What to use to clean this carb?

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MerlinsMopar

MerlinsMopar

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I,ve had this holley 850 carb for a while and it has corroded from sitting and I do have a rebuild kit for it. I know there is a soaking solution that the lawn mower shops use to clean them. I thought about a dremmel and small wire wheel but it might score the casting. Anyone know what a good soaking solution would be? Thanks for any input.

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Oh wow! An old Holley two piece carb. Like the old Ford Motorcraft carbs IIRC. I had one a long while back. Not a bad performer. Is that a spreadbore or square and what size?

Being that it is aluminum, treat it as such. But the finish will never be as new again. You can rub on it some with a cleaner and polisher which will have it looking good but the aluminum can be stained and discolored which will not come out.

I’d like to find the big spreadbore version again.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Oh wow! An old Holley two piece carb. Like the old Ford Motorcraft carbs IIRC. I had one a long while back. Not a bad performer. Is that a spreadbore or square and what size?

Being that it is aluminum, treat it as such. But the finish will never be as new again. You can rub on it some with a cleaner and polisher which will have it looking good but the aluminum can be stained and discolored which will not come out.

I’d like to find the big spreadbore version again.
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It is a 850 spreadbore. A friend bought it new when he changed the intake on a 440 and it always was super lean so he gave it to me for a project. His problem wasn't the carb tho. He used the valley pan as a gasket only and had an intake leak. Its been in the basement for years and I was going thru stuff while the stay at home deal is going on.
I thought that style would make it easy to change jets without draining fuel bowls. Make an offer if your interested. I'd consider letting it move on to another mopar enthusiast.
 
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NAPA sells carburetor cleaner in soaking buckets, other automotive stores too.
 
Merlins, look into hydro honing (now called vapor honing). It can restore the surfaces of old carburetors like the one that you show. It does a great job for what you are wanting. I used one back in the 1990s at my aerospace job. Leanna @CudaChick1968 may have one. Good luck
 
DFX 340 Duster said:
Merlins, look into hydro honing (now called vapor honing). It can restore the surfaces of old carburetors like the one that you show. It does a great job for what you are wanting. I used one back in the 1990s at my aerospace job. Leanna @CudaChick1968 may have one. Good luck
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I wish. I have a gallon of B12 Chemtool.
 
Get some carb dip from the parts store. Whats available now is nothing close as good as the old stuff was but it still works ok.
I had one of those carbs back in the 90's, it worked really well on my 340. Its still available new last time I checked about a year ago.
 
MerlinsMopar said:
Does that work good? I think some kind of acid is used at the lawn mower shops for water corrosion. It may not be pitted inside. Maybe muratic acid?
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Nitric acid is the best aluminum cleaner but is very dangerous, don't get it on you ! muriatic acid is more for concrete but will work on aluminum. Hydro fluorohidric mixed with phosphoric is what they use to clean aluminum truck trailers.
 
All of those acids will not clean the metal. They will remove/dissolve the top layer of the metal.
I am a chemist and sometimes I use those acids to dissolve metals in order to determine their alloying elements.
 
DFX 340 Duster said:
All of those acids will not clean the metal. They will remove/dissolve the top layer of the metal.
I am a chemist and sometimes I use those acids to dissolve metals in order to determine their alloying elements.
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Ha Ha Ha, Don't leave it in there that long so it dissolves the metal !!!
 
Soda blast it. The soda hits it, breaks up dirt and then turns to dust. No debris whatsoever gets into passages. When done, just blow it off with compressed air and call it done.
 
I sometimes save pics like this from online powder coating forums I look at.

Though carbs don't usually apply, the discussion of acids does.
How Not to Strip Magnesium 101:
Screenshot_2019-04-29-23-07-24-1-1-1.png


Some in my industry use this wicked, EPA-controlled chemical called B17 (and improperly used in the pic above). It will actually boil magnesium. It's the only thing that will remove silicone -- Armor All and tire wet -- from used alloy / aluminum wheels and comes in 55-gallon drums. It will also eat them if left unattended. I absolutely refuse to have it in my shop due to its lethality.

As to the B12, I've used it for decades @MerlinsMopar. Billy just melted some little aluminum motorcycle carb part in it a few weeks ago; don't forget your stuff is in there.
 
MoparMike1974 said:
Get some carb dip from the parts store. Whats available now is nothing close as good as the old stuff was but it still works ok.
I had one of those carbs back in the 90's, it worked really well on my 340. Its still available new last time I checked about a year ago.
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used to work at the airport and they worked on em. Zinc chromate was a great primer. It saved quite a few. Actually soaking in b 12 for now. It wasn't as bad as i thought. Another throw on the shelf for now deal. Thx for the input!
 
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