This morning I got underway at 7 o’clock and the car was grumbly and cranky. She flooded twice and then wouldn’t start as I pulled out into traffic (near the Washington beltway). Not the best.
Finally, I got the old girl cranked and two-footed her from Washington to Philadelphia. On the road, she ran a little warm, but basically okay.
Since my interview on NBC Channel 10 wasn’t until 4:20, and I arrived in Philly at about 11 a.m., I decided to hunt down some carburetor specialists. The first shop I came across was Rossi’s, a small spot near Center City. Frank, a fellow who has worked on carbs for 20-plus years, quickly diagnosed my problem: a cracked base casting on the center carburetor.
Now that was unusual. The base casting is made of iron, but when he pointed at the crack, there it was–a small, silver scratch. And when he pressed the linkages, the car stumbled and began to die. So eureka, we have a potential cure. But now, where to get a base casting in Philadelphia for a 51-year-old car?
Catherine our office manager came to the rescue. Within a few phone calls, she’d found an old carburetor supply shop that did indeed have the casting, Palacio Carburetors.
Before I could set out for Palacio’s, however, the Brougham’s battery died. So Frank sold me a new NAPA battery, I installed it, and we were off.
Palacio’s was not in the best section of town. Nor does the shop particularly excel at customer service. (Most of the staff seems to linger either in the basement or the back of the store, necessitating entering customers to yell “YO!” for help. I did not yell “YO!” and thus it took about 20 minutes to get helped.) But help me they did. Soon I had the correct base casting to my carburetor.
After a quick stop at Geno’s for a classic Philadelphia cheesesteak, I slept well, knowing the my idling problems would soon be solved.
