mydatsunroadster.com

This morning I cleaned-up the bits and pieces of the carburetors in preparation for reassembly. I used some Simple Green and scouring pads. After allowing the parts to air-dry I then sprayed on some metal polish and buffed the parts.

Overall I'd characterize the results as "good." The parts came clean and were sufficiently de-greased. The polish worked okay and some of the parts became nice and shiny. The only problem was in parts that had rust or other blemishes on the metal. This process did not address those types of flaws. Originally I had planned to send many of the pieces off to be sand-blasted and re-coated in zinc. This would have resulted in a much better finish. However, I am too afraid to send all those bits away because they may come back in one big pile and I'd never get the carbs back together again.

Here is a picture of the parts I cleaned and one of the piston springs soaking in Simple Green. Here are before and after shots of the arm that actuates the choke. You can see the blemishes in the metal remain. Here are the throttle-adjustment bolts, which came out much better. Finally, here are the bolts that connect the float bowls to the carb bodies before (left) and after (right).