Autos A-Z - Carbs
Greetings fellow motorheads, and welcome to the third installment of Autos A-Z. This time we’re going back in time for carburetors (or carburettors if you’re British). I’ll abbreviate (why is that word so long?) as carbs from here on.
Almost anyone who’s ever owned an old car (or almost any motorcycle) has had an opportunity to tear into the carb(s) at some point. Most of us fall into one of three categories.
1. AAIIIHHH!! What are all these little pieces? Let’s face it - carbs are complicated. Some people just don’t get them. This group will eventually purchase a new carb and install it, or sell the car as a project. There’s no shame in admitting your weakness.
2. Holy Cow! It runs! This is by far the largest group (yep, that’s me over in the corner there), consisting of those who manage to disassemble the carbs and clean/replace parts as necessary. Upon reassembly the car runs, but we’re not really sure why. As long as there are no parts missing from our carbs when we start, we’re probably gonna be ok.
3. The Guru. You need a carb for your Whoozawhatzit? No problem. I’ve got one from a Whatchamacalit right over here. Just let me change these hangers and find the right jets. Oh, these emulsion tubes here will work. Now let me find a new needle and seat . . .
If you find someone in the last group, consider yourself lucky. Almost anyone can learn to rebuild a carb, but few will ever truly understand the intricacies of their workings.
In summary:
- Autos A-Z
- ‘C’ is for carburetors
- carbs are complicated
- Guru’s are good
Any comments? Suggestions for future episodes of Autos A-Z? Let us know in the comments.
November 30th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
[...] **Need to learn more about carburetors and how they work? Over at Motor Musing, Dorrington Williams … [...]