Careful with the sparks from the Dremel. Keep the area wet will help.

If you are lucky, their surface prep was bodgy and once you get under it the JB Weld may prize out in chunks.

If it’s only a pinhole or two, mebbe use JB weld again before the POR. Saves welding in the tank and all the kablooey risk.

Cheers,
Harv

Shameless plug:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/177066087296

Cheers,
Harv

The Masterparts catalogue only shows one part number for the FE/FC pivot shaft spacers (7413862), so methinks they are not left-hand and right-hand.

Cheers,
Harv

I have for sale a VH24 brake booster to suit FB/EK Holdens. From what I understand, these were also fitted to FX-FE and EJ/EH Holdens though with different bracketry/piping. This booster comes with brackets and piping to suit an FB/EK Holden. I ran this booster on my FB sedan for quite a while, but blew the diaphragm. I removed the unit from the car, and never got around to refitting it. It comes with a replacement diaphragm. The unit has the required brackets and brake piping to make this a near bolt-up job to an FB/EK. The unit has been refurbished before I bought it, and has the original NASCO plate and decal.

As of a few years ago Powerbrakes SA was refurbishing these, including supplying replacement diaphragms (a modern off-the-shelf diaphragm with an adaptor to suit the VH24).

I'm looking for $300. You are welcome to pick them up from Greystanes, western Sydney or I can package it up and send to you (free packaging, you pay the post).








The basis of my pricing:
They don't sell often, and were pulling about $150 twenty years ago.
Earlybitz has one for $450 in unknown condition, and then does the overhauls (as a changeover unit :shock: ) for $1500, but his pricing is nuts.
EJ/EH reproduction brackets are available for $86 (https://www.madfolk.com.au/ej-eh-vh24-b ... r-brackets).

Cheers,
Harv

No problem.

Cheers,
Harv

Carbs on the way Vern, have sent you the tracking number.

Three sold, five still available.

Cheers,
Harv

Time to make some space in the shed. I have for sale eight BXOV-1 Stromberg carburettors, to suit Holden grey motor. I did each of these up a few years back – cleaned, kitted, adjusted then stored away in a ziplock baggie. Note that these were cleaned out with thinners, nylon-bristled scrubbing and elbow grease. They are suitable for day to day use… if you want something shiny for a concourse restoration then this is probably not the carb for you. By the same token, they have not been acid etched until the vent tubes fall out, left full of blasting grit or had the finish wire-wheeled off them.

They are a mixture of list numbers (e.g. 23-3000, 23-3001 etc). To some people the list number won’t matter much, to other people wanting the exact number for their restoration it may be meaningful. If you are looking for a “matching set” to balance a set of twins or triples, then the list number is meaningless… what is important is that the jets, valves and idle tubes do match. I took good notes of what is on each carb, and am happy to swap out jets, valves or tubes to suit what you want (assuming I have the parts in my stash).

The way this will work:
a)   Let me know how many you want (this should be a number between one and eight 😊).
b)   Let me know if there are any particular list numbers or internals you want and I will check the stash.
c)   I’ll send you photos if you want them, and work out the postage.
d)   Price is $170 each, plus postage.
e)   You pay, and I’ll pack and post them.

How I worked out the pricing:
a)   A sexy replated carb from one of the commercial vendors would cost you around $460.
b)   If you DIY one, a rebuild kit will cost you close to $100. It will have the wrong pump arm and wrong base gasket.
c)   You might get a greasy, manky carb from a swapmeet or eBay for $50. That would be a crapshoot as to whether it was complete, or what jet/valves/tube it had.
d)   I reckon $170 is pretty fair – that’s a swapmeet carb, an overhaul kit and $20 worth of labour to overhaul one (I work cheap 😊). That $20 buys you no risk of missing bits, and a Harv guarantee… if it don’t work send it back and I’ll refund you.

Cheers,
Harv

Yes - they were specific to engine and vehicle. Can you feel a difference if you put the wrong one in? Most of the time, probably not. For the greys:

Jet      Diameter Vehicle
#63     0.0370”   48, 53 (132.5ci)
#65     0.0350”   FB, EK, EJ (138ci)
#67   0.0320”   FJ, FE, FC (132.5ci)

Cheers,
Harv

Yep, power bypass valves are sized in drill number. Larger drill number = smaller hole = less flow. Main metering jets are different - they are sized in thousands of an inch (larger number = larger hole = more flow).

Assuming there are only Holdens in the garage, the #56 has probably come out of a EH, HD, HR (149ci), HR (161ci), HD normal and economy excluding X2 (179ci) or HR X2 and economy (186ci). The #64 has probably not come out of a Holden, but would suit a grey (they were #63, #65 and #67 from factory).

From 1970, GMH used power bypass jets with two holes on the B-model carbs, and also on the WW's. Sometimes the holes are the same size, sometimes different depending on the engine they were going into. To complicate matters even more, from LC Torana and HQ Holden onwards, two stage power bypass jets were utilised, with the first stage opening at approximately 3-7” Hg (1½-3½psi), and the second stage at 10-12”Hg (5-6psi). From 1976 onwards, the settings were closer to 3-6”Hg (1½-3psi) and 8-10”Hg (4-5spi).

