Sludge inside my carb?

[Jake with a 65]

Hey, I rebuilt my carb a few days ago, basic 4 barrel Holley. On the inside of one of the bowls was a lot of orange sludge and powder. I could see where the sludge line stopped, so I assumed that there might be something in the gas...rust maybe? I'm just wondering if this is normal.

 

[Joe Vandatta]

Jake,
Any foreign material in the fuel bowl is not normal. Do you have the canister type fuel filter that mounts on the bottom of the fuel pump? If so, I would check that first.
Joe

 

[t-bird-art]

Rust is coming from the fuel lines and/or fuel tank. These T-Birds had the fuel tanks vented to the outside with a plain 1/8 inch diameter tube ( the days before the Environmental Protection Agency mandated closed systems ). The vent was necessary so the fuel pump sucking gas out of the tank would not collapse the tank. So, with an open vent, condensation and humidity (water) gets in the tank and rusts. The rust was so bad on my 66 Bird restoration project, I had to scrap the tank and sending unit. Best thing I ever did to keep the rust out of the carb.Some guy is selling new tanks on eBay for many different cars. I got one for $150 + shipping for the 66 Bird.

 

[Jake with a 65]

Hey thanks for the info. I need to check the sending unit, so I'll probably end up putting in a new gas tank also.