weber DCOE 45 carb a bad idea?

[jbarry]

I have an '80 spit which I recently purchased, but I can't get it to saty running to save my life... I know it is fuel related, rebuild the single stromberg carb, and it ran for about 2 weeks and again won't stay running... (I can get it to stay running if I manually lift the piston thing inside the carb- ever so slightly..... it won't idle- even by adjusting the idle, unless I set it above 2000 rpm...

I'm sick of toying with it, and want something with heaps less maintenance...
Right now I'm looking at the Weber sidedraft carb- the DCOE 45... anyone have this on their vehicle? is it a good choice? how easy is it for maintenance?
any other comments?

THANKS!!!!

 

[Dave Russell]

Welcome to the forum,
In my opinion getting the Stromberg working would be a LOT easier & less cost than setting up a DCOE45. If it was ok for two weeks it shouldn't be too hard to get working again. Maybe you will get some other opinions.
D

 

[hondo402000]

I would suggest you do a lot of research on the weber if you decide to go that way, one thing I found out after purchasing a triple set for my TR6 is you need a new low pressure fuel pump and or pressure regulator, try to find someone that has a setup and get their jet numbers, not to say it will work on your car, I am still trying to get mine jetted right, a little frustrating but I will keep at it till it kills me or I kill them haha

 

[Andrew Mace]

As I've said here before, a Weber often requires lots and lots of trial-and-error setting up by someone with lots of time, a box of jets and such, and either a dyno or a quiet stretch of road. Plus, it's almost useless without other engine improvements (breathing, cam, etc.).

It's definitely worth staying with the Stromberg until you locate what hopefully is an obvious problem...unless you plan to spend lots of money on the whole engine!

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi,

I'm a fan of Webers and use them myself, however unless you are looking for a performance upgrade and a lot of fiddling/tuning to get them set up, you would be better to stick with the ZS carb. ZS are more flexible for all-around driving and if you wish can be tuned to within 10% or so of Weber performance levels (I'd estimate the were originally "factory tuned" to roughly 15-20-25% of Weber performance).

Weber sidedraft carb would also significantly effect your fuel economy (I'm particularly sensitive to this issue this morning, just filled up my '97 Land Rover Disco... $3.18/gal. for Chevron premium, 21.75 gal., all set for another 200 mi.!). A DCOE won't work well on a tired engine that's in need of a rebuild. And, I agree with Andy, to really get your money's worth out a Weber sidedraft carb, you really need to put work & $$$s into other engine performance improvements (headers, big valves, high lift/long duration cam, increased compression, etc., etc.)

Sounds to me like you still have a problem with the ZS carb and it just needs more work. Was it professionally rebuilt, or just a kit installed at home? Have you checked for manifold leaks? ZS are a little more difficult to work on than SU. (Webers are a lot more difficult... and expensive.)

Speaking of which, an SU conversion would be another alternative. Or even a Weber downdraft carb, which is more designed for economy, reliability and flexibility. But I personally am not impressed with most Weber downdraft carb conversion manifolds I've seen... They seem to typically add a lot of length to the manifold run. An SU, on the other hand, would probably bolt right up to your existing manifold. But, any change of carb will involve more tuning/setup and will likely be more expensive than fixing what you've already got.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[SpannerMan]

The thing that springs to mind on the ZS is the rubber dashpot diaphragm. If you haven't already, remove the top cover to check it. As I recall there are usually special 8 point screws on there, I have to say I always got by with a Philips though. Looking back at what you wrote I am not so sure it really fits with your symptoms, but it does sound like it has to be something relatively simple. Pete