C-85 carb

[st-15]

HI all, I'm a newbie here, my 1st post. I'm in the process of rebuilding a C-85-8 engine, putting Aircraft specialties O-200 crank and rod kit in it. What are your suggestions as to what carb to put on? I've got the ol' Stromberg, but need to have it overhauled , or put in a MA-3SPA. Which one?
If I choose the MA-3SPA, should it be the C-85 10-4240, or one for the O-200 with the bigger discharge nozzle? Any input, opinion are appreciate!
Thanks - st-15

[mulwyk]

Re: C-85 carb

Good morning ST.
I went through the Stromberg?Marvel carb thing last year for my A65. Most folks agree that the Marvel is the superior carb. But when I looked into the cost of buying a Marvel vs. overhauling my old Stromberg...I decided that the Stromberg was not so bad afterall!

Welcome to the T-Craft discussion. You're in Fairbanks? My son is currently in Fairbanks as a guest of the army. I talked to him last night on the phone, and he say's it's already below zero there! The army likes to send him to Iraq in the summer and to Fairbanks in winter. Wow.

Bob Gustafson

[flyguy]

Re: C-85 carb

This is a personal preference only. If I could afford it I would put the same carb that is used on the Cessna 150/ O200 installation. Here's why. The Taylorcraft wing is one that loves to fly high. With the good mixture control on that carb you will be able to optimize both power and fuel consumption at high altitude. An additional benefit is that parts are more available for that carb. Of course if you are going to be buzzing around at low altitude most of the time or have to economize, go the less costly route.
Darryl

[paulp]

Re: C-85 carb

Howdy ST15,

I have also done the stroker mods to my 85-12F. I went crazy and bought a NEW Precision Carb 10-4240-1. Best investment that I have ever made. It does run rich and I have to keep it leaned out a bunch. When the warranty is up I am going to put some smaller jets in to see if that will correct the rich condition but other than that, I stilll think it was the right choice for me.

[st-15]

Re: C-85 carb

Thanks for the input guys! And thanks to your son Bob, for serving in the Army here. It is a bit cool here now, but hey - no mosquitoes!!
The 10-4240 carb sounds good, I have inquired at a few parts stores, and those carbs are spendy and hard to find, but that mixture would be handy too. I was told that a "Lowe's Aviation Aircraft Maintenance" has an STC to convert the dischage nozzles on the O-200 Carbs- anyone have info on that?I'm in the process of overhauling the C-85-8, and I'm trying to figure out the best options that are affordable. So far I've gotten the slick mags and millenium cylinders on order - ouch! But look forward to getting this together for spring ski flying. I'm sure enjoying the forum here, thanks!!

[zero.one.victor]

Re: C-85 carb

If I was you, I'd consider going with ECI cylinders if available instead of Millenium (Superior)-- been hearing some bad reports on those lately. At OH time a few years ago, I put some "classic cast" (plain steel) ECI's on my C-145 and have been very satisfied with them. No troubles after close to 800 hours. The ECI's were considerably less dough than the Superior's too, at that time anyway.
C-85 cylinders are the same as used on the O-200 & -300, eh?

Eric

[st-15]

Re: C-85 carb

Thanks for the advice Eric. I did churn the ideas of what cylinders to get, and finally called a couple of engine shops-both said that the average milleniums seem better as they tend to get thru 2 runs (4000hrs approx) before they start needing to be ground oversize, where as the OEM and ECI get thru the 1st run fine, but often need oversizing afterwards. I have heard of trouble from millenims - valve troubles I think, but then there is a proposal(if I remember right) to issue an AD on O-320 ECI classic-cast cylinders-cracking somewhere in the cylinder. I think checking the product out close before install is a must also. Thanks for your input!

[zero.one.victor]

Re: C-85 carb

A buddy of mine helped a hangar-neighbor retrieve his C-150 after a forced landing. Had the head crack off the barrel on a Superior cylinder, started running like dogshit then totally quit when the head came off far enough to pull the intake elbow off the spider so the 3 good ones got nothing but air. Not that high-time a cylinder either, first-run and well under TBO.
I hadn't heard about any AD on ECI cyl's, but I recall hearing something about a recall or something for Superior's?

Eric

[st-15]

Re: C-85 carb

I did a little research and found AD 2004-08-19 that deals with ECI cyllinder problem with the continental 520/550 series engine - and that was with a limited run of cylinders. Having the head come loose doesn't sound good at all. How long ago did that incident happen Eric? Any input from Superior on the problem? I do like the looks of the Millenium. More meat in the exhaust port area where they were prone to crack in the past on the OEM cyl.

[zero.one.victor]

Re: C-85 carb

This happened about 2 or maybe 3 months ago, on Lopez Island in Washington. I don't know if they tried to get Superior to make good on the cylinder or what.....I've heard of old OEM's doing this, in fact it's evidently not all that uncommon, but this is the first time I've heard of Superior's having this problem.

Eric