Carter Carburetor on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Carter Carburetor Company was an American manufacturer of
Carter adapted carburetors for Willys Jeep four-cylinder engines, waterproofing them for water crossings and making it possible to keep the engine going even on a steep incline (the YS carburetor). Carter also produced the first American four-barrel carburetor, used for Buick’s 1952 straight-eight, and followed by the William Carter Four-Barrel (WCFB) on the 1955 Chrysler C300. This was eventually superseded by the Aluminum Four-Barrel (AFB) and Air Valve Secondaries (AVS) models. The final Chrysler use of four-barrel Carter carburetors was the Thermo-Quad, which used a lightweight thermoplastic float bowl, on the most powerful Chrysler engines.
Carter produced Rochester Quadrajet carburetors for their rival maker whenever demand outpaced Rochester's ability to make them. They were identical to Rochester's units, except the Carter name was stamped into the body. In Carter's final years in the early 1980s, they also produced Weber carburetors under license, such as the three-barrel Type 40IDA sold as replacements (or fuel injection retrofits) for 1960s and 1970s Porsche 911 S.
In 1984, with fuel injection having replaced carburetors on most cars, the plant closed. In 1985, American Car and Foundry shut down the entire Carter Carburetor foundry, a year later ceding the PCB-contaminated property to the City of St. Louis. The plant became an EPA
Working of Carter Carburetor
Auto parts suppliers of the United States Carburetor manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis Superfund sites in Missouri American companies established in 1909 1909 establishments in Missouri American companies disestablished in 1985 1985 disestablishments in Missouri
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter)
is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...
s, primarily for the automobile industry. It was established in St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, Missouri, in 1909 and ceased operation in 1985. Founder William Carter started experimenting with automotive carburetors while running a successful bicycle shop. His first, a cast brass model, could meter and deliver fuel more accurately than many competing units. He sold Carter Carburetor Company 13 years after founding it to American Car and Foundry Company
ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad railroad car, rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of Motor bus, motor coaches ...
. Carl Breer wrote that, upon learning that the Ball family (owners of Ball & Ball) was planning to leave the carburetor business, he set them up with Carter, which continued to produce the Ball & Ball basic designs used by Chrysler.
History
Carter adapted carburetors for Willys Jeep four-cylinder engines, waterproofing them for water crossings and making it possible to keep the engine going even on a steep incline (the YS carburetor). Carter also produced the first American four-barrel carburetor, used for Buick’s 1952 straight-eight, and followed by the William Carter Four-Barrel (WCFB) on the 1955 Chrysler C300. This was eventually superseded by the Aluminum Four-Barrel (AFB) and Air Valve Secondaries (AVS) models. The final Chrysler use of four-barrel Carter carburetors was the Thermo-Quad, which used a lightweight thermoplastic float bowl, on the most powerful Chrysler engines.
Carter produced Rochester Quadrajet carburetors for their rival maker whenever demand outpaced Rochester's ability to make them. They were identical to Rochester's units, except the Carter name was stamped into the body. In Carter's final years in the early 1980s, they also produced Weber carburetors under license, such as the three-barrel Type 40IDA sold as replacements (or fuel injection retrofits) for 1960s and 1970s Porsche 911 S.
In 1984, with fuel injection having replaced carburetors on most cars, the plant closed. In 1985, American Car and Foundry shut down the entire Carter Carburetor foundry, a year later ceding the PCB-contaminated property to the City of St. Louis. The plant became an EPA Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site. The site contains contaminants including TCE and PCBs that penetrate the topsoil to bedrock. In 2013, cleanup was estimated to cost US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
30 million.
References
{{coord, 38, 39, 23.45, N, 90, 13, 19.15, W, display=titleExternal links
Working of Carter Carburetor
Auto parts suppliers of the United States Carburetor manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis Superfund sites in Missouri American companies established in 1909 1909 establishments in Missouri American companies disestablished in 1985 1985 disestablishments in Missouri