Waking Up A WCFB

[JoeHall]

I have had a 56J specific WCFB (model 2394S) on the shelf so long I forgot where it came from. I don't care for WCFBs, and have not ran one regularly since late 1980s. This one appears to be nearly new, so maybe that's why I held onto it. Lately, boredom has set in, so I sunk the WCFB in a bucket of carb cleaner about a week ago. Today I disassembled, cleaned and inspected it. It looked as good inside as outside, had not been tampered with, all jets per 56J spec, and all adjustments spot on. So reassembled it with new gaskets and accelerator pump. Tomorrow, I will probably install it on the 56J, just to remember why I don't care for WCFBs. I estimate about a month, and the Demon carb will be back on the 56J. Meanwhile, maybe I will even reinstall the OEM air cleaner to match the WCFB.

Given the Covid situation, I don't wanna get too deep in any Stude project. So this one is about right, can wrap it up in a couple of hours.

[StudeRich]

Can you remember any reason why you do not like WCFB's? I have always liked the Fast Idle and Choke operations as it seems to work better than the WW Stromberg 2 Brl. Carbs.

The Secondary's do not come on at full throttle, they open between 1/2 and 3/4 Primary opening and when the choke lockout releases properly when warmed up, you can Feel the "Boost".

The one on my '62 Transtar 1 Ton 289, has NEVER been apart and working Good for 58 Years!

[bezhawk]

They were lousy on rough bumpy roads, or when going around a corner they died. They finally came up with a vent crossover tube later on that helped, but they still were "finicky". All Carter carbs seem to change best running adjustments all the time. Sure they'll run, but not as good as when you first adjust them.

[Mike Van Veghten]

MANY...years back, I had a WCFB of some sort on my first car, a 56 Chevy, 210 sedan.
I solved the cornering problem. I made and epoxied in a baffle into the primary side float bowl between the jets. Worked like a champ.

I was an..."honorary" member of the "sports car club in college. I was only an honorary member because a 56 Chevy is NOT...a sports car..! We were allowed to use a back parking lot to set up a slalom (what's now called Auto-X) course once a month. The course had to be made wide enough to let me thru.., which made some of the true "sports car" guys faster..!
Anyway, the baffle in the float bowl worked well for me and my slalom racing a WCFB carburetor.

Mike

[PackardV8]

Just as all the first couple of generations of automatic transmissions were problematic, so were the first Rochester, Stromberg, Holley and Carter 4-bbl carburetors. When used on cars for which it was designed, the big Cad, Buick, Packard, et al, the WCFB didn't notice bumpy roads and weren't expected to corner hard enough to slosh over the float bowls.

They finally came up with a vent crossover tube later on that helped, but they still were "finicky".

Later, the WCFB was used on Corvettes and unanticipated problems developed. The first crossover vent tubes I saw were on the 2x4-bbl '56 Corvette.

Bottom line - when the WCFB is good, it's very good. When not, it's finicky; wouldn't that apply to most '50s technology? When was the last time you called in a TV repairman?

jack vines

[jeds55]

A pair of 1957 WCFBs with cross over tubes

[64V-K7]

I did some minor research on the WCFB which came on the 55 Stude President State ( 259 engine) and the tech data said 380CFM. I don't think they would have ALL been that size, but I never found anything to the contrary. Can anyone add to that? thx

[PackardV8]

I did some minor research on the WCFB which came on the 55 Stude President State ( 259 engine) and the tech data said 380CFM. I don't think they would have ALL been that size, but I never found anything to the contrary. Can anyone add to that? thx

The first generation 4-bbls were all 350-450 CFM; enough for the sub-5000-RPM engines on iron intakes. Mopar hemi, Corvette, Thunderbird, Packard and Cadillac use 2x4 Carter WCFB, Rochester 4Jets or Ford used one of two very different Holley on their top performance engines in the '55-'58 era.

jack vines

[JoeHall]

I have never ran a WCFB on a 259/289, so have no idea how they perform. All my experience has been on 352s, and the WCFB wheezes with that motor. Despite wheezing, the WCFB will still feed the 352 to above 5000RPM in lower gears, but it's been decades since I abused any 352 like that. I first tried an AFB back in the late 1980s, an aftermarket one taken off a 1960s-70s Cadillac. It was old school, with heated choke instead of electric. I instantly felt it was the carb that shoulda been OEM on all 56Js. From its smooth idle to redline, it just works, period. None of the idiosyncrasies of the WCFB others have mentioned here. I literally wore that AFB out over the years. Looking back, wish I'd had it restored it instead of tossing it. Edelbrock clones are OK, but not as good as I recall that older AFB. About the only negative with AFB and Edelbrock is hot restart; due to heat soak, if shut off 20-30 minutes, they usually must crank a bit before they'll start. That is true despite every trick in the book, return line, heat shields, etc.. If shut off an hour or more, they usually restart much quicker.

