260 Tripower

[pfleuret]

In a previous thread I was thinking about a 3x2 setup. I pretty much gave up on that notion and went to two small afb’s.

Back to plan A. No sooner had I got the dual quad setup, than three of the original tripower front and rear carbs came up on eBay (Holley 2868). So I got those. Pricey but they are more or less unobtainable. The original 260 tripower was sold over the counter for a few years in the 60’s.

I still need a center carb with choke (original 2867). Rather than hope for an original to pop up, I got a standard Holley two barrel from the same era (1965 Comet). It has the same 1” venturi and 1-7/16” throttle bore as the 2867/8. I’ll just remove the forward part of the air cleaner mount and it will work fine.

[SASSY]

Too cool!!

[pfleuret]

Made an old school fuel log from 1” aluminum hex bar. Been wanting a good reason to do that for a long time.

[A/FX]

Looks very nice. I have a suggestion, when you clamp the hose to the barbed fittings use “Fuel injection “ style clamps. They look better and tighten the hose around the perimeter evenly without cutting into the rubber.
Jim
https://www.maperformance.com/products/ ... 2779245638

[pfleuret]

Didn’t know about those clamps thanks!

[pfleuret]

I found reproduction small block Ford tripower linkage at Melvins and Carls Ford. This is from Melvins. Saves a lot of fiddly fabrication. The two end carbs are original 260 tripower so fit was easy. The middle is not original. I got three cheap carbs off eBay to get the different parts I needed. Even so had to modify the throttle lever in several places. Works fine now.

[pfleuret]

Setup instructions for the small block 3x2 are not in any Ford manual because it was sold over the counter. But I’ve seen several references that the big block 3x2 instructions can be used. So I found an old manual with detailed instructions for the 406 tripower. The carbs and the linkage are mechanically identical. Some of the setup steps are not self evident so good to have the directions.

[comethead]

This is awesome !

[pfleuret]

Thanks folks for comments. The tripower project is coming along but a lot of details still to be sorted out.

Yesterday I modified the Holley 3485 two barrel (1965 Comet) to be the middle carburetor. It has the same 1” venturi and 1-7/16” throttle bore as the original 260 tripower carbs (2867/8). The main thing needed is to remove the front half of the air cleaner mount.

I used a bandsaw to cut off most the material (pic1). Then a milling machine to finish the job (pic2). The modified carb fits perfectly (pic3) and accepts the D-shaped air cleaner gasket.

Next step is to clean and rebuild the three carburetors.

[poboyjo65]

Pat you could probably appreciate what this guy did;
https://www.cometcentral.com/forum/view ... 6&start=60
I reckon it did pretty good, I think he wound up selling the car.

[pfleuret]

Yep I found that when I did a search for 3x2 setups on the board. That fellow would tackle anything! Hats off.

[pfleuret]

I’ve got a lot of carburetor parts cleaning to do. Last time was decades ago sitting on a bucket in the driveway with a pan of gasoline and some brushes and scrapers.

Things have come a long way. I got an ultrasound cleaner and some Simple Green. Does a sparkling clean job quickly with no effort at all. And just dump the used liquid in a flower bed.

[pfleuret]

Finally got the carburetors cleaned and rebuilt. None of them had been abused or misassembled, kind of surprising given they are 60 years old. For replacement parts I found a couple good eBay vendors with reasonable prices and free USPS shipping.

The two end carbs (2868) are the original 260 tripower units so I just put them back together as I found them. They had #53 jets which is correct according to what I’ve read. Date coded 1963 same as the Comet!

I don’t have the original 2867 center carb so am using a 3485 (date code 1968) which has the same size venturi and throttle bore. I put in #47 jets which is what the 2867 had. Had to guess on the power valve, I used a 6.5 which is mid range. Had to guess on the accelerator pump discharge nozzles, used a #28 which is what the two end carbs have. Installed an electric choke.

Got a nice cast aluminum air cleaner from Cobranda for about 1/3 the cost of an original.

Next step is to finish the setup according to the 1962 factory Galaxy tripower manual.

[robib]

So I noticed your sparkling new air filter. Well, I got to thinking. It has been about twenty years since I put my Tri Power on my 63. About two years after I put it on, I decided to see how clean it was burning. In the process, I took the air cleaner off, did some mixture adjustments and idle speed. Not to bad for a 289/302 with a HiPo cam. Installed the the air cleaner and the idle dropped about 50 RPM. I was using a Fomoco air filter. Doubled checked - filter off/filter on. Yup, 50 RPM difference. Thought I bought a good filter. I bit the bullet and bought a K/N filter and that solved the problem. Whether you buy another filter or not, double check that you don't have the same problem I had. I had the car on a chassis dyno with the Fomoco filter, so I wonder what that did to my HP/Torque results.

[pfleuret]

I would have liked a round air cleaner. 16” would fit. Would have to make the base. But I could not think of a good way to make 3 perfect D-shape holes.

What air cleaner do you have for the three in line Autolite carbs?

It’s been decades since I had a carbureted engine so I am re-learning everything. Will keep idle speed in mind.