Recognize this KD Fuel Filter 4-Way Angle Wrench?

[3jakes]

Picked up this wrench in a lot.
Am trying to figure out what it was used on.
My last spin onto a carburetor fuel filter was my 78 351 Windsor.
I don't recall it being that hard that a regular wrench or even a deep well socket was able to do the job.
I see 3 of them for sale on ebay, but the listings provide no real info. The sellers are probably as clueless as I am.
Openings are around 1".

 

[Fedwrench]

I can't remember the specific carb model because, it was over 40 years ago but, it might have been a rodchester that had an internal filter at the carb. they had a one inch fitting that could be difficult to access with a full size one inch wrench.

 

[NHtoolguy]

I bought one new, "back in the day". It's for the fuel filter nut on Rochester four-barrel carburetors. The nuts had one-inch flats.

 

[3jakes]

Awesome guys!
I hope you can remember your anniversary dates as well as you remember your tools.
Me, I can't remember what I just had for lunch.

 

[four.cycle]

rodchester that had an internal filter at the carb.

Rochester and Carter "Quadra-Jet" carburetors for General Motors vehicles.
Carter replacement filter part numbers were 30-159 and 30-160 (although I cannot recall which was the short one and which was the long one.)
Absolute sonofabitch to remove that big nut at the front side of the carburetor to R&R the filter element.

 

[Desertskyy]

Rochester and Carter "Quadra-Jet" carburetors for General Motors vehicles.
Carter replacement filter part numbers were 30-159 and 30-160 (although I cannot recall which was the short one and which was the long one.)
Absolute sonofabitch to remove that big nut at the front side of the carburetor to R&R the filter element.

I loaned a Rochester carb to a buddy just shy of 40 years ago as he needed a carb for a V8 (327) Vega he was building. I lent him my carb and a piece of steel braided fuel line for the carb from the fuel pump so he could get his car started. Days later I see his set up and my carb on his manifold. I see that he cut my one piece steel braided fuel line in half to put in a fuel filter. I had to educate him that the Rochester carb already had a fuel filter in it.

I wonder if I ever did get that carb back from him??

 

[vssjim]

Yes Rochester Carb fuel filter wrench, as they were 1 inch.

 

[four.cycle]

"...he cut my one piece steel braided fuel line in half to put in a fuel filter..."

As I recall, that practice was quite common due to the difficulty of removing and replacing the small paper element in the inlet of the carburetor.
All of our stores stocked no fewer than 12 each of the GF-1 Carter and GF-11 Carter universal inline fuel filters. One came with a couple short pieces of neoprene fuel line and four worthless wire "Corbin" clamps, the other was the filter only.
People would take the small paper filter out of the front of the carburetor and throw it away and replace it with the much easier to replace inline filter.
We sold thousands of them during the "gas shortage" of the 1970s.

 

[The Cobbler]

I think originally the Rochester carbs had a porous bronze type filter in them

 

[four.cycle]

^ The earlier ones did. That was a "sintered bronze" filter. Carter part number was 30-87. They came 10 per box. They were usually all full of dust bunnies before the last one in the box sold.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Rochester and Carter "Quadra-Jet" carburetors for General Motors vehicles.
Carter replacement filter part numbers were 30-159 and 30-160 (although I cannot recall which was the short one and which was the long one.)
Absolute sonofabitch to remove that big nut at the front side of the carburetor to R&R the filter element.

There were a few Holley 4 barrel carbs that GM used and those carbs also used the GM internal filter.

I don't remember ever having much problems with the 1" fitting on GM carbs, The flare nut caused me the most trouble. I'm a little surprised there was a specialty tool for the fitting.

It was Ford's giant fuel filter of the 1960s that gave me fits. The rubber gasket could bind on really solid. I bought the Liisle tool and that helped alot but, even with that, it was still possible to damage the can twisting it off. I should have just figured a fuel filter that big must be a lifetime filter.

I think Cadillac later used the giant filter, maybe it was on their early Fuel Injection cars.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Rochester and Carter "Quadra-Jet" carburetors for General Motors vehicles.
Carter replacement filter part numbers were 30-159 and 30-160 (although I cannot recall which was the short one and which was the long one.)
Absolute sonofabitch to remove that big nut at the front side of the carburetor to R&R the filter element.

The last series of GM carb mounted fuel filters had some sort of valve at the inlet, maybe a check valve. I don't know what problem the fuel filter valve fixed. Even more parts to stock!

