VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Carter Carb Finishes

Hello All - I have been a VCCA member since I bought my '31 Coach in 1970. Have decided to restore the car again and for no particular reason started with the carb. I have a couple questions please. Yesterday I completely disassembled it except for the venturi and stand pipe. These two parts appear to have been pressed in and I'm guessing would be difficult to remove. Am tempted therefore to clean them up as best as I can through the carb openings but not to remove either one. Good plan or not? Also what finish did Carter use on the various carb parts? The body appears to have been painted black. Is that original? The brass parts I will just polish but what about the steel parts - choke and throttle levers, etc.? Where they painted or just left natural? Thanks for your help!

As best we know the body was black (same as generator, not a high gloss), the brass parts were stamped brass (also not high gloss), the steel parts were zinc plated (or silver cadmium plated) bright but not glossy. A rust colored triangular fiber inspection tag attached to choke lever shaft between the spring and arm.

I have two new old stock Carter 150-S carburetors in the original boxes and the choke arm, throttle arm and the other steel parts on those carburetors are Parkerized (black phosphate).

The problem with NOS in the Box (I have had a couple of them) carburetors is the vast majority were manufactured years after original production. The ones with the brass tags were definitely later production replacements. Spare parts have the zinc plating. Also I have rebuilt a few with the fiber tag still in place and they all had some of the zinc plating still intact. Since the carburetors were built in two plants is it possible that they did things differently. Also it is highly likely that these in the box were manufactured in St. Louis as the Bay City plant would be making carburetors for the current production. Yes, they could have taken a few off the line for service parts. That we will never know.

Either of these guys can break your carb down and bring back to like new condition. They both do great work!

Long shot here: How about that "rust colored triangular fiber inspection tag". Anyone have a stash of NOS of those, or making reproductions? Would be neat to have one.

If enough people really want one they can be reproduced. Very few originals still exist. I am sure they were only put on during carburetor assembly to verify inspection. Any not used would have been discarded 80 years ago.

The brass tags however were used to verify inspection but also identify models. Up to 1932 only one model carburetor was manufactured at a time. Beginning in 1932 car and truck carburetors were different. The truck carburetor bodies had a raised "T" in the casting so they could be differentiated from passenger car. Starting in mid year '32 changes were made internally so the brass tag would have been necessary to tell the early and late apart. If the carburetor was made in Bay City it would have the tag with Chevrolet part number. If St. Louis could have either Chevrolet or Carter number on tag. Later manufacture have the Carter number on tag. After '32 the "T" was no longer used to designate truck carburetor bodies so the brass tags became even more important in identifying the correct carburetor.

Many thanks for the information and advice!

And.....if a carburetor was made in Bay City there will be a big "C" embossed on the carburetor.