The carburetor is a key factor in the overall driveability and performance of most any classic car. Like any other complex engine component, sooner or later it will need servicing, a rebuild, or you’ll want to modify it.
In order to effectively work on a carburetor, it is often necessary to remove it from the intake manifold and service it on a bench. Although most carburetor repair work is done with the carb oriented as it is on a manifold, sometimes it needs to be flipped over to service the bottom.
To begin the project, we borrowed...
To begin the project, we borrowed a Rochester Quadrajet (spread-bore) and a Holley (square-bore) carburetor from Floyd Hand. We turned the Holley carburetor over, traced the baseplate mounting holes onto a piece of construction paper, and punched out the holes. An easier way is to trace the holes using a carburetor gasket or spacer.
To raise the unit so you can work on it, manufacturers produce a number of stands for four-barrel carburetors. These typically cost from $17.95 to $50, and are designed to raise the carburetor up off of your work bench so you can service the top. However, we have yet to see a stand with the clearance to mount the carb upside down. While these stands certainly work, a more effective carb stand can be built out of wood for under $20 by anyone who can use simple handtools--and you can mount the carb upside down to remove baked-on gasket material, clean the throttle plates, or even ease access to linkage parts.
Hang on as we go retro tech and show you how to build two carb stands out of wood, one for a spread-bore Quadrajet and one for a square-bore Holley.
Tools and Supplies
-48 inches, -inch wood dowel rod
- 48 inches, 516-inch wood dowel rod
- 8x8-inch piece of -inch-thick OSB or plywood
- 6x6-inch piece of -inch plywood (optional)
-Wood-cutting tool
-Electric drill or drill press and drill bits
- File or grinding tool
-Wood glue
-Paint or varnish (optional)
-Marking tool
- Paper
Building a carburetor stand out of wood is relatively easy and should only take a few hours. A drill press or table saw isn’t necessary, as common handtools will work just as well. If you have scrap plywood, wood glue, and spray paint already on your garage shelf, each stand can be built for less than $7 since all you have to buy are the dowels.
Because the purpose is to build a stand to either work on or store your carburetor, it doesn’t need to be perfect, just stable and serviceable. The key to building a wood-based stand is to have a thick base and limit the width of the legs to no larger than 3/4-inch. The combination allows the legs to be sunk relatively deep into the base for stability, yet remain narrow enough so you don’t have to whittle down the leg diameter to accommodate the throttle(s) mechanisms.
If you make a mistake and cut a leg or pin crooked, or drill too shallow or deep, do what we did--make it work. We weren’t rotating the legs and pin placement for the heck of it--we were creatively improvising! Who cares if it more closely resembles the first model airplane that you put together as a kid, as long as it serves its purpose?
Fear not, as these stands deliver. Changing the power valve on the Holley was a snap, and swapping out the main jets on the Quadrajet was so much easier on a stand versus bending over the car, hoping you get the new jets started before your back permanently locks up in a pretzel configuration.
If you need more motivation to get out in the garage and build a stand, bear in mind that this is a perfect project to work on with your son or daughter to introduce them to woodworking and the operational principles of a carburetor. One word of caution though--don’t let your numbers-matching 455 H.O. Quadrajet be whisked off to a show-and-tell session at school! Sometimes kids do the darndest things!
Special thanks to Floyd Hand, who offered up his homebuilt Holley stand as a working prototype and supplied the carburetors.
Once the holes were marked,...
Once the holes were marked, we measured the Holley center-to-center length (5.625 inches) and width (5.1875 inches) with a micrometer and noted them on the paper. We followed the same process for the Rochester Quadrajet, which measured 5.675-inches long by 4.250-inches wide. We took the hole measurements so that we have the spacing dimensions between the centers to double-check before cutting into the wood.
Considering the measurements...
Considering the measurements of each carburetor, we determined that an 8x8-inch piece of plywood would provide a large enough base for support. We’re using scrap ¾-inch Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Not only is OSB cheap (under $10 for a 4x8-foot sheet) but it’s strong, moisture resistant, and very easy to cut. The key here isn’t so much the grade of plywood, but making sure we use a thick stock so the legs can be sunk deep to provide stability. We marked and cut the two pieces of OSB using a table saw, but a wood saw or reciprocating saw will work equally well.
