2806 - 56 Mark Carburetor

[wrongpart]

Hi, This is my first post to the group.
Can anyone advise me on a reliable carburetor for my Mark ii? I understand the distributor has to be changed as well. Can i use my original distributor with a Pertronix ign. sys. thanks in advance for your help

[Nccco]

Welcome Brian my mark is about 3/4 of restoration and I'm using original carb but surch past threads . There is a lot of good information and pictures of carbs installed with what they had to do. Electronics is very easy and a good way to go. I hope this helps, I have gotten a tremendous amount of help from the posts here.Fred Lasure 3292

[jdsnoddy]

Gentlemen:
We do not have much info on 2806 and 3292. Could you please post some pics and any history you may have? We love pics. Welcome. John

[Mike Teske]

It was a bit tricky to rebuild the original Holley for my first MKII- #1984 but after finding the difficult bits (such as the correct vacuum booster) and following the rebuild manual properly I had excellent results.

[Mark Norris]

I agree Mike, my car has its original Holley 4000 teapot and runs very nicely and so far very reliably. I must admit I sent mine out for a rebuild rather that tackle it myself.

[lld]

I also sent mine out before I realized there was an excellent set of videos on rebuilding the 4000 by Mikes Carbs who also sells rebuilding kits.

Even after rebuilding, I still had a slight hesitation off of idle. Today, I decided to bite the bullet and start from scratch with all the carburetor adjustments (I did not try summer/winter hole positions on the shaft that activates the accelerator pump). Not sure, what eliminated the problem but the hesitation is gone and it idles nicely with no gas smell at the exhaust.

Larry

[Johnb]

Hello i need my 56 carb rebuilt. I spoke to John at the Lincoln farm and he needs someone to rebuild his 56 carb. Please help. Thanks

[5219]

Daytona Parts Co. in Florida did my Holley teapot after at least two other "rebuilders" screwed it up. It came back perfect. They also did the carb on my 1940 LaSalle. I wouldn't use anybody else.

Alan Harris
C56D2744
C56B2119

[Barry Wolk]

Why mess with a perfectly good system? I have a carb builder that knows what he?s doing. No need to reinvent the wheel.

[Milsteads Garage]

The Holley 4000 looks weird but functions well. Don’t be scared of it.

[Don Henschel]

These carburetors are actually easy to rebuild!! I keep on hand very good quality kits from Daytona for both my Holley 885-FFC in my 50 Mercury, the first 2 barrel version of this series and of course for my 4000 series in my Mark II. I find them easy due to being a certified mechanic for 40 years but in reality look on eBay and you will find OEM Holley complete service manuals for these and all other models. I purchased one of these books for all the models of Holley I have on hand since they are a thin separate book for each model. They give more detail than even the OEM Lincoln, Mercury, or Ford service manual as well!
This 885-FFC looks much more unusual because of the airhorn used to position the air cleaner behind the carburetor and in 52 they removed the airhorn and changed the aluminum housing so the air filter sits ontop. Yes it works very well and shares the same needle and seat as some of the 4 barrel and also the float so I keep these on hand.
If your carburetor is quite dirty and varnished from sitting, invest in a bucket of gunk carburetor cleaner with a basket and carefully disassemble placing only metal parts in the basket otherwise they will get disolved in the cleaner!
I ignore using hot water to rinse in the gunk instructions after cleaning because I have found using a spray can of carburetor cleaner to rinse the parts in the basket works better. Besides I also rinse with the basket over the bucket and this revitalizes the gunk as it gets used a number of times and the lighter parts of it evaporate.
Are they complicated? Not at all! If you have never rebuilt one before, first call Daytona and give them the numbers stamped on the base because these are needed for the correct kit!
Not only do you need this kit, if you decide to take it to somebody who is PROPERLY QUALIFIED, most likely they will not have one on hand anyway.
If you decide to take this task on:
First clean most or all of the grime off the exterior with aerosol carburetor cleaner first.
Follow the parts breakdown and instructions within the kit or preferred Holley manual for proper disassembly and if in doubt take plenty of detailed pictures and yes measure the float height using a straight edge and caliper to compare with the specs in the instructions. Oh and for ease of assembly count the number of turns until they bottom out, the idle mixture screws so you can put them back in the same position during assembly. Also your choke thermostat which has index marks for adjustment otherwise you will have to experiment for the best choke setting.
Follow the instructions carefully and pay close attention to small balls and plungers!! They are used in the accelerator pump and nozzles for accelerator pump circuit.
Better yet get a CLEAN shallow baking pan with walls on each side and tip the carburetor upside down over this pan to catch ANYTHING that falls out so it doesn't get lost!
Whatever is in your pan that is metal, place in your gunk basket and soak for an hour or two, remove and then rinse and use compressed air to blow through passages and the housing to remove any dirt or grime left behind. When dry and clean follow the steps in your manual or kit instructions.

