Carb ID

[Bushwacker]

The attached photo is a carb installed into a 1961 Series 2 I recently purchased. Does anyone know what type of Carburetor it is? Is it worth changing things back to the original oil bath air cleaner set up - seems last owner was convinced to remove that and replace with this carb and filter?

Any ideas on how to tune this and stop the diabolical volume of smoke out the back would also be appreciated by me and all those driving behind me! Thanks

[acpatsouris]

It appears to be a Rochester Model B. It's a pretty common replacement carb.

[Bushwacker]

Thanks acpatsouris I was never going to figure that one out having not heard of them. Do you have any view on reverting back to the oil bath filter set up vs leaving as is?

[siiirhd88]

You can run the oil bath air filter with the Rochester B. The Rochester can be taller than the stock carbs so you might need to remove a bit of the carb intake elbow and shorten the rubber connecting ring to prevent the elbow from rubbing on the underside of the bonnet. There are a few different diameters of carb elbows, so you might need a different one to match the carb.

Bob

[Bushwacker]

Thanks siiirhd88 I will try and locate an oil bath and see how I get on.

[acpatsouris]

Either setup should work as far as cleaning the air entering the carb. I guess an oil bath for originality would be the preferred setup. We, from time to time, have used assemblies available.

[Bushwacker]

Thanks acpatsouris is there somewhere I can see the used ones coming up?

[charles1943]

The Rochester B was designed for a large displacement 6-cylinder GM engine and was sold for years by "A certain Co."...ill advisedly. They all but DROWN the engine with fuel and, IMPO they were grossly inappropriate for the 2 1/4 engine

[siiirhd88]

I ran a Rochester B on my 88 and 109 for several years without problems. It doesn't supply the MPG of a Weber carb, but it doesn't have the jet fouling problem of the Weber or the warp issue of the Zenith. It is my favorite carb on the 2.25.

Bob

[Bushwacker]

Hisiiirhd88 did you experience any of the aforementioned drowning in fuel issues? Also did you have it hooked up to the oil bath filter or an alternative?

[siiirhd88]

Hisiiirhd88 did you experience any of the aforementioned drowning in fuel issues? Also did you have it hooked up to the oil bath filter or an alternative?

I used the oil bath air cleaner on the Rochester. I did a rebuild and re-gasket of the carb before use including setting the fuel float height and replacing the jets, and so had no excess fuel issue. I do not recall the jet size as it has been at least 15 years, sorry. The truck got the best mileage with the Weber, but it had more power with the Rochester. I run a 300TDI in the 109 now.

I did have to cut down the carb elbow and shorten the rubber tube connecting the carb to the elbow for bonnet clearance. Note that there were several different size carb elbows and elbows with different small hose connections for the crankcase vent hoses.

As Charles stated, the current air filter will work fine for now. I'd fix the running issues and do the oil bath install at a later time when the truck is running better.

Bob

[Bushwacker]

Thank you. That’s really detailed guidance.

[charles1943]

Speaking with a 40+-year Land-Rover specialist recently he agreed with me 100%, in that a Rochester B will wash down the engine's cylinder walls and probably bring an early end to your engine. A carb originally built for {Up to} a 4-litre engine just isn't really appropriate for an engine nearly half the displacement. Years ago I fell for its appeal but could never find jets small enough to keep the engine running happily. Back in about 1970 I was inexperienced but the honeymoon faded over time. To add to the (possibly) bad news is that this might be a copy from the far East....the original ROCHESTERS were a fine instrument for their day. I'm glad it's barely still in the rear view mirror. Never again !!

[siiirhd88]

Mike's carb parts and other businesses should have rebuild kits and other parts for the Rochester B. The jets come in many sizes, typically identified by the drill number size of the hole. In the past I have modified a jet by enlarging the hole or soldering the hole and drilling to a smaller size.

https://www.carburetor-parts.com/Rochester-B-Metering-Jets_c_2303.html

[Bushwacker]

Speaking with a 40+-year Land-Rover specialist recently he agreed with me 100%, in that a Rochester B will wash down the engine's cylinder walls and probably bring an early end to your engine. A carb originally built for {Up to} a 4-litre engine just isn't really appropriate for an engine nearly half the displacement. Years ago I fell for its appeal but could never find jets small enough to keep the engine running happily. Back in about 1970 I was inexperienced but the honeymoon faded over time. To add to the (possibly) bad news is that this might be a copy from the far East....the original ROCHESTERS were a fine instrument for their day. I'm glad it's barely still in the rear view mirror. Never again !!

charles1943 thank you. This obviously fills me with dread! I will say that when I was inspecting it closely it did look potentially like an Amazon special as the quality of the parts just looks low. Given what you have said and the high chance this could be a cheapo replica - it might be worth reverting to my original plan of a weber and return to the oil airbath filter.