VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Crazy Carburetor

I just called The Carburetor Shop. They wanted 90 dollars for a rebuild kit for a Tillotson JR5A for a 31 chevrolet. This seems crazy to me. All the thing seems to need is an accelerator pump.
The prices I've gotten from this shop seems pretty frustrating. I am NOT going to pay 1000 dollars for a carter carb, I don't care if they ARE worth that. I may wind up having to pay 300 dollars eventually, but it means I won't be driving my car for a long time.
I guess it's always the little stuff, eh?

Vetteman, Have you talked with the Junk Yard Dog? He might be able to help you out or point you in the right direction.

Can't help with a Tillotson.

The accelerator plunger pump on a Tillotson carb(JR1A-JR5A)is an inverted steel cup,with a small steel or brass shim washer below the holes in the base of the plunger.As the plunger is drawn upward as the car speed is reduced,the shim washer moves downwards,allowing the upward moving plunger to draw gas up into the accelerator plunger well from the fuel bowl.Upon acceleration,the downward motion of the plunger foces the the shim washer to act as a valve,blocking off the holes in the plunger allowing the accelerating fuel charge to be discharged through cross drilled holes into the accelerating jet that protrudes into the venturi.
So,if the shim valve is damaged(bent or torn in the case of a brass one,or has rust holes in the case of a steel one),there's nothing to go wrong with the accelerator plunger.
All you really need to o/haul a Tillotson is a needle & seat(with fibre gasket),main body gasket(preferably neoprene cork),
a new fibre gasket for the adjustable main jet seat face and use an "O" ring to seal the end of the main jet where it seats against the lower body,and a soft flange gasket(not cork or hard paper gasket material),and after adjustment,it should run very nicely.

WOW Skip, I thought that you knew everything! Oh well, I guess that you have to leave something for the rest of us to know.

He knows ALMOST everything, but he doesn't know where Elvira is!

All the Best, Chip

Elvira was working as a toll collector in Pennslyvania, We used to see her every year on the way from NY to Hershey.

Elvira is no longer in Pennsylvania......you can find her right here: http://www.elvira.com/gallery/elvira.html

I don't work on Tillotson carburetors because I don't have any parts for them.

You may have described this in your description. If so, I apologize, I'm not very good with the technical terms.

I believe I misspoke about which carb was having what problem.

What's wrong with my Marvel/Schebler carb is that the accelerator pump shaft had a round end on it with a spring underneath wrapped in what seems to be leather. This is what seals the inside of the cylinder. That leather has ruined by improper installation by someone long ago.

I'm not sure what's wrong with my Tillotson carb yet because I haven't taken it apart, however it spills gas out the air inlet and won't idle without throttle. I suspect it may be a float problem, but I don't know, I know little about a lot, and even less about carburetors. I'm just trying to figure it out as I go.

Brandon

You may be able to fabricate a replacement pump leather and carefully take apart the original, replace the leather and then crimp or weld (wire feed welder and wet leather) back together. Never tried it but have made leather cups using stuff around here to make a mold. Pieces of pipe, sockets and other round objects can be used. If you wet a piece of thin leather thoroughly, press into mold and let dry, it will make a cup shape. Trim, make a hole and install. A little oil on the leather will keep it supple and help the installation.

As with Skipper, I don't have parts for the aftermarket carburetors so don't work on them. Unfortunately don't know anyone that does work on them either.

I think I might have a Tillotson carb in the shop. I'll look today and see what shape it's in or if it could be used for parts.

Ya, parts for the aftermarket carburetors are really hard to come by and I don't know of anyone that will work on them either. Since there are lots of Carter 150-S carburetors out there (which is the correct carb. for your application) I would rather do those because not only is it the correct carburetor, but parts are being reproduced for the Carter updrafts as well.

JYD is really trying to help you. Junk the Tillitson or sell it to a Ford person, Ask around this site for a Carter carb for your 31 Chevrolet, say...please, maybe that will help. What does a fuel syatem cost for your Vettes?

I have a NORS Tillotson for a '29 to '31 I bought at a swap meet some time back - still in the box. Send me a PM and maybe we can work out a deal. I need some work done on the Carter that is on the car now. These things won't easily fit a Ford since the mounting bracket is canted 45 degrees.

There are a couple of cracker jack old Chevy carb rebuilders that frequent ChatII. Either of them can do a bang up job on your Carter. One is just down the road in AreWeGone. The other in the Great State of Texas.

It is best to use neatsfoot oil on the leather plunger. It is used to soften baseball gloves among other things. You can get it at some hardware stores and some sporting goods stores. It is also used to soften the leather in vacuum windshield wiper motors. Clean off the top of the wiper motor, and use an eye dropper to dribble oil into the hole on the top of the motor. Do this with the engine running with the wiper motor on and connected to the vacuum line. This should extend the life of the wiper motor if the body of the motor is not warped with age.

Chip, I believe you rebuilt the carb that came with my car when we bought it 10 years ago. During the early six tour in Nevada this summer it started running really poor. I decided to try swapping the easier external parts, starting with the plugs. Next it was the points. The last it was the carb. Next step was the not so easy path. As I had it running a spark came up past the exhaust valve stem. With 20# compression on the number 2 cylinder the writing is on the wall. After I got the head off unfortunately it has tracings down the inside of the cylinder wall on 4 of the cylinders. If I am lucky it is maybe broken rings?. The crank was .003 out of round, and there is .014 end play on the thrust bearing when I worked on the bearings two years ago. This 81 year old engine has probably given its best and needs a desperate rebuild this winter. We stopped by Skips place while down in Medford last month looking at a '33 sedan and got the grand tour. I will be sending him some work soon.