[70RAlll]

Originally Posted by njsteve

I was finagling with the original carb tonight and found this oddity in the fuel inlet. I have never seen a check valve in a filter cartridge before. The replacement Delco filter just has a paper gasket on the end. This rubber seal and check valve was pressed into the inlet of the original filter. It takes some serious pressure to unseat the valve. Was it an anti drainback valve?

Steve.. that filter with a check valve is a newer filter. I have a couple bought from AutoZone that have that check valve, original ones did nothave that, they just used a piece of paper.I always cut the nipple part of the check valve off and use the rubber seal piece in place of the paper seals that come with rebuild kits.. I believe someone put a new filter in at some point Steve..could be wrong about using those in 1973-doubt it though, but know for sure the new ones I buy have that valve..

[RamAir]

Steve- I just replaced the fuel filter in my 72 (clogged) and it had a check valve as well. We used these in the 70's when I was in Buick service. They also came in the new Buicks from the factory. They were designed to prevent fuel leakage and fire if a car 'flipped over'.

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by 70RAlll

Steve.. that filter with a check valve is a newer filter. I have a couple bought from AutoZone that have that check valve, original ones did nothave that, they just used a piece of paper.I always cut the nipple part of the check valve off and use the rubber seal piece in place of the paper seals that come with rebuild kits.. I believe someone put a new filter in at some point Steve..could be wrong about using those in 1973-doubt it though, but know for sure the new ones I buy have that valve..

The new one in the AC/Delco package just had a paper gasket and no check valve.

[njsteve]

I have a companion thread to this one over at Yenko.net in the Pontiac section. I want to give a big thank you to Yenko.net members "KevinW" in NJ, who found the Milwaukee craigslist ad for two NOS tires, and "67442" (Paul) in Wisconsin who then proceeded to play the middleman and run down to the seller's shop and pick up the tires for me and then wrapped and shipped them to me. I now have a full display set of 1973 date coded Firestone 500 Radials.

The original spare (in the middle) and the two original tires (on the left) from the car are date coded the 18th week (late April) of 1973. The two NOS tires on the right were produced during the 25th week (mid June) of 1973, which makes them all perfect for the late July built car. And best of all they all have the unique, early 1973 white Firestone shield logo which was discontinued in late 1973.



I also got a tip from Paul on how to get rid of that white waxy stuff on the tire surface that no solvent would remove. Paul said it was the original mold release material that outgasses from the rubber over time. He recommended using a hair dryer to melt it and to let it soak back in. I used a heat gun set on low and whodathought but it worked great! I would heat the stuff and it would instantly melt into a glossy liquid which could be wiped away. Then another application of heat and the remainder would soak back into the tire!

Here is the original spare before:



And after using the heat. (disregard the white in the treads, that is tire dressing that hasn't soaked in yet)

[njsteve]

And before you ask...there is no way in hell that I will be driving on these tires. The recalled Firestone 500 Steel Radials are known to explode while just sitting, on display. There are several first hand accounts of Corvette owners experiencing these tires self destructing while stowed in the underbody trunk wells of mid 1970's Corvettes.

The car will be on display at the Musclecar and Corvette Nationals (MCACN.com) this November. I will be bringing them with me to mount on the car when we arrive. I won't chance the car jouncing in a trailer for 800 miles on these tires. They are like hand grenades with loose pins.

[njsteve]

I rebuilt the original 7043270 carb last night. All of the jets and metering rods were the factory installed pieces. No one had messed with the internals. I installed one of Cliff's accelerator pumps, and high flow .135 needle and seat assemblies. Threw on some new gaskets and replaced the float which swelled and was wedged in the down position. So I was rather glad I opened the carb up to check how things were inside, after all. Also all the screws were barely tightened - I guess the gaskets shrunk after 40 years.

She runs great! It's hard to keep any traction when hitting the gas from a standing start!