VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Need a re-man Carburetor

Hello all
I'm a brand new member today of the VCCA and the Forum.
I have a nice "survivor" 2nd design 1946 Chev 3/4 ton truck. Probably well enough preserved that I don't want to "restore" it, but do want to improve it.
It has a Rochester carb on it and I want a re-manufactured Carter W-1 to replace it with. I of course have no core to send back yet, so need to buy a carburetor outright.
I'm not asking for the names of vendors people have had bad experiences with... but would like to know the names of vendors people have had good experiences with.
Thanks in advance to anyone with advice to offer!
O Olson

Dean Echols, Chino Valley, AZ (928 710-4325) has been rebuilding Rochester and Carter downdraft carburetors for several years. He should have a rebuilt one or could rebuild one for you. He test runs his carburetors on a Chevrolet six cylinder engine to be sure they are good to go. Doyle Stokes, Georgia also rebuilds them. Has had ads in the G&D for rebuilt W-1s. Don't know his current status he is in his 80s so may no longer be doing them.

Just a update on Doyle Stokes. As of last month he has officially retired from the carburetor business.

Thanks very much guys, I'll give them a try! Glad to be here.
O Olson

Hi Ole,

One suggestion is to post your topic in only one forum. Even it is not the most correct one it is better to get all the responses in one thread.

Thanks for joining us and good luck with the truck.

Thanks Chipper!
I phoned Dean and he's going to build me a carburetor.
Talk about a great group of people... joining up was the best thing I've done in some time.

Dean will get you a good rebuilt carburetor. Since I trained him several years ago he has steadily gotten better at the rebuilds. Most W-1s behave nicely and rebuilds are fairly easy. Occasionally there are the red-headed stepchildren. I have a '38 W-1 that I haven't touched in years. I tried everything I knew, consulted with Jon and others it it still doesn't run right. That is after rebuilding over 100 of them all but a couple successfully. Despite what other rebuilders will tell you bench testing is not as good as running them on a good well tuned Chevrolet test engine of the same or nearly same displacement.

Chipper - I had a 420s like that a bunch of years ago. Customer had issues, I rebuild it again, same issues. Gave customer option of full refund or a different carb. Customer was understanding and asked for a different carb. Sent customer a different carb and he was delighted with its performance. Took the one that wouldn't work apart slowly using a power metal saw. After several hours of cutting and examining I found that a previous "rebuilder" had drilled out the main discharge nozzle, and drilled into the sealing surface. There is always a reason.

Both bench testing and engine testing have their respective benefits, and detriments.

Jon

Jon,
A modification by a previous "rebuilder" might be the case for the '38 I am having fits with. What is the lesson is to do the best you can, allow the customer to complain and in the end to make as many as possible happy. None of us are perfect but we can be accommodating and understanding. There are plenty of carburetor rebuilders but few that are on the top of their craft. The fact that many are on Chat to help others says a lot for the site.