Re: [AMC-list] Anybody got a core Holley 1909? Or upgrade? Or rebuilder?

[tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

Bruce, just a reminder, hopefully pleasant! just how much successful
work you've pulled off on that car of yours. I recall when you first
got it everything needed sorting out, you couldn't drive it 100 feet
without problems, which were all interacting. Now it's pretty damn
reliable, and your problems all seem containable, predictable, known
and fixable. Congratuations! Foolish persistence pays off! :-)

> - but the idle set screw (or whatever big 'ol
> screw it has) seemed stripped out a bit. Turning it in did not do
> much. The carb works, and I got some good miles out of it. But I could
> not get the idle slow enough. It worked fine for grocery trips and
> heading out on the highway, though.


Jim's advice is good. Be warned though that the screws holding the
throttle plate to the shaft are staked on the back so you can't just
unscrew them all the way. But you should be able to turn them a bit,
1/4 turn, enough to loosen and get it to close all the way. If you
snap off a screw it's a PITA to fix! Two fingers on the screwdriver,
if you need to wrestle it out it will break, it's a #6 or #4 screw,
pretty small. Hold it up to a bright light and see if you can see any
daylight around the throttle plate in the bore. Of course back out the
idle stop screw all the way.

His point about the needle being screwed in too tight and ruining it's
seat is a good one. With the carb off you might be able to see or feel
it. It should just be a tiny hole (.015" or so) just below the
throttle plate.  If you can feel a raised area around that hole it was
probably overtightened. Note that with the needle seated the tip of
the needle may poke through the hole (normal). Back it out to feel it.

On the car, take the screw out; the needle ought to be a perfect cone.
If it's got deep scores or grooves that's almost always from
overtightening.

BUT you have a stuck needle and seat or sunk float or something that
made it flood. Another possibility would be high fuel pressure, fairly
impossible with a stock pump, but COMMON with aftermarket electrics. A
gas-wet engine is a scary thing, but if you can't find anything wrong,
check float level setting, clean the bowl and needle and seat,
reassemble, and see if it happens again. It is possible that some
small piece of crud lodged inside the system somewhere got in there,
one time. --> Since your car is so clean and sorted out now it might
be worth checking. Maybe also look for shiny metal around the float
assembly where a sharp edge or spring wire caught on something. THe
carb is old, all sorts of craziness happens to them over the years...
with stuff like this I get all zen, pull up a comfortable chair, a
bright light, and stare and stare at the thing. It's surprising what
subtleties you can discover.
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