[gto65]

Looking to have a set of 65 tri power carbs rebuilt for a concourse restoration. Who are the quality refurbishers. I haven't had carbs done in quite some time, any help appreciated.

[pfilean]

Keep your post near the top of the list. Dick Boneske or Mike Wasson will jump in here soon.

[bigpop]

I only know of Mike Wasson's work, and it is excellent. Surprisingly, a friend lent Mike a tri-power set up to show at the POCI Convention here in St. Charles. John ,my buddy, said, Mike now talks some into letting him paint the carbs after preping them, as opposed to plating! IIRC, his painted ones are winners in Concurs, as well as the plated ones. The plus is they are more cost effective also.

I know Mike uses Eastwood's Carb Renew II, which he told me last year was better that the original Eastwood Carb Renew.

IIRC, I read Dick Boneske has done carbs for a member here ,and that member loved his work! Someone can get that thread for you.I'll let Mr. Boneske sell his product, as I haven't seen his work. Larry B.

[carbking]

I happen to know that Cliff has had his arm twisted in the past to do a tripower. There might be a few here that could vouch for Cliff's work.

Jon.

[tom s]

Jon,your work is nothing to throw stones at!Not sure how your back log is.Tom

[dlarkins]

Originally Posted by gto65

Looking to have a set of 65 tri power carbs rebuilt for a concourse restoration. Who are the quality refurbishers. I haven't had carbs done in quite some time, any help appreciated.

Mike Wasson in Illinois. Voted #1
Here's his home website:

http://www.pontiactripower.com/index.html

[b-man]

Here is some of Dick Boneske's work, top-notch.

Dick restored a pair of '66 end carbs that I supplied and he sold me a '64 center carb for a '64 Tri-Power unit I was piecing together for a '64 421 HO build. In this picture the carbs were temporarily installed on one of Dick's '65 intakes so he could set up the linkage for me.

[tom s]

Hard for me to believe a concourse judged car would be allowed painted carbs!Tom

[bill ryder]

Chuck Henley has an NOS '65-'67 center carb TP linkage arm for sale this week.
: 370623923730 auction number

[Dick Boneske]

I've seen some painted ones that are hard to distinguish from dichromate. The ones in Bart's posting above are dichromate.

I've attached a picture of two '66 setups, one dichromate, one Eastwood Carb Renew I.

The downside of the paint is durability, especially when you get the inevitable gasoline stains on the float bowl and airhorn. Cleaning this off doesn't always go well with the paint. For a trailer queen, this is not an issue.

The downside of the factory dichromated the carb bodies, but as we all know, is that they fade to gray after years of exposure to heat and the elements. The same is true of restored/dichromated carb bodies.

I've also attached a couple of pictures of a '64 GTO NOS carb vs. a freshly dichromated one, showing the original gold dichromate color. As a side note, the freshly restored carb has the throttle arm, etc. zinc plated vs. the NOS carb that everyone says was cadmium. Other than the dull finish on the NOS carb plating, the color between cad and zinc looks pretty similar to me.

[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by Dick Boneske

I've seen some painted ones that are hard to distinguish from dichromate. The ones in Bart's posting above are dichromate.

I've attached a picture of two '66 setups, one dichromate, one Eastwood Carb Renew I.

The downside of the paint is durability, especially when you get the inevitable gasoline stains on the float bowl and airhorn. Cleaning this off doesn't always go well with the paint. For a trailer queen, this is not an issue.

The downside of the factory dichromated the carb bodies, but as we all know, is that they fade to gray after years of exposure to heat and the elements. The same is true of restored/dichromated carb bodies.

I've also attached a couple of pictures of a '64 GTO NOS carb vs. a freshly dichromated one, showing the original gold dichromate color. As a side note, the freshly restored carb has the throttle arm, etc. zinc plated vs. the NOS carb that everyone says was cadmium. Other than the dull finish on the NOS carb plating, the color between cad and zinc looks pretty similar to me.

In your first picture, the top carbs are plated ad the bottom carbs are painted, correct?

[Tom Vaught]

I have always wondered how you can PROTECT the INSIDE of a painted carb.

The carbs, as I have posted many times are made from ZINC. ZINC and water do not go well together. Water attacks the bare ZINC and will cause a powder residue in the float bowl area. Like very bad dental decay.

So now you have people painting carbs on the outside and obviously gasoline and paint do not go well together so if they paint the inside of the carbs to protect the ZINC the paint immediately is destroyed by the gasoline in normal usage.

So you paint your face with pretty make-up and look beautiful but as soon as you open your mouth you see your teeth are rotten. DOH.

When the carbs turn grey, it is time for another dichromate dip. INSIDE and OUTSIDE.

Tom Vaught

[Dick Boneske]

Jerry, Yes, the top picture is dichromate, the bottom Eastwood Carb Renew I. The picture looks worse than the carbs did "in person." They actually looked a lot like the dichromate, but as has been stated, not as durable--and as Tom said, what about the inside of the float bowls and throat around the venturis? There is no protection here for the pot metal surfaces.

