs and she is now running like a top. Without a doubt should experience better gas mileage. Special thanks to George Asche, a real class act, who provided me with the float at a very reasonable price. And most gradifying is getting over my fear of fooling with the carb. After dismantling and re-assembling serveral times I feel like a soldier that can breakdown and reassemble his rifle blindfolded...well maybe not quite that confident.

To Do List

This list is in no particular order. Click on the item for details on my progress for that particular item.

1. Repair Wipers (completed 10/5/06)


2. Repair Radio (completed, 12/20/06, hear it play)


3. Add Wood Rails (completed 9/2/06)


4. Add Seatbelts (completed 9/4/07)


5. Add Signal Lights


6. Repair Gas Tank Filler Tube Leak (completed 8/22/07)


7. Repair Gas Sending Unit (completed 9/10/07)
   
8. Add Passenger Side Mirror
9. Add Firewall Pad/Acoustic Pad
   
10. Refurbish Spare Oil Bath Air Filter (completed 3/22/07)
    
11. Add arm rests to door interior (completed 6/25/07)
    
12. Locate or fabricate missing center trim piece for Fulton Sun Visor (completed 7/30/07)
    
13. Add side-mounted spare tire
14. Carburetor Rebuild (completed 7/26/10)