I want to replace the teapot 4bbl on a '55 Ford 292, but I want to retain the original air cleaner and intake manifold. I have searched and read various topics here, but so far I haven't seen any mention of being able to use the stock air cleaner. Might be nice to go to an electric choke, but that isn't a requirement. I'd appreciate the benefit of your experience. What are my best options? Thanks, GB
This is where your skills as a Hot Rodder come into play, take two aircleaners and cut and fit till you have made one to fit the new carb on the bottom and the original on the top to fool the eye. Ralphie
An early Carter WCFB with the small bolt pattern will fit the stock intake and I "think" the air cleaner will fit. Regardless of what you do; you'll have to change the distributer if you get rid of the towering inferno...
^^^ what Ralphie said. I plan on putting a 58 Chevrolet air cleaner on a Holley using the bottom of a cheapy aftermarket air cleaner
Someone is going to be offended by this but there is more than one good reason to run mechanical advance distributers. Guess its a hot rodder thing. The small carter 4 bbl or the rochester 4 jet from the '50s both are good replacements if you want no muss no fuss replacements. Neither of them will work with the early distributer and you will need to go aftermarket or later y block for a distributer.
With an adapter you can bolt on any replacement 4 barrel. I would suggest any near 500 cfm. Ford y-blocks seem to like the Summit carb with was a semi-copy of the Autolite from 57 on. The original Holley ‘teapot’ has the later large top diameter so any of the newer carbs will fit your 4barrel air cleaner. Not sure on exact heights so a small spacer might be needed but I doubt it. Your original can be converted to a modern paper cartridge too. Probably on you tube as so many have done it. You really must change the distributor 57-64. There is a lot of info on the yblocksforever web site. There are ones that don’t work correctly and could hurt your engine. Those saying the early Carter WBFB will bolt on are correct. I’ve used both the 53 Cadillac and Oldsmobile but had to buy an adapter for the air cleaner as it does not. I can supply photos but not right now.
I have a 56 Merc factory Carter WCFB and it has the small carb top. Apparently the Merc had a different bottom on their air cleaner for that carb or an adapter. The Lincoln also used a Carter WCFB with aluminum base. I have one of those too and it has the smaller top.
Using an adapter to accommodate a modern carburetor isn't the issue. The issue is he wants to retain the OEM air cleaner assembly. However, if you do find a carburetor that your air cleaner will fit, or you make your air cleaner fit (sounds like you don't want to modify your air cleaner), you will need a 57-up distributor/w mechanical and vacuum advance. As far as the Holley 4000 "Teapot" carburetor being a "Towering Inferno," that's mostly a myth. My 55 T-bird had a Teapot carburetor until 2012, when I started the restoration, but never caught on fire. However, I intend to use a 57 4-bbl manifold, 57 tach-drive distributor, and a Holley Street Avenger 570 carburetor. My original 55 "dress-up" air cleaner will not fit modern carburetors; however, the 57 "dress-up" air cleaner, which looks very much like those used in 55-56, will fit, but it uses a paper element, not 55-56 oil bath.
In case you want to keep the Teapot but use a 57-up distributor, you can find an article that explains how to modify the Teapot to work with a mechanical-advance distributor on eatonbalancing.com.
55blacktie. He wanted to change the carb and keep the air cleaner, I got it. There is no small base carb with the top diameter of an original Holley. Saying that, all 4 barrel and efi’s today are the same diameter of his air cleaner and it will work. If he wants a newer carb and no adapter we all know he needs a 57 manifold. He must make a choice. We are all here to help those who ask advice from their experiences. I’m one who’s has run small base carbs on stock 55-56 intakes including dual quads with a lot of success. I have also converted a stock 55-56 air filter to work on a small base top. If he wants I’ll post photos when I get home. As a point the early AFB’s had the small top also along with the Rochester 4 GC prior to the Q-Jet...
I want to thank you all for the replies. If it was my car I would go to a later manifold and later carb and modify or adapt the air cleaner as needed, and replace the distributor. But, it is not my car, and the owner wants to retain the stock appearance as much as possible. The teapot that is on it is missing a the choke parts and literally has an alligator clip soldered onto the choke wire. The carb seems to want to leak no matter what I do to it, and the needle valve has stuck open on me several times. This guy is not really a car guy, and I just can't have him having trouble with this carb, and if it did catch fire, it would burn up a really sweet car, and I would feel terrible. So, I want to replace the teapot with something more conventional and less prone to leaking problems, and it would be a bonus to eliminate the mechanical choke. Then I could sleep at night. An adapter to the manifold shouldn't be a problem, as I think there is enough room under the hood. I read over the replies, now I'm going to back and really study them. Looks like maybe the summit 500cfm carb with an adapter might be a good thing to look into. Again, I sincerely thank you for the replies! GB
If the car is a T-bird, there probably isn't sufficient hood clearance for a carburetor adapter. Other models should be okay. Just about all modern 4-bbl. carburetors are 3.25 inches in height from the carburetor base to the choke horn base on which the air cleaner sits. You can use clay on top of the air cleaner, close the hood, and then measure the compressed height of the clay to determine how much space you have to work with.
I used a pair of Rochester 4 jets from '58 Buick to replace the tea pots on the 2x4 on the 312 that I had in my '55. I personally like the old Holley carb. I guess that they don't count as a performance carb in our day and age but they were actually good carbs if you kept them up. They became a problem if you let them drool. I doubt that you can find affordable parts for them any more. Now they are a restorers carb.
If your customer wants to retain the Holley 4000 "Teapot" carburetor, this fellow will rebuild it and probably replace any missing/defective parts. It will look as new and work as well when he is finished. He will have a definitive answer regarding which carburetors the OEM air cleaner will fit. His name is Sal Cicala. sal [email protected]. Ph: (586) 612-1650
I have removed the original carb and sent it to Mr. Cicala. He is going to rebuild it and replace the missing choke parts. Thanks for the info! His email address is [email protected]
So I sent the carb to Mr. Cicala. What a nice job! The carb looks new, he supplied all of the missing choke parts, and his turn around time was really quick. Couldn't be more satisfied. Communication with Mr Cicala was great. Really nice guy, does great work. I would certainly use his services again and would recommend him to anyone. The car starts great, warms up sooo much better with a real choke, and runs great out on the road. And no leaks! Thanks to you guys for pointing me in his direction. Greg
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