How impotant is it that your carb or fuel injection sits level in the car? If it doesn't matter what is the max number of degrees out of level that is OK? The reason I am asking is that I bought engine and trans mount from a vendor and when installed properly the engine sits about 15 Degrees out of level. Is that a problem?
Most engines aren't level. Most intakes have an angled carb-mounting pad to compensate for the angle. How level is your carb-pad at ride-height???
I am planning on runniting a TPI unit. Now don't start screaming at me for that. I want to set one up, never did that before. But I am still curious about if a carb has to be level
It needs to be close. Carbs need to be level for the float/needle/seat to work properly. Also, Holleys lose fuel to the secondary jets on acceleration if the carb is tipped back too far. They make jet-extensions to cure that.
Ideally you set the engine angle by leveling the carb base on the intake manifold with the car at it's ride stance. That is the only place to check it. Don't worry about the crankshaft/driveshaft angle. If it's 15* on the carb base then you have a problem. Don't get obsessive about it but you do want it close. Cars do go up hand down hills so it does change but if it's 15* out and then you go up hill that is where the problems occur. You can get or make wedges to change the carb angle like they do on boats but that is a last resort IMHO. I'd check the directions and your angle finder again. 15* is a lot.
In order for a carb to meter properly it should be as close to level as possible. When out of level the fuel level in the bowl(s) is out of spec and will either flood or starve the engine. That's why the carb pad on the intake is at an angle so the crankshaft centerline can be angled down to line up with the rest of the drivetrain. Frank
first off,i'm an old fart.54yo and have been racing off and on since i was 16...what i have seen ever the years is carb angles of every way you can think of and still work..i have seen tunnel rams with side ways carbs, angled completely down hill,towards the front...i drove a 1960 corvette on the back bumper in 1st and 2nd without so much as a jet extension..one of the guys at our track has an older nova with a power glide...it comes up so long he shifts it in the air,with the front wheels 2 1/2 feet in the air...road racers fuel is all over the fuel bowls in corners...my point is,it's more important to feed the carb fuel than the angle...just my 2 cents and what i have seen.
Angled spacers are pretty common for marine use, mostly to un-angle the carb back to level in the boat. You can just turn it around. A few race suppliers make them too, if you don't have access to machine tools.
Just read what Tommy wrote and follow his advice. set a level the surface that the carb bolts to on the manifold and get it as close to level as you can and that should suffice. Almost all engines are built so that they set at a bit of an angle in the chassis but the carb mounting surface sets level. And forget that "we did this on the race car bs" that is a whole different ball game than having a smooth running ride on the street that runs great under all conditions.
oh for chrissakes,, how many street cars did you see in the 70s with the front bumper on the ground and the ass up on long shackles and the air shocks pumped so tight they didnt move? Did everyone of those cars have shims to get the carb level? In theory the carb should be level, in practice, it doesnt matter nearly as much as you think.
I used to have guys bring them things to try to get them to run right on the street. And you are correct if you don't mind a sputtering slobbering car that is balky in traffic and only runs decent at full throttle and not as well as it could then. The man is asking how to set his car up so it will run well under all conditions so he can actually enjoy driving it without fighting with it all the time.. Tommy explained exactly how to to that and it shouldn't be all that hard to accomplish.
from my standpoint I would be much more worried about the pickup tube in the transmission than the carb being off. Pops and his jeepin buddies put their jeeps in all kinds of odd angles up down and sideways and they still run just fine. Some folks tend to over think things.
why can't you alter the mounts to get the ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION sitting "right", instead of band-aid ing the carb angle?
he's right ya know... as proof, we got these things in colorado, called.... mountains... most everything i've ever owned, carbed or injected, runs great goin up OR down these mountains... i'm not sayin dolt it on at 23 degrees but i wouldnt sweat a small angle.
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