[geoffunkel]

I had a question about the carb spacer on my '63 galaxie with 352. It has the stock 2100 carb and spacer. Right now I have the heater hoses routed through the spacer, as that is the stock setup. My understanding is that is done to prevent carb icing in cold weather. The thing is I live in Central California by the beach where the temperature very rarely drops below 40 degrees even in dead winter. Do I need to have the coolant routed through there or would there be an advantage/disadvantage to bypassing it? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[KULTULZ]

Only needed in cooler ambient temps. How did one get to CA? If West Coast built, you might want to check with CA Emissions before removing. Do they sniff that far back?

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

Nope no sniffers for his car, it is perfectly to disable it if you so choose.

 

[geoffunkel]

There's definitely no smog check for my car thank God. But my question is will I actually see some benefit from bypassing the spacer (i.e. cooler intake charge) or does it not really have an adverse effect? How cold does it have to be for carb icing to become an issue? The car was assembled in Los Angeles by the way.

 

[63ford406]

I live on the central coast of CA and some of my cars have it hooked up and some don't. I will tell you that milage will suffer a little with it disconected. Also all 352 and 390's in 1963 had that type of spacer except the Hi-Po cars.

 

[PSIG]

I wouldn't just bypass it - replace it with phenolic, thick fiber gaskets, or stacked-plate heat isolator. Or, you may want to keep it. The coolant helps with carb icing, but in warmer climates, they also help to keep the carb at engine temp. Be sure you run the factory recommended thermostat or cooler (usually 160-180°F) to help cool the carb.The exhaust crossover heat in teh intake manifold can make your fuel boil in the bowls without the coolant keeping it (believe it or not) cooler.

Trivia - carb icing can occur as warm as 100°F in the right conditions. Carb ice is most common and severe between 50°F and 75°F with humidity above 60%.

David

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

I've been driving for a gazillion years in almost every conceivable engine type in every climate known to man and never had a car ice up on me in a way that effect the way the engine was running.

 

[puttster]

Seems like Ford quit putting those water-spacers on in the late 60's.

 

[PSIG]

It's fairly uncommon, especially if you don't have ram air or ducted air, where the under-hood heat warms it enough first. I've only had it twice in Florida with the high humidity, and both around 45 to 55 degrees. It's something that may happen and folks have no idea that's the issue. I didn't the first time, and pulled the air cleaner top to check for a stuck choke or something (it felt like lugging the engine in high gear gear), and found the prettiest white 'snowdrifts' in the primary throttle bores about 1/2" thick. Once you shut the engine down, it melts in seconds to maybe a couple minutes. The second time, I sat at the intersection with the engine at fast idle until I saw someone I knew. I flagged them down just so I could show someone as proof I wasn't BSing at the next club meeting. LOL

Personally, I don't worry about the possibility of carb icing, and I block the intake manifold exhaust crossovers along with a thermal spacer to limit carb overheating. I don't see much really cold or freezing weather with my cars. Others may need more heat.

BTW - I don't know when they stopped with the coolant spacers, but my '78 460 had one stock.

David

[EDIT] PS: It's possible alcohol in our gasoline may aggravate the issue. Hmmm...

 

[KULTULZ]

Trivia - carb icing can occur as warm as 100°F in the right conditions. Carb ice is most common and severe between 50°F and 75°F with humidity above 60%.

David

Gospel... :tup:

Seems like Ford quit putting those water-spacers on in the late 60's.

They went to heated air inlet design(s).

 

[geoffunkel]

Hmm... Seems like I should just keep it hooked up the way it is then. Thanks for the info everyone.