Cheers,
Harv

Shameless plug:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/176869544628

Cheers,
Harv

Rob is right, most of it is reusable. Gaskets could be cut from sheet stock from Supercheap or similar. Some random parts if you want to make a go:

Selector Shaft Seal (NAK Australia)   E062.100.25
Gasket Set Grey Gearbox FX-EK (Rare Spares)   7405896
Front Propeller Shaft Housing Seal (Rare Spares) H1067 or (NAK Australia) E137.206.25
Ball bearing (UBC Australia) 6206RSNR or (NTN Toyo Bearing Co) 6206NR
Ball bearing (UBC-Australia) 6205RS or (NTN Toyo Bearing Co) 6205NS

Cheers,
Harv

Some more data for your decision.

I had two components done around a year ago at Astor Metal Finishing here in Sydney.

a) a grey motor sump which had been chromed 6 months prior by another shop. It had a small blister (half the size of a 5c piece).
b) a new aftermarket pitman arm for a dragster steering box, about 6" long. It had also been chromed recently, and had accidently been plated over the splines.

The correction work was not done by the original chrome plater as he had recently passed away.

Task was to strip both units and rechrome. I delivered the parts to them and picked the finished goods up. The work was quoted as 6-8 weeks and took just over 8. The job required chasing, and I struggled to get calls returned. No blemishes were removed from the sump - any marks that were there were ignored. My bad for not asking them to correct small dings. The sump mounting flange (where the bolts go) was not polished/finished before replating and is rough. My bad for not requesting and paying for a "Summernats standard". The pitman arm recesses were not plated as the part was chromed with many others and did not receive sufficient current, though they offered to correct that. Cost for the job was $577.50.

Cheers,
Harv

Sorry to hear it Rob. Please reach out if there is anything I can do to help.

Cheers,
Harv

Some info here on timing gear replacement:
https://forum.fefcholden.club/index.php?topic=19642.0

Cheers,
Harv

Now sold.

Cheers,
Harv

Zac's got good taste - that looks like a neat FE.

Cheers,
Harv

Be interesting to see if the suspect cap runs OK on the museum motor, or if it makes that motor run poorly too.

Cheers,
Harv

If you get stuck, here is one option:

https://www.kingswoodcountry.com.au/buy/holden-vent-window-handle-fe-fc-fb-ek-pair.-quarte/VH1001

Cheers,
Harv

Craig,

You wrote, "you will need to rejet the carbys or they will run rich as you are doubling the fuel intake which will be too rich at idle/low revs and foul plugs"

This is a common misconception, but in fact isn't true. 

This got me thinking. Bear with me... I've been trying to dissolve some of this fluid mechanics stuff in ethanol for the last 30 years.

There is some complexity here when changing from singles to twins (or triples, or fourtles  ). The inlet manifold flow path is very different, and gas density changes in venturis can screw with Bernouli's ideal world venturi model. Ignore that for now, as grey motors are not that precise.

Agree that the main jetting should be very, very close to needing no change when going from singles to twins or triples (or fourtles). The trick here is that the venturi pressure drop is dependant on the square of the gas flow through it. That same pressure differential is what the main metering jet sees. The liquid flow through the main metering jet is dependant on the square root of the flow through it. Simplifying the mefs, the square and the square root cancel each other out. This means that no matter how many carbs you add, as long as they see their equal flow of gas, they will meter the same amout of fuel.

The power bypass valve system is driven by the same pressure differential, so in theory no need to change the power valve either.

But...

The above applies to the main metering system, which is driven by the venturi. The idle system is not... it is driven by the inlet manifold pressure (this is because the main metering jet discharges into the venturi, whilst the idle system discharges into the throttle body. Simplifying a bit, the inlet manifold pressure does not change much with singles, twins, triples or fourtles. Adding more carbs, they all see the inlet manifold pressure, and they all deliver (roughly) the same idle fuel flow as a single. This means that when going to twins, you need to wind the idle system right down. There is an overlap between the idle system and main metering system, so getting the idle right not only effects the idle quality but also the main metering quality. If you are lucky, there is enough finesse in the idle mixture screws to rest the idle after going to twins, triples or fourtles. If you are unlucky the idle mixture screw is not so fine when it is close to it's seat. In that case a change to the idle tube is required.

The accelerator pumps are independent (roughly) of vacuum, but with twins, triples or fourtles you now have twice, double or four times the fuel shot each time the loud pedal is depressed. The pump circuit thus needs a tweak to deliver less fuel, though for a relatively rough grey motor the average owner won't notice a difference.

Cheers,
Harv

There will be some fore/aft effect from two varying carbs, but the grey motor is far from uniform across the cylinders. A good example is coolant flow - even with one of those fancy head gaskets, there will be a difference in cylinder temps. Similarly, the fuel/air rflow path from the for’ad carb to cylinders 1 and 2 is way different to the flow path from fore and aft carbs to cylinders 3 and 4… so they get fed different.

Should you make the carbs as similar as you can? Yep. Should you lose sleep if they are off a bit? Not if it runs well.

Cheers,
Harv