We traced the Holley pattern...
We traced the Holley pattern onto the first board and drilled each hole a ½-inch deep, using a ¾-inch wood-boring bit in a mini-drill press. (You don’t need a drill press—an electric drill will work fine, but go slowly to check the depth of your cut.)
The legs for the stand are...
The legs for the stand are constructed of ¾-inch dowel rod (Lowe’s, PN 19348, retail $2.64). Floyd marked and cut four 6-inch sections of the dowel, placed them in each of the four holes of the base, and measured and adjusted for height by either drilling a bit deeper into the wood or putting some wood shavings in the hole. Once satisfied that the legs were the same height, he placed the carburetor onto the legs and drilled a ½-inch-deep, 21⁄64-inch hole into the center of each dowel for the leg pins.
Fashioned out of 5⁄16-inch...
Fashioned out of 5⁄16-inch wood dowel rod (Lowe’s, PN 19379, retail $0.74), Floyd cut four 2-inch leg pins and trial-fit them. He measured and adjusted each leg and pin combination to arrive at our target height of 7 inches. With the Holley back on the stand, we rotated each leg and pin combination in its hole to achieve the straightest pin placement, and marked the positions to aid in reassembly. Wood glue (Elmer’s Carpenter’s WoodGlue Max, Lowe’s, PN 026000073004, retail $4.57) was liberally applied, and then the legs and pins were lined up and assembled.
After wiping the excess glue...
After wiping the excess glue from the base and the pins, Floyd placed a piece of paper towel on each pin. He then set the Holley over the pins and left it alone for a few hours for the glue to set.
While the Holley carburetor...
While the Holley carburetor stand was drying, we turned our attention to creating the Quadrajet stand. After sawing identical 6-inch legs and cutting ¾-inch holes in the base, the legs were ready to be drilled for pins—except for one small detail. When we turned it upside down, the rear of the carburetor was 2¼-inches shorter than the front and couldn’t be mounted unless we employed spacers and longer pins.
We cut 2¼-inch sections of...
We cut 2¼-inch sections of ¾-inch dowel and then drilled through the centers with our 21⁄64-inch bit. Longer pins were needed on the rear of the carburetor, so we cut two 4-inch sections of the 5⁄16-inch dowel, and then a total of four 2-inch sections of dowel (two for the front and two for storage of the spacers when the carb is sitting upright). After drilling out the legs for the dowel pins, we mounted the carb upside down with the spacers and placed a level across it. We adjusted the height of the spacers by sanding one down a few sixteenths of an inch and rotating the other to level the carburetor.
We made storage pins for the...
We made storage pins for the spacers in the base near the back corners (far right). After everything was marked, Floyd glued the carburetor stand together and allowed it to dry with the Q-jet mounted upside down. Note how the Holley sits between its stand legs while upside down as compared to the Quadrajet.
Next, we created storage plates...
Next, we created storage plates (optional) to protect the carburetors for extended storage. We used a 6½x6-inch piece of ¼-inch plywood for each. The Holley carb was placed on one board and the mounting holes were marked, while a Q-jet spacer was used on the other. We drilled them with a 21⁄64-inch bit and then enlarged the holes with a Unibit to allow the plate to easily slip over the dowel pins.
We placed the storage plates...
We placed the storage plates on each stand and added the carburetors. After working the throttles on the Holley and Quadrajet, we determined that neither storage plate would work without some minor trimming around the throttle linkage. Once we completed the trimming, the throttle linkages operated properly. The last task was to bevel the tops of the leg pins to make it easier to put the carburetors on the stand.
To protect the wood and, more...
To protect the wood and, more importantly, distinguish each carburetor stand, we used a can of Rustoleum Ultra Cover in Dark Gray and Bright Blue Gloss. Floyd sprayed the base of the Quadrajet stand in Dark Gray with Bright Blue legs and pins, while the Holley version received the opposite color application. We painted both carburetor storage plates to match the bases. After the paint dried for several hours, we mounted the storage plates, followed by the carburetors. Now they’re ready to be bagged for storage or worked on in preparation for the upcoming spring season.