 

[four.cycle]

^ roll-over valve in the event the car flipped over?
I seem to recall that being a thing the last couple years I was in the parts racket. Memory is a bit vague on that one right now.

We were a Carter WD and I was a factory-trained Carter warranty tech. I avoided working on Holleys or any Quadrajets if at all possible - too damn many parts in them. Some guys loved them.
I definitely do not miss carburetors. Nothing but headaches.

 

[wolf_from_wv]

The Rochester Varajet 2SE and E2SE carburetor on the S-Series trucks, 2.8L Camaro, Jeeps, and other vehicles used a 1" wrench, too.

 

[bob15]

Mac also made a 1" 4-way thin wrench (# S-141) for Q-jets. I find them handy for the fuel filter inlet fitting on the Q-jets.

 

[four.cycle]

federally-mandated "roll-over" valve:

Mid-1970s. One Jerry L. Springer (of Ford Motor Company) was issued patent 3,915,255 for his design which shut off the fuel supply to the engine in the event the vehicle became inverted.

I remember when this happened. We had to add a whole mess of new part numbers of fuel filters to our Carter inventory, all of which were (at the time) seemingly outrageously expensive.

To remain competitive, we brought in a line of offshore-sourced fuel filters from "AAA Mfg. Co." (can't recall city) which were about 20% of the cost of the Carter equivalents.

I never did figure out how they put a "roll-over valve" into those tiny little paper filter elements, but the price differential between the older model and the new models with the valve was significant enough we dropped Carter fuel filters and went with the "AAA" line.

I tried finding a CFR for this and a date, but Google keeps looping back to 46 CFR § 143.260, which is well off the mark.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

federally-mandated "roll-over" valve:

Mid-1970s. One Jerry L. Springer (of Ford Motor Company) was issued patent 3,915,255 for his design which shut off the fuel supply to the engine in the event the vehicle became inverted.

That rings a bell. I imagine there's roll over situations where the car is on it's side, the gas tank is higher than the carb and the float can't shut the needle and seat. The fuel filter valve is designed to block low pressure gravity fed gas but opens up for fuel pump pressure gas.

I remember when this happened. We had to add a whole mess of new part numbers of fuel filters to our Carter inventory, all of which were (at the time) seemingly outrageously expensive.

To remain competitive, we brought in a line of offshore-sourced fuel filters from "AAA Mfg. Co." (can't recall city) which were about 20% of the cost of the Carter equivalents.

I never did figure out how they put a "roll-over valve" into those tiny little paper filter elements, but the price differential between the older model and the new models with the valve was significant enough we dropped Carter fuel filters and went with the "AAA" line.

I tried finding a CFR for this and a date, but Google keeps looping back to 46 CFR § 143.260, which is well off the mark.

The valve was really simple. If I recall correctly, there were 3 parts. A tube, about 1/8" around and about a half inch tall, closed at the top and with a couple of wide slots for the gas to flow out. Opposite the closed end was a wide flange which served as a gasket between the filter body and the retainer nut. There was a very simple plastic valve which looked like a nailhead. And a soft spring to pressurize the valve. I can't imagine the thing cost more than a nickel each when mass produced in the late 70s.

The long paper carb filter is shown at Rock Auto for between about a buck and two and a half bucks.

 

[Billy Jack]

I worked at a Buick dealer in the 70's and 80's, when the "rollover valve" was in all the Rochester carbs. I carried a Mac S141 1" OE angle wrench and a 5/8" flare nut wrench in my car, as it was often a quick fix for a no-start road call. The little barrel valve inside the filter would sometimes get stuck from a dirty load of fuel, cutting off the supply. Rip out the valve and the coil spring and the fuel flowed again. That, as well as a spare ignition module and pickup coil took care of most of the no-starts of the day.

Bill

 

[Ramblin Man]

I worked at a Buick dealer in the 70's and 80's, when the "rollover valve" was in all the Rochester carbs. I carried a Mac S141 1" OE angle wrench and a 5/8" flare nut wrench in my car, as it was often a quick fix for a no-start road call. The little barrel valve inside the filter would sometimes get stuck from a dirty load of fuel, cutting off the supply. Rip out the valve and the coil spring and the fuel flowed again. That, as well as a spare ignition module and pickup coil took care of most of the no-starts of the day.

Bill

Bill, and a rotor button for those HEI distributor cars.