‘Heat soak’ sure was an issue with my all-orig. ‘55, when I first got it.  The valve on the pass. side exhaust manifold was frozen, thus constantly pumping half the exhaust thru the intake (all paint burned off there). Deleting that valve, and installing a truck intake gasket largely cured my starting problems.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

The 1955 Thunderbird had a thick carburetor mounting gasket from the factory.  It was basically 4-5 relatively thick carburetor gaskets stapled together.  That was Ford's method of trying to isolate the carburetor from the intake manifold.  Some of my fellow Early Thunderbird owners have installed an electric fuel pump with a switch.  They turn the switch on to fill the carburetor then shut it off for regular operation.

Thank you Kultulz. I get mixed reviews from the basement keyboard tappers - people try to flame me out for using that Summit carburetor. I could care less. I really enjoy the experimentation factor and what all the tuning provides in the learning process. That "Summit" carburetor is an old Holley variant anyway.

You are spot on with the "out of the box" carburetor needing to be calibrated and adjusted. Too many guys nowadays are used to the plug and play mentality so I guess the tuning factor eludes many.

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

An excellent write-up on re-calibrating a carburetor to operate properly using ethanol laced gasoline -



The chances of an aftermarket carb straight out of the box being calibrated correctly for an application is remote.

It has to be calibrated for/to the vehicle,  especially with today's fuel.

An EXCELLENT WRITE-UP.

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Here is something everyone needs (IMO). A pre-EVAP carbed car using ethanol laced fuel - https://www.amazon.com/REV-X-Super-Tester-Flex-Ethanol/dp/B073HLSVHX

When all of his began with the intro of ethanol, FORD was using feedback carbs/CFI and the water in the fuel problem(s) came so problematic that FORD called down for service dealers to analyze the vehicle gasoline for excessive water. If excessive and the EVAP was working correctly, any repair was put on the owner.

When you buy gasoline at a station, you have no idea of what you are pumping, especially with the mixing pumps. The first gallon out of that hose is whatever blend the previous customer used, it's not being TOP TIER or possibly the distributor has had problems. I have experience tankers dropping it in the wrong pot.

And then there is summer/winter blends ...

Before buying the above, read the reviews. There are several versions available.

FACTOIDS FROM THE REV-X ADV -

• ETHANOL FUEL BLEND INFO -

"Over 95% of the Gasoline sold to the general public contains up to 20% of Ethanol Alcohol. Therefore,the only way to truly protect your investment is to know if ethanol-alcohol is present in the gasoline you are purchasing and, if so, at what percentage. The REV X Super Tester provides the average person with an economic tool to measure and test fuel for proper ethanol levels.

Ethanol Is Corrosive

Ethanol, like all alcohol, (with exception of fine KENTUCKY BOURBON ) is very corrosive and hygroscopic (attracts and absorbs water from the air and its surrounding). High amounts of this highly corrosive mixture of water and ethanol will corrode all fuel system components not designed for it. Besides the corrosive nature, the increase in water will begin to rust out the top of gas tanks, including in warm-weather climates that generally do not have rust issues.

Ethanol Can Damage Fuel Systems

Ethanol's ability to attract and absorb liquids prevents the natural lubricants in gasoline from doing their job, causing all non-alcohol resistant parts like rubber and plastic to dry out, crack and eventually fail.High oxygen levels in ethanol-blended fuels cause fuel to decay much faster, and if left to sit, that decay leaves deposits such as varnish and sludge. The sediments left by the decaying ethanol-blended fuel will clog fuel filters, fuel injectors,carburetors, and fuel lines. Making your engine hard to start, idle rough, stall, and in extreme circumstances, engine failure.

Ethanol Decreases Fuel Mileage

High oxygen levels in ethanol cause fuel to burn much faster than fuel without ethanol. This means more fuel is needed to produce the same amount of power. However, ethanol-blended fuels will generate more horsepower.However, they do so at a cost. That cost is seen at the pump with lower miles per gallon.

Ethanol Decreases Fuel Life

Ethanol increases the octane level in your fuel. Because of this, the base gasoline used to mix E10, E15, or E20 starts at a lower octane level.The ethanol then increases the octane level. As a result,ethanol-blended fuels will begin to decay in as little as two months due to ethanol evaporating faster than gasoline, leaving behind the much lower octane base stock. This is a severe problem for boats, lawnmowers, and other power equipment that do not get used as frequently as your car. In addition, most small engines today are not built or designed for ethanol and have much smaller fuel system components.

These smaller components are much more susceptible to ethanol damage at a much faster rate".

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Well, there is a safety factor here, and OEM, NASCAR and NHRA emphasizes it (them).

BTW - An electric pump is designed to push, not pull. You can also experience vapor lock (between the tank sump and electric pump) as to how yours is mounted, in addition to possible vapor lock from the electric to mechanical fuel pump. In short, the electric pumps needs to be at the tank to operate the system correctly..

If you find your install satisfactory, that is fine. But others need to know what can happen.

The spring loaded toggle switch is prime only. If you experience vapor lock while driving, you need to look at other causes/options (IMO).

VAPOR LOCK EXPLAINED - https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine-vapor-lock/

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I frequently forget, but have never noticed any difference/problem as a result.  I would rather have the option of testing/running in case the mechanical pump should fail (couldn’t drive very far in a stick shift car while holding a switch down).
BTW: 6V electric pump was simple to install on the bird (under driver’s door, where the fuel lines connect), and has the advantage of not only saving starter wear, but also engine wear from extensive cranking without oil pressure.  Also, running low-ethanol premium fuel is worth the added expense to me, even though my rich-running Pony teapot (straight-thru exhaust) & advance-limited LOM distributor gets terrible mileage.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Probably a bit off the original topic here but here are the comments I made regarding the BTU content and its effect on fuel mileage posted awhile back.



Here’s the link to the post from which that came from.
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/FindPost163552.aspx 

Performing a search on this forum using ‘BTU’ as the search criteria brings up a number of discussions regarding this topic.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Sorry fellas, been in the kitchen (and at the table) lately... also took a trip to Solvang, California, a quaint little Danish town that happened to be very nice.

On the fuel mileage increase - my fault for not clarifying. That was indeed an increase over running the non-ethanol gas. (89 octane) 

Your comments and own findings are much appreciated. On the ethanol fuel and my experiment a few years back with that temporary glass cylinder fuel filter... it was very evident to me what the fuel was doing. I do have another clip of running pure gas and the fuel not boiling/staying full in the filter/etc. I did have that clip in the extended version, just disregard some of the temporary setup I had under the hood there, it all did not last long. That video is here: https://vimeo.com/354777491

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

"I noticed the 2 MPG increase in fuel economy.  Is that same increase gained is you use regular unleaded non-ethanol fuel such as available in most states? 

I am wondering if just the elimination of the ethanol is a factor in increased fuel economy?

This should explain it - https://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Ethanoluse.htm

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