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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 6:12 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:25 am
Posts: 3163
Not a lot of people had that one figured out. People just didn't get it was holes in metal, they thought "what the heck does a person do to cast porosity, and what IS porosity in the first place".

So, can a person be a porous person, what does that take??? It was hilarious.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:56 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:03 am
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Location: Milang, South Australia
I probably should mention I did this test with old float bowls that haven't seen fuel for a LONG time, (not sure about the original guy's carbs) and Ethanol is not a factor. (You can get it here, but you have to want to use it!) It could be that ALL our float bowls are leaching fuel!

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:43 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:34 pm
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Location: North Central NC
My float bowls are OK. More than OK, they're spectacular!

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 10:09 pm 
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Location: Milang, South Australia
So you are running 'relatively' new VM34's, I'm thinking, that's what I have, it might be an issue just for old stock 30's. Do you have an old float-bowl lying around, it's an interesting thing to observe!? :)

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 10:57 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:34 pm
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Location: North Central NC
I do have the originals. Maybe I'll dig it out and try it. But my 34s are almost as old!

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Last edited by Jim on Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:05 pm 
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Location: Milang, South Australia
Go to sleep, Jim! :lol: They 'leak' more with higher fuel level in the bowl, (as you'd expect) so I'm not sure where the fuel actually reaches, height wise, in normal running....

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:07 am 
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Location: North Central NC
You know... this might just be a surface thing. Try cleaning one up with Scotchbrite or something like that so it's semi-shiny and see if it still does it.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:35 pm 

Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:25 am
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I remembered more about our carbs. Mikuni used different metal blends for different carbs. Aftermarket and performance carbs were cast from aluminum and didn't usually have porosity problems, some of the stock factory fit carbs were made from "pot" metal, usually "White" metal, which is a very porous metal, if not cast properly.

Then, there is the way the parts are cast, drop pour, suction, centrifugal spin cast, injection molded, all sorts of ways. Some ways have methods that remove air pockets (or, "voids"0, some rely simply on the weight of the molten metal pushing the air voids out of the casting.

I don't remember if the stock H series carbs were White Metal, or aluminum, some of them were very soft, and problem prone.

A case against White metal carbs and casting techniques: During a 40 year use, General Motors used carburetors cast and made from two major suppliers, Rochester Carb Division of G.M., and a stand alone company, Carter Carburetor.

Before Rochester came into being, G.M. used mostly Carter carbs, square bore 4 bbl's. There were two different designs, one was the earlier carbs, WCFB, then, a better design, the AFB.

WCFB was White Cast Four Barrel
AFB was Aluminum Four Barrel

Both worked well.

Then, Rochester came about, and a spread bore carb (smaller primaries, giant secondaries), Both called the "Quadra-Jet", or, "Q-Jet". They couldn't make enough of them for production, so G.M. contracted Carter to build a version of the Rochester Q-Jet to take up the slack. Both were cast in White Metal. The Rochester Q-Jets were good carbs, very little problems, no porosities. The Carter versions were dismal, porosities, bore plugs leaking, screw holes easily stripped out, a lesser mix of very soft White Metal, a lot less durable.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:59 pm 
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 4:32 am
Posts: 615
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Zinc and salt air do not mix, note what metal is used for saltwater boat anodes. If your carbs live close to ocean air that will increase porosity over long periods of time.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:18 pm 
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Location: Milang, South Australia
Interesting DGA, I am about 50 yards from the Ocean, and these carbs are at least 40 years old! I think the stock H series carbs were zinc alloy, Dave.

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