Yesterday I took a break, but today plan to install this WCFB and wake it up. I even have the Carter glass bowl filter, and support bracket for the OEM air cleaner. Will let y'all know how it works out.

[JoeHall]

By the way, the 56J model WCFB has 1 7/16" holes on the bottom, and supposedly 1 1/16" primary and 1 1/4" secondary venturi. I say supposedly because I cannot measure either pri or sec venturi, but can measure the flange on the bottom. Does anyone know the measurements of 259/288 WCFB?

[PackardV8]

Joe of course knows this, but in 1955-'56, Packard was only building fifty thousand cars a year. Ignoring the economies of scale, the "junior" cars had Carter carburetors and fuel pumps, Autolite distributors, generators and starters. The "senior" cars came with Rochester carburetors, Delco distributors, generators and starters.

The 1956 Packard Caribbean setup on my '55 Studebaker E12 pickup has 2x4 Rochester 4Jets.



jack vines

[JoeHall]

Jack,
All I can say is WOW! That is one sharp setup. You set that Packard V8 in your truck like it belonged there! Is that a 55/56 Packard PS pump I see on the front?

[PackardV8]

Jack,
All I can say is WOW! That is one sharp setup. You set that Packard V8 in your truck like it belonged there! Is that a 55/56 Packard PS pump I see on the front?

Good eye, Joe. IIRC, Saginaw made the PS pumps for Packard and it works just fine with the '98 GM big car PS box.

jack viens

[JoeHall]

Good eye, Joe. IIRC, Saginaw made the PS pumps for Packard and it works just fine with the '98 GM big car PS box.

jack viens

I installed one of those Packard PS pumps on a 56J back in the early 1990s. Pretty sure it is still on it and doing its job as well as ever. I recently heard from the guy who bought the car, and it is alive and well in Baltimore.

I like the Packard PS (Bendix?) pump because it is lighter and, thanks to the smaller pulley, clears the water pump pulley as it should. The 56J's pump runs the belt so close to the WP pulley, it wears a ring around the WP pulley due to the back of the PS belt slapping against it. In less than 100 miles, that ring will be there. The Packard belt shoulda been OEM on the 56J. However, the Saginaw pump will live 5 times as long as the Bendix, and seldom even need topping off.

[JoeHall]

Can you remember any reason why you do not like WCFB's? I have always liked the Fast Idle and Choke operations as it seems to work better than the WW Stromberg 2 Brl. Carbs.

The Secondary's do not come on at full throttle, they open between 1/2 and 3/4 Primary opening and when the choke lockout releases properly when warmed up, you can Feel the "Boost".

The one on my '62 Transtar 1 Ton 289, has NEVER been apart and working Good for 58 Years!

Hi Rich,
Well the deed is done. I spent about 8 hours yesterday installing the WCFB, test driving, tweaking it, then test driving again and again, for about 90 miles total. The first time around, I invested minimal effort, in case I disliked the carb. Truth be known, from startup on, it preformed flawlessly. It idles smooth, pulls strong and steady up to higher speeds, and no bogging in turns or coming to a quick stop. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. So I went ahead and installed the glass bulb gas filter, OEM air cleaner, and even plumbed the PCV. For some reason, I was thinking the PCV would cause the WCFB's idle speed to go way up. But it did not, so I am very happy about that, as I have been running a PCV of this car (and all Studes) since the 1980s.

It is still cool here, yesterday's high was 60. So I'll have to wait and see how the WCFB performs in hot weather, especially concerned about hot re-starts. The Demon carb is far superior to any I have tried, for hot re-starts. It also has good performance, but is a gas hog. Too early to tell, but it appears the WCFB is gonna yield MPG similar to the AFB. Comparing the WCFB and AFB's performance, I give the nod to the AFB, mainly because I like its large primaries and resultant responsiveness to the gas pedal at all speeds and RPM. I'm hoping the WCFB is tolerable this summer, as I'd prefer to keep it on the car, but not gonna wear out the starter trying to start it. In anticipation, I even hooked up the fuel return line; in addition to cooler fuel, it eliminates residual line pressure after shut down. I can also install a phenolic plate between the carb and manifold, but that's as far as I am willing to go. Time will tell.