Need BDC23 carb parts for Sandy Hook

[Bill Peck]

So I'm putting the carburetor back together and I go to get the diaphragm, check valve assembly and duckbill out of my pile of gaskets and they're not there. I could have sworn that I saw them when I did my inventory a couple of months ago (they say the memory is the second thing to go)! Can anybody help me out? Sandy Hook is coming up fast!

[doug tenney]

Bill, for one-stop-shopping you could call Terry Ives or Perry Blair. In addition to the other parts, they both should have duckbills made from methanol-resistant rubber (but that's a relative term, so I'd get a few while you're at it).

Terry Ives: nine-one-six-201-7707
Perry Blair's contact info is here: https://www.marmaxkartsandparts.com/contact

Other than the duckbill, or if you only run gasoline, you could use http://www.discount-marine-parts.com/,

[Gary Wlodarsky]

better yet..if you are standing close to a trash can, throw it in there and put a Tilly on it....

yeah it not Stock,,,,but it will sure give you more time to have fun vs screwing with those old carbs,,,just my 2 cents worth..

gw

[doug tenney]

Blasphemy!   But true.

[Bill Peck]

Now, now; fight nice boys! The parts I need are on their way (thanks, Dave). Gary, I'm going to have to catch up with you at Sandy Hook and pick your brain about Tillys. I never had much trouble with Mac carbs, but if parts are becoming a problem I may want to go that way.

[Al Hasenfratz]

Now, now; fight nice boys! The parts I need are on their way (thanks, Dave). Gary, I'm going to have to catch up with you at Sandy Hook and pick your brain about Tillys. I never had much trouble with Mac carbs, but if parts are becoming a problem I may want to go that way.

Trouble?

[doug tenney]

Bill, at least at present, there's no problem with parts availability for BDC's*, from the sources mentioned above (and a few others).

[The duckbill has always been a nuisance, because rubber degrades with time. Most rubber compounds are attacked by methanol. Roughly six years ago, Scott Kneisel ran some tests and I recall that he found that Elder Rubber was able to mold duckbills in a very satisfactory compound. You can swap out a duckbill in a few minutes.]

Now, finding a BDC that hasn't been monkeyed-with, and/or has survived without internal corrosion, can be a challenge.

Some guys have BDC's that work great, and wonder what the fuss is. And whenever they change engines, you'll notice that they keep that same carb and slide a different motor underneath it. Hence Gary's point. If you DON'T happen to already have a well-behaved BDC, then a brand new pair of tried-n-true Tillotsons looks VERY attractive. (Bill McCornak is setting up a pair for me now.)

* The one BDC part I haven't been able to find is a rubber-tipped inlet needle for my BDC-16 (originals were brass or aluminum). I bought a rubber-tipped needle about 4 years ago from Perry Blair (MarMax) but he doesn't have anymore. It's on my list to call and cajole him into making another batch. (Anybody know of another source?)

[Gary Wlodarsky]

I spoke with Rick Engel in Canada yesterday,,,hes always been the go to guy for clutch and brake relines...and now has a fantastic fix for the duckbill issue...

I think his son, Shawn is on here,,,contact him for more info..or if you want contact info I will PM it to you...it used to be in the VKA First Turn publication,,,not sure if it is still there..

Gary W

[Tom Day]

I would like to hear info on that duckbill fix, not because I want to go back to running them but am curious.I have several rebuilt BDC 14 and 16 plus 101 carbs if anyone is interested in buying any. You might have to revisit all the settings and tune them but they have not been hacked on.

Back in the day I and many others used to run 85% alky thru a stock BDC 14. Tried it when I started vintage. Forget it, I could not even get 50/50 to work consistently!

The ones I have work great with gas and the 101's are fairly consistent with alky.

[Bill Peck]

Bill, at least at present, there's no problem with parts availability for BDC's*, from the sources mentioned above (and a few others).

[The duckbill has always been a nuisance, because rubber degrades with time.  Most rubber compounds are attacked by methanol.  Roughly six years ago, Scott Kneisel ran some tests and I recall that he found that Elder Rubber was able to mold duckbills in a very satisfactory compound.  You can swap out a duckbill in a few minutes.]

Now, finding a BDC that hasn't been monkeyed-with, and/or has survived without internal corrosion, can be a challenge.

Some guys have BDC's that work great, and wonder what the fuss is.  And whenever they change engines, you'll notice that they keep that same carb and slide a different motor underneath it.  Hence Gary's point.  If you DON'T happen to already have a well-behaved BDC, then a brand new pair of tried-n-true Tillotsons looks VERY attractive.  (Bill McCornak is setting up a pair for me now.)

* The one BDC part I haven't been able to find is a rubber-tipped inlet needle for my BDC-16 (originals were brass or aluminum).  I bought a rubber-tipped needle about 4 years ago from Perry Blair (MarMax) but he doesn't have anymore.  It's on my list to call and cajole him into making another batch.  (Anybody know of another source?)

Doug, is the inlet needle the same as  a BDC 14 or 23? I have a couple of them that I wasn't going to use because of the ethanol in the gas these days.

The first time I tried to run methanol back in the '70s, the engine just shut off after a couple of laps. I assumed it was because the rubber inlet needle swelled up and shut off the fuel. I changed to a plastic needle and it ran fine after that. So, even though I'm going to run gas for Sandy Hook, I put a plastic needle in (just in case).

Still waiting for my care package of carb parts, but I'm also waiting on battery cables for my starter. Everything else is done. With a little luck I should be ready to fire it up this week!