BMorgil mentions fuel pressure. About half of folks find that new fuel pumps will develop more pressure than the float/needle combination will effectively regulate.
You can reduce fuel pump pressure by adding a spacer between the pump and the block, but another option is to add a regulator to the fuel line between the pump and carburetor. The '48 tended to overfill and flood, with several carburetors, until I added a regulator.
I set it to 2 1/2 PSI and it has worked like a charm ever since - but you may not need one.
I'll probably put the float in level and then I can always fine-tune it after some running.
I have to say I love seeing shiny restored jeeps and I have so much respect for the work put into them to make it so nice. But it is nice to go offroading and use your jeep instead of spending all day cleaning.If you want to drive in rain or on a dirt road or bash the side into a rockbon the trail, it don't matter. But I do love looking at them pretty shined up jeeps!
As far as fuel pressure, I know the pump is old and has worked without issue so far. I'll keep the pressure regulator in mind as I get it tuned up.
We had some awesome weather today so it was nice to be outside. So I rolled the chassis out of storage and tried my hand at soldering the radiator. I found some solder at the local tractor store that is specially engineered for radiators. And I got a can of map gas. I pulled the rad. out since now that the fenders are off I noticed the bottom of the bracket was broken. I had thought it was just the top that needed fixing. But oh well now I get more practice soldering. So I cleaned it up with a wire wheel, and melted the old solder off. It looked like the top had been repaired before, there was lots of solder buildup. Then I clamped the side bracket in place and applied some heat. Then melted solder down through and presto I fixed the side bracket and didn't melt any thing. So my first attempt at soldering is a success!! I'm glad you guys steered me away from brazing, because the solder took such little heat that I had alot less worry about melting through the radiator.
It looks just right 56'! You definitely saved yourself some money on the DIY there. Those radiators might as well be made of gold for what they cost, and cost to repair.
Things were really happening at the shop today. I set the body back onto the frame temporarily to measure for body mounts/hat channels. There was so little left on the passenger side that I couldn't tell where it all lined up, so a quick mockup to make everything square and figure out the mount locations. This is temporary but oh man it looks so good to actually see a jeep again! And it's sitting so much better now that the sides aren't sagging and it's all straight.
I'm still slowly cleaning the carburetor. I got it to where the outside is clean enough for my liking. But the inside I don't know of it needs more or not. I ran some wire through all the holes, and scraped out most of the corrosion. I don't know how critical it is, there's still some discoloring of the aluminum, and a little bit of corrosion, but all the dirt and gunk is gone. I'll probably hand clean alittle more then run a final ultrasonic cleaner cycle. Then maybe I can start reassembly.
I have cleaned the inside more since this picture. But looking for expertise if it needs to be cleaned more.
I also cleaned and painted the base plate and the exterior brackets
Looking great 56. I like to verify the body mount/hat channel locations before making everything permanent, even if I'm nearly certain to where the original was located.
The carb is looking good too. If you are certain it's clean, and you have checked every nook and cranny, then you should be good to go. Bmorgil recommends using a sonic cleaner to put the aluminum pieces in, and it is a great tip. I haven't invested in one at this point, but I'll be looking for one when they come on sale for such jobs. Luckily, knock on wood, I don't have any carb issues with the Heep, so it hasn't been a priority.
Great progress there 56'! You can see it coming together now.
I have rebuilt many carbs with a couple of spray cans of carb cleaner and the straw they give you to direct the blast of cleaner and nothing else. Using the straw and compressed air in the can, the carb cleaner is blasted through every passage, after the wire goes through if possible. In the old days there were no Ultra-Sonic cleaners. You soaked them in carb cleaning solutions for a day or two. If you have thoroughly cleaned the passages and tubes and jets, give it a good rinse and a thorough blow out with an air gun and you cant ask for anything more. Making them pretty is nice but, not required. The only things you need to be absolutely sure of is, no pieces of corrosion remain inside that can come loose, and all the passages are clear. It never ceases to amaze me how particles too small to see easily will stop a carb.
Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement!!!
Today was another successful day, I bolted the fenders on and got the body positioned straight. The sides are about 1/4" off square but I think it will be okay. I know it's a million times straighter than it was a couple months ago. And I can't imagine the factory having tight tolerances, so I think I'll roll with it. I measured for all the remaining body mounts. And added some flanges on my homemade floor riser. Since I used tubing instead of the formed sheetmetal like factory, there wasn't enough room for bolts in the correct location. So I welded some 1/8" plate to the tubing on the same angle as the frame. (It's right where the frame arches up for the axle) And I drilled new holes whre it will clear the tubing. I also found that for some reason the trans tunnel, though I made it bigger than factory is just barely resting on the t-case. So I'll need to modify that.
Then I pulled the tub back off to finish welding. And I started getting the framework made. I haven't got any tubing in yet but the main piece is ready to weld tomorrow.
On the carb;
I scraped and cleaned still more, I wire brushed the corrosion in the bottom of the bowl. And ran it through another cycle in the ultrasonic cleaner. And scraped wire through holes again then blew them out with carb cleaner and the air hose.
So there's still alittle corrosion on the bottom of the bowl, but with carb cleaner, wire brushing, and even scrapping with a flat screwdriver it hasn't come off. So I think it will be okay.
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