1957ish VIKING 3.5 hp Carb questions.

[Carpenter2486]

hello all, I have a 1957 Viking 3.5 it run has good spark , I cleaned it up and its in fairly good shape, but my issue now is this carburetor is not something I understand, if I set it to drip fuel like crazy it will run beautifully, as soon as I turn the nob to no more drop fuel it runs alittle crappyer then will die,, there is a fine line it will run well, and I know how carburetors work , but this one is a little more vintage than I'm normally working with so I ask of you fellow iboaters who hopefully know about this gem! its a beautiful original motor it has not been touched in 40 years, father in-law had it in his basement and he decided it was time to let it go ,, it is a great motor that means minimal repair.

 

[F_R]

No Title

I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding. You say you turn the know till it drips like crazy. By that, are you saying till it is holding the primer lever down?

Whatever, there is only one fuel metering jet in that carb and both the primer fuel and running fuel flows through it. The knob/needle controls the flow rate. So,,,what I do is leave off the knob and small lever that trips the primer for initial setup. Then open the needle about 1/2 turn from lightly closed. Hold primer (float needle) down with my finger till it drips, then release it and start the motor. Run at full throttle and adjust the needle for best running (as far clockwise as possible without loss of power). When satisfied, stop the motor and install the primer trip lever so it points up, and also the knob so it points up. Set up this way, it should work normally.

Cold-starting procedure once set up is turn knob all the way to the left, which holds the primer down, till it drips. Then turn back to the right far enough to release the primer. Start motor, and adjust knob for best running--should be about the straight up position.

One last thing--the idle mixture adjustment is the small screw on the side of the throttle valve. It works by holding the throttle valve open a bit at idle speeds only. Adjust it for best slow speed idle.

I only have six of those motors, under various names they were produced under. BTW, they are 3hp.

 

[Carpenter2486]

F_R, you are Very helpful, as\nswered all my questions and more, like i said its a beautiful motor and runs good i was just not able to figgure the carberator out, my problem was that primer lever would be down the entire time and it would run great, but when i would lift it up it would not run to great, but i may have to yet set my jets,, i didnot want to mess with it to much becuase i was not sure how it worked so i played it safe and waited before i started turning nobs every way, also i was not sure if it was a 3 or 3.5 i did some looking on google but it was not helpful, again you helped a great deal! your red viking in the photo looks great! i would like to just touch up the white on my motor shroud, keep it original color but hide some of the scratches,, another quick question,, the bolts that hold the shrowd on always vibrate loose and i have already lost one in the lake,, but if i tighten too tight it skweezes the fly wheel and thats just not an option,, maybe use washers or lock tight??
Thanks again F_R

 

[F_R]

I assume you mean the bolts that hold the tank? Yes, they are supposed to have 1/8 inch thick washers between the tank and brackets. Those will space the tank upwards and prevent rubbing the flywheel.

 

[Carpenter2486]

Great. Thank you for the assistance! Now I just need this snow to go away so the boating season cab begin!