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Spitfire Dual Carb Spitfire 1500

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CaptDon01

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I've got an 80 Spitfire with the single Zenith carb. I LOVE the looks of the dual carb SU's on the Spitfire's, (or any Triumph engine). We don't race, we cruise, and I like the simplicity of a single carb, but I LOVE the look!!! My 1500 is stock, (de-smogged), and I'm curious if I would have problems with dual carbs on a low compression engine, (7-1)......

Thanks,

Don
 
Don, if you can find a dual SU setup for the Spit, don't be afraid to use it. You may have to do some needle changes, but they should work just fine. If you run into a set, make sure you get ALL the linkages for them.
Jeff
 
Don, if you are interested in a set of SU carbs for your Spitfire, contact Gary Martin @ (605)391-2422. Gary does concours quality rebuilding and can supply you with the carbs if you don't have any. Not sure about the intake, you will probably have to scrounge that. Brand new "SU" carbs are available from Moss and others. Not sure how authentic they are, they claim them to be the real deal. Gary's rebuilds are, IMHO, better than new. He does a lot of concours carb restoration for builders around the country. Don't let the word concours scare you off. His pricing is really quite reasonable. He has done two sets for me.
 
Isn't Victoria British over near you. You might take a trip to talk to them. They offer zero tech advice on the phone but in person they will let you look at the item. I have been told that Kansas law keeps them from offering tech advice, makes them liable. Actually, VB told me this themselves. Is this for real or just made up?
 
Bill, the carbs are the easy part. The hard items to find are the manifold and linkage. They were never offered for the North American market.
Jeff
 
I am sure that Gary can rig two carbs to link together. He rigged the triple ZS carbs for me. I have since gone with cable throttle from Ratco, really simple and straightforward. Reduces the linkage to minimum.
 
HS2's from a small Spit engine will fit the 1500. Performance will be better than the Zenith but not as good as a Webber. HS4's are what you really want/need. The carbs are easy to come by, but the intake manifold will take some "E" bay time to source. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the info.....Yes, only live a few miles from VB, but I've not been impressed with VB stuff, and the counter help doens't seem to know anything about LBC's.....they just sell parts. So I normally order from TRF or Moss.

Don
 
Dual SU's for your engine come in two primary flavors.

HS2. These have two vertical mounting bolts to the attach the carburetors to the manifold. These were used on the 1300 engine, and bolt right up to the 1500. They work quite well. This was what everyone used pre internet. Available commonly on e-bay.

HS4. These have two diagonal mounting bolts to the attach the carburetors to the manifold. These were used on the 1500 engine everywhere but the use, and bolt right up to your 1500. This is the set sold through TSI, Quantum, and others. Usually a good bit more expensive than the 1300 sets.

The ZS throttle cable will work with nothing more than a little fitting work at the end. I used an electrical butt connector as I recall on mine.
 
You should try contacting a supplier in the UK. Chic Doig, Southern Triumph and many others have web sites with e-mail contacts. They could source you a set easily as not only did all the Spitfire 1500s here have twin SUs, but also the Dolomite 1500 saloon too. For the extra cost of shipping you will probably find the prices here are cheaper and they will be able to supply a manifold to suit. You could either buy a set in the condition as removed from the car or have them overhauled before they send them. If you need any help with suppliers let me know.
 
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