Hi, i need some help... I removed the edelbrock carb from my intake , 1958 Cadillac 365. I found several gaskets, spacer and a steel shim between the intake and carb . The steel shim seems to be rotted from coolant that runs through the heat passage through the intake. Now my questions: 1: Is the heat passage in the intake for coolant or hot air? 2: do I need this heat passage or can I block it off? (It’s a summer car so no cold weather) Many thanks, Ramon Here are some pics of what I found: Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met H.A.M.B.
The exhaust heats carburetor for cold driving. Crossover is for exhaust heat only and may be blocked. No water should be in that passage.
Oké cool! Do you know what the best way is to block the passage? Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met H.A.M.B.
Cover the carb holes. Clean out the passages along the front. Use drills to clean out the vertical holes going down into the crossover passages. They should about 3/8” but keep going bigger until they are clean. If you have compressed air blow the “carbon junk” into the crossover, it will go down into the manifolds. It should now work as designed. Since I live in a warm climate I wire open the butter fly at the end of one of the stock exhaust manifold. If you live where it gets cold make sure it works free. This system is insure good combustion. With non-leaded gasoline it will stay cleaner. If you want to block the entire passage you put a stainless shim, about .015-.020” will do, above the intake gaskets and manifold. If you do this it will restrict the heat to the carb. Also if you do this and the exhaust manifold butterfly is not wired open or free your engine cannot run or it will run shitty. The rust was from condensation which could not get out since it was carboned up. I say again check that exhaust butterfly, I’ll bet it’s carboned up too. Everything I suggested to do is just routine maintence that was not done with the exception of the stainless blanks to stop the exhaust gases from heating the intake. They were engineered this way for a reason and yes hot rodders have been cooling down intakes for years to get performance. If you are looking for stock performing engine that will be efficient for fuel mileage cleaning every thing back to original will give you reliable performance.. It appears you live in a cold country. I would put it stock.
There is no water connected to the intake. I plug the heat holes under the carb with flat 1/8" pipe plugs, just tap, no need to drill. If you want the intake cooler still, slide a thin piece of stainless under the intakes heat risers. Now, if you need a flat carb surface for a different type carb, fill the passage you just plugged with JB Weld
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