MTFCA Forum

My 1912 Haighs chocolate van was getting very hard to crank start, so I had to fit a replacement H1 carb Stan Howe rebuilt form me. I was disassembling the original one to check how the float arm/needle and seat looked when I discovered the likely cause of the hard starting. The laminated cork float had shrunk somewhat, making it loose on the arm. As a result the float was able to move on the tiny bolts, up to 3/8", so i had a variable height float setting. Of course, removing the assembly resulted in a broken cork float, so now I have a job carving a new replacement.

I bought an incomplete third H1 at a swap meet, and was trying to see whether a replacement float arm I discovered in my spares stash was correct for it. It wasn't!
Allan from down under.

You can get the arm from Lang’s. You can repair the cork float by super glueing it together and then coating it with a product called Red Kote. I actually have repaired several cork floats that way on H1’s, 5 balls, Holley G & 4 balls.

If you don’t want to pay for shipping from the USA for a float arm you can make one out of brass then get a needle and seat for a Quadrajet carburetor and put it in there. You don’t have to modify it for an H1. Assuming you can get a Quadrajet needle and seat in Australia at a local parts house. Just drill and tap 3/8-24. Then you won’t have to worry about the finicky original setup.

John, thanks for the tip about the arms from Langs. They must have been problematical. The one in the incomplete carb was broken diecast. The one in my original is a brass casting. The float looks like the one on the left in your photo

Corey, thanks for the photo of the made up float hinge. That should not be a problem to make. I still need the stepped plug/hinge pin that screws in the side. The float you show looks much like a Holley G item. my H1 float is much lighter than that one.

Quadrajet carbs were used on some Holden engines here in Australia, so I'll have to look into a local supplier. Stan fitted a viton needle and seat to my rebuild carb. He offered the tap to fit others, but he did not indicate the vehicle/carb on which it was used.

Allan from down under.