Restoring - General discussions that span across many different groups of years and models > Drivetrain
Autolite 4100 Restorations
Dan Case:
--- Quote from: caspian65 on January 26, 2018, 02:42:28 PM ---Great post, thanks for sharing. I've also found varying finishes/plating on all the bits and pieces. Quite different than what some of the 'concours' restoration services, where they usually just do everything in zinc w/dichromate. I prefer to restore carburetors myself these days as I have not been able to get consistent nor correct finishes on the parts. I've had shops ruin the carb body by blasting them with coarse/abrasive media.
Paying to have a small batch of zinc and zinc w/dichromate isn't terribly expensive. I'd rather pay the extra to make sure it's all like it should be.
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You are welcome. The tough pieces are the two large aluminum die castings. If they are damaged it is a waste of time for me to mess with them on my behalf. Everything else can be dealt with one way or another.
I have helped Cobra owners come up with correct functional carburetors for their cars. I do not restore them but I help find great cores and fix any issues they have, most often missing or incorrect parts but sometimes damaged or modified parts. It takes me on average three (3) carburetors and a few parts purchased loose from a given time frame to come up with 100% of the parts one (1) would have had originally. On one commercially "restored" assembly that a Cobra owner had already purchased every screw and washer in the assembly was something brand new that just looked sort of like what Ford used. I bought a fantastic condition common Galaxie model made the same month and rendered all the way down to the little press in core plugs to UN-restore the "restored" carburetor the best I could.
I also come across, in commercially restored units, modified or incorrect calibrated parts (jets and auxiliary booster clusters) in high performance models of carburetors, rare parts of rare assemblies. Some auxiliary booster clusters are really hard to find as loose parts.
Carburetor wise I concentrate on Cobras and a lesser degree 427 Cobras so I can discuss what I know about the Ford and Holley brand carburetors used in Cobras with XHP-260, HP260, HP289, 1965 427 8V (CSX31xx 427 Cobras) and 428 PI (CSX32xx 427 Cobras) engines. I do not know much about the carburetors for XHP-260 as they seem to be engineering prototypes (Ford and Holley) and I have yet to find one to examine. I have a sample of the carburetors Ford installed on HP260s. The C3OF-AJ and C4OF-AL models I know well. I know some about the ultra rare C4OF-AT model that just thirteen Cobras used. I am very familiar with the Holley R-3259/R-3259-1s, only three new Cobras finished in 1965 used them, because so many have ended up on Cobras as post production accessories. I am familiar with the R-3259 Prototypes made during the fall of 1964 and the 2-4V carburetors of 1967 GT500s (Perhaps the best designed "factory" 2-4V system ever. Tuned well the 1967 GT500 is a marvelous driver and performer. )
rodster:
Wow, very interesting and what a wealth of knowledge!
I don't know if you are one to document your findings but if you would, it would be a wonderful piece of reference material. Bob Mannel's Small Block Ford book comes to mind. ;)
Do you have a any pictures of some of those unique carburetors?
Dan Case:
--- Quote from: rodster on January 26, 2018, 07:10:14 PM ---Wow, very interesting and what a wealth of knowledge!
I don't know if you are one to document your findings but if you would, it would be a wonderful piece of reference material. Bob Mannel's Small Block Ford book comes to mind. ;)
Do you have a any pictures of some of those unique carburetors?
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Circa 2002 I noticed that the same questions arose over and over so I started recording everything in some manner. Cobra/ 427 Cobra wise I have something like 15,000 pictures of details of unrestored cars, dozens of commentaries on many subjects, dozens of reverse engineered part drawings, photo copies of many SAI race shop drawings, and hundreds of holotype parts saved as samples. Most parts are just as removed, carefully labeled inventoried, and stored. About half the used parts I know what Cobra or 427 Cobra they came from. And many new old stock parts saved as holotypes, especially to capture paints and platings as they were. I also collect some reproduction small parts and who made them when to show in comparisons with used or nos originals.
The two most detailed oriented restorers have come to visit to see specific original parts and materials to guide their Pebble Beach bound work. I also send out commentaries or spreadsheets on more complicated subjects to owners, restorers, and a few people that get called to judge Cobras at shows. Right now my "file space" is 34.1 GB, with 19,863 files in 1,063 folders.
Yes, I have pictures of some of the new car take offs and rarer carburetors. Most images are stored as 3 MB or larger files so sending groups of files or even reducing and posting them is a lot of trouble. One single broad Cobra subject slide show is 72.9 MB in size. My current revision of engine notes installed in new Cobras just bumped into page 78. You could say my notes would be footnotes to Bob's book if he covered new Cobras.
Typical new old stock production 2100/4100 from one time frame.
rodster:
--- Quote from: Dan Case on January 26, 2018, 08:46:11 PM ---Circa 2002 I noticed that the same questions arose over and over so I started recording everything in some manner. Cobra/ 427 Cobra wise I have something like 15,000 pictures of details of unrestored cars, dozens of commentaries on many subjects, dozens of reverse engineered part drawings, photo copies of many SAI race shop drawings, and hundreds of holotype parts saved as samples. Most parts are just as removed, carefully labeled inventoried, and stored. About half the used parts I know what Cobra or 427 Cobra they came from. And many new old stock parts saved as holotypes, especially to capture paints and platings as they were. I also collect some reproduction small parts and who made them when to show in comparisons with used or nos originals.
The two most detailed oriented restorers have come to visit to see specific original parts and materials to guide their Pebble Beach bound work. I also send out commentaries or spreadsheets on more complicated subjects to owners, restorers, and a few people that get called to judge Cobras at shows. Right now my “file space” is 34.1 GB, with 19,863 files in 1,063 folders.
Yes, I have pictures of some of the new car take offs and rarer carburetors. Most images are stored as 3 MB or larger files so sending groups of files or even reducing and posting them is a lot of trouble. One single broad Cobra subject slide show is 72.9 MB in size. My current revision of engine notes installed in new Cobras just bumped into page 78. You could say my notes would be footnotes to Bob's book if he covered new Cobras.
Typical new old stock production 2100/4100 from one time frame.
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WOW.... :o Impressed doesn't even begin to describe my thoughts about your effort, dedication and attention to detail. Amazing....no... more than amazing.
Thanks for sharing some of your insight.
Dan Case:
You are welcome.
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