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I am the proud new owner of an unrestored 53 Firedome wagon. It runs, well it did until I saw gas leaking out of the carb Friday night. I pulled the carb off and it appears to be the original Carter 908S 2 barrel. Happy to take recommendations on what to do next; get this Carter rebuilt or replace with something else. It appears from last night's internet research that I can still get a rebuild kit. I also appears that hothemiheads sells an adapter plate for a change over to a Holley 2 barrel. My goal is to restore this beauty up to a nice #3 driver condition. Are these Carters worth keeping or a perpetual headache? Thanks for the help.
Hi James, welcome to the message board. If you have a NAPA nearby check with them for a rebuild kit. I went to our local NAPA to see if they could order a kit for my 52. When I told the counter guy I was looking for a carb. rebuild kit for 52 DeSoto, he and the other clerk just chuckled. He got on the computer and muttered something like " I'll be darn" went back and pulled one off the shelf. Can you post some pics of the car? Would like to see it and hope you keep us posted on your progress. Don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have. There are some knowledgeble folks in here willing to help.
James,
As Les said, welcome to the DeSoto world! I own a '55 Firedome so it also has the two barrel Carter carb. I've owned my car for over thirty years and have had the carb rebuilt several times. Several years ago it was rebuilt by a local guy some local car club members recommended. He was the "expert" on carbs, so they said. Well, it never started or ran right after he was through with it. So a couple years ago I posted to this message board asking for advice. Tim Bowers, a restoration shop owner and regular contributor to this board, recommended a carb shop in Kansas. I'm at work now and don't have the particulars but recall the name was something profound like "The Carb Shop"! I'm sure Tim will pipe in with the exact name and particulars.
Anyway, I pulled the carb and sent it to them. Several weeks later the carb was returned in rebuilt condition and reinstalled on the car. After some initial start-up issues that were my fault, the carb and car have functioned flawlessly. I drove ~600 miles last summer from Louisville to Chattanooga with no problems or driveability issues whatsoever. If you are not up to doing the rebuild yourself, I would strongly recommend The Carb Shop.
Also, as Les stated you can still get a rebuild kit from NAPA. If you buy one for your rebuild and it works, buy another to have around.
Mark
This is the best guy I know for carburator parts and kits. The NAPA kits are junk for the 1930's-1940's Carters.
http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/
I have never had him do a carb and his lead time is great. I do my own carbs. His kits are much better than the auto part stores and he has LOTS of hard parts the auto parts stores do not have. To buy a hard part though you have to buy a kit!
I have the big, 4 inch tall, Carter carb book with all the individual carb part sheets. Look at the flange of the carb and tell me the exact carb number and I will look it up and post the sheet for you.
James
James, I have a 53 Firedome - not a wagon. The shops recommended here are probably good but I used someone else mainly to get all of the aesthetics cleaned up as well. Not inexpensive but a real nice job and it works well.
Keep in mind that if you use another carb you will have to somehow integrate the idle switches, kickdown switches etc into the system to make the transmission shift properly. It may be less critical if the car has a standard shift.
Thanks for the insight. I'll get this carb redone soon. I hate having my car down.
James