What is the most common mistake made?
NOT HAVING ENOUGH PATIENTS during disassembly or assembly and being rammy forcing and bending linkages. Overtorquing screws and fittings including the fuel inlet brass fitting.
The idle mixture adjustment screws ARE DELICATE!! Bottom them out GENTLY because they are brass otherwise you will damage the tips of them and their seats! They are valves not retaining screws!
Cleanliness is also very important and a tiny grain of sand or particle of dirt can plug your idle jets.
Your gunk is quite smelly:) so you want to do the dipping and draining of the basket outside but once the lid is put back on you can bring the bucket back into your shop for the several hours of soaking.

There is one little quirk that sometimes happens with these so called "teapots" and it can be a very very slight flat spot off of idle to acceleration with the accelerator pump properly set and I have found setting the idle at the slightly rich side eliminates this. Years later I have seen others doing this as well and mentioning it on forums. Just some tricks of the trade to make things run properly with what you got.
You don't want a rough gallopy idle with black smoke but where you turn in to make it lean until it stumbles, and then turn out until it stumbles and then put in the middle for the smoothest idle, but back it out slightly rich but still smooth idle if you get the idea of what I mean.

Another word of advice is do not phone Daytona during lunch hour and even a bit past lunch because they wont answer the phone LMAO:)
When they return they will be more than helpful and I asked them if they have hardware kits available and YES THEY DO:o:o! If your screws are beaten from worn tools or many attempts of assembly and disassembly you can replace them! Your choke or throttle shaft screws that are rivited after tightening and get damaged? Yes they supply them as well. My 885-FFC has a gasket that the choke shaft must be removed for replacement. I was forced to leave it be until I got these replacement screws:o
Daytona mentioned use a drill bit slightly larger than the screw to drill the peaned or rivited end of the screw to remove without twisting it off and use red loctite on the threads of the new screws.

[Don Henschel]

Oh and that parts breakdown of my 885-FFC, you will notice how similar it is to the float bowl of your 4000 series with a number of the parts used in both. These carburetors go well back into the 40's as well. Very simple and easy to rebuild and the 4 barrel has only a few extra parts including the vaccum diaphragm that allows the secondaries to open when the engine has sufficient flow and vacuum. If they open too soon you end up with bogging. If the spring is too strong they don't open far enough or at all. You can purchase spring kits for fine tuning the secondaries using weaker until bogging and then the next stronger until smooth acceleration.
Yes I have the dual diaphragm advance diaphragm. Why not? After all like Barry mentioned, they work very well so do not reinvent the wheel!
And yes I still run breaker points and condenser in my distributor as well. I have had solid state ignition fail as well leaving you with no spark. If it can fail, it will fail at one time or another.
If you really want an adventure, repair a carburetor from a small chainsaw or weed wacker string trimmer. They are a little aluminum cube about an inch square with diaphagms and springs;). Not only have I worked on very very big stuff but many of these nasty little buggers as well.
Yes I worked on these for a number of years before I retired. They are like driving a house with a V16 or V18 under the cab so in reality a carburetor is simple to work on.

[rhschnauss]

What is the leak down problem with the teapot?

[Barry Wolk]

What is the leak down problem with the teapot?

The bowl can be nearly drained by gas getting past the float seal or the check valve. Liquid seeks is own level and the gas in the supply tube will lower to the level in the tank. The only harm is a slow start. Can be corrected with a check valve at the tank to keep the pipe full of gas.

[Barry Wolk]

I?ve also seen float valves stick when the gas evaporates causing gas to come out of the top vents and spill into the oil bath filter. Hence Tea pot and Firedome nicknames.

[5219]

I have also heard them referred to as "The Towering Inferno".


Alan R. Harris
C56D2744
C56B2119

[Jeff Smith]

I have also heard them referred to as "The Towering Inferno".

Alan R. Harris
C56D2744
C56B2119
Agree! I think they even made a movie about it. Lol