[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by Dick Boneske

Jerry, Yes, the top picture is dichromate, the bottom Eastwood Carb Renew I. The picture looks worse than the carbs did "in person." They actually looked a lot like the dichromate, but as has been stated, not as durable--and as Tom said, what about the inside of the float bowls and throat around the venturis? There is no protection here for the pot metal surfaces.

I'm half blind and I can still tell the difference via a picture. No painted carbs for me. I bought a car years ago that someone had painted the carbs on. This was before 'carb renew' and someone had painted them with hardware store gold paint. When I tore them down to clean them--what a f'ing mess! It took several dippings and straining in carb cleaner (the old 'good' kind) to get them clean. Never again!

[JAKE 64]

I just dropped off a test carburetor to my plater yesterday. I have been reluctant to have my own carbs iridite coated, as I don't know how successful my plater will be in restoring the brilliant gold finish these carbs were originally coated in. If not successful in obtaining the desired brilliance, I will have lost all credible evidence as to how I believe the carbs should be restored. The iridite coating process, as are most plating/coating processes, is dependent on batch and the surface preparation of the coated/plated component. Coating/plating parts that are 48 years old, even if they have been protected over that time frame, will give varying results when compared to new parts. When I started researching the restoration of these carbs several years ago, I was dismayed in the feedback I received from some of the country's leading restorers. My concern was not so much on the mechanical side, but rather on the appearance side. The use of paints on the carbs and other aspects of the intake system was not what I believed the factory did. I also could not receive a common theme on the appearance of the carbs. Hopefully, the pictures will illustrate the gold brilliance in the coating that remains. Over the past 20+ years these carbs have sat idle in a climate controlled environment, so what you are seeing are carbs that have seen the equivalent of some 20+ years of service, in what I believe in a moderate (central California) climate. The only thing I did to prepare these carbs for photos was to use a small 1.5 in. paint brush with a commercial carb cleaner to brush clean the inside and outside surfaces of 48 years of dirt and fuel deposits. While most of the iradescence is gone, the gold that remains is similar to a shiny gold wedding band. The gold is found inside the carbs as well. I can understand why back in the day these carb systems, with the gold and chrome, were such hits at the gas stations when the hoods were raised.

As I indicated above, the gold iriditing process is a variable process in that it is dependent on the batch and surface condition of the component coated. The gold iridite process used in 1964 is very much different than the zinc dichromate processes commonly used today in both the chemicals used and the final appearance. The zinc dichromate process has pretty much replaced the iridite process, driven mostly by environmental concerns.
And while I am a major advocate for the use of cadmium in lieu of zinc chromate (again, an environmental substitute for cadmium), I believe the carburetors are one of the few areas that GM used zinc plating on some of the external (rods, etc.) components of these carburetors.

[Tom Vaught]

Bill Ryder's 64 GTO carbs were done by Rochester Products (Delco) many years ago, as were the Henry Ford Museum 65 GTO carbs.

Both sets of those carbs are much more of a Gold/light Brown color with some green traces in the coloring vs what I would call "OLDSMOBILE 66 TRI-POWER GOLD". I was told by the Rochester Engineers that the coating color could change with a given batch due to chemical life in the tank and also how long the carbs actually stayed in the tank.

Tom Vaught

[Dick Boneske]

Yes, the color of the dichromate coating did vary from carb-to-carb, and sometimes the airhorn, float bowl, and choke housings were different colors on the same carb. I'm sure the NOS '64 carb in the picture attached is faded from the way it looked when built, but still is distinctively gold in color. Note that the choke housing has nearly no gold color at all.

The NOS carb is the one on the left in the second picture. The cad or zinc plating on the NOS carb throttle arm and accelerator pump levers has gotten dull compared to the restored carb. I guess that would be expected after 48 years.

We have beaten this carb color subject nearly to death. Fortunately, we have for reference NOS carbs that were never bolted to an engine. In the attached pictures, the NOS carb is very close in color to the restored one next to it.

[bmidgley]

I have attached a picture of a set of tripower carbs done in Eastwood. I think they look pretty good. When I restore a set of carbs, I let the customer decide which finish he (or she) wants. Cost is the biggest factor as the Chromate treatment adds to the cost.

When I need a set of carbs Chromate colored, I prep them at my shop and send them out as the chemicals used are not user friendly!

For most driver cars, Eastwood does a nice job. If the car is going to be shown for points judging, I recommend going with Chromate.

I have found, with my own car, that the Chromate colored carbs do fade significantly over time, especially if the car is stored in a non-heated area. Temperature swings, in cold climates, cause the carbs to sweat and will result in the Chromate fading away. Depends on your storage situation and the climate.

Hope this helps a bit..

Mike..www.pontiactripower.com

[bmidgley]

One more...

This set of carbs, also done with Eastwood, is a bit darker. Might look closer to factory than the last picture.

Mike