Pros and cons of various carburetors?

[Midget78]

Just to add my 2 cents. I installed the Weber DGV with the Pierce manifold (Came all as a kit) and the car runs great. Im getting around 38 mpg and usually I dont even need to pull the choke to get the car to fire right up. The only thing I noticed with the Webers is they have a delay when sitting still and getting ready to get rolling. That you just get used to and learn to compensate for it. I dont race my midget or anything so it really doesnt matter to me. I did see that if you shop around you can get the entire kit for a lot less then what Moss sells it for. After some investigation I also pruchased a fuel regulator as this carb only likes around 3 lbs of fuel pressure. If its outside of that range then you can have some issues with it I understand.
I guess it all boils down to what you have experience with. I have never used the SU's and only delt with the Zenith Stromberg prior to the change. And really that wasnt a bad carb it just had seen its day so I replaced it with something a bit less attentive. That Zenith had a lot of variables to keep up with for it to stay tuned.

 

[JPSmit]

As you can see, as per the diagram in your file, my floats look WAY out of whack. The fuel shuts off at about that height.

somehow we're getting complicated - float height adjustment is a general adjustment nothing more. The needle is likely fine as it fits and it works - that's all it has to do. Haynes says float adjustment is 1/8 - 3/16. bend your float (this is not a mechanical adjustment, you just bend it) to that distance, test with a piece of fuel line - blowing into it and closing it (even turning over the carb) to see if the jet works (ie stops the flow of air) If those two are correct, you're really good to go. It's not any more mysterious than that.

 

[Luke_Healey]

Mine doesn't bend though. In fact, that's how I ruined the rubber gasket in the needle seat, by pushing down on the float to try to bend it.

The main problem is that my float arm is shaped differently than anything I've seen referenced in the books:

 

[Luke_Healey]

I drove the car back to work and the warm-up period is greatly abbreviated. In fact, the car wasn't sputtering at all even when I had the choke on. And I only had the choke about half of what I normally do.

I think this extra set of floats/valves is working better.

 

[Gray_Cat]

IMHO - nothing is better than a pair of well sorted out SU's that are in <span style="font-weight: bold">good</span> condition.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Roy :thumbsup:

 

[JPSmit]

FWIW, I'm trying to adapt an SU to mine and I had it apart today only to see that the float was exactly where your picture had yours - I'd say, leave it

 

[MCS]

Hello,

I vote for the HIF44, I searched and searched info on the HIF44 and after about 20 hours of reading, the HIF44 was by far the preferred carburetor. I wanted easy tuning and excellent performance. I am not rich but money was not part of my decsion. I just wanted something simple; it seems the others work slightly better if you are racing or very good at tuning. Someday I may change, only because I think the Webber looks hot. My HIF 44 is a little boring.
Here are some photos of my HIF44 & LBC today.

Cheers Phil

https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z234/ECAM_2007/P1020164.jpg

https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z234/ECAM_2007/P1020167.jpg

https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z234/ECAM_2007/P1020168.jpg

https://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z234/ECAM_2007/P1020172.jpg

 

[Luke_Healey]

That does look very appealing! What does the complete shopping list run for new parts?

The fact that there are cast parts with '.com' written on them inside old cars makes me smile.

I presume you reused your old heat shield?

 

[MCS]

I found the carb and intake for sale at my local mini classic dealer, not the manifold he normaly has around.It was all on his junk shelf. I purchased the pair and really wish I had bought the HIF44 new as it is almost new after spending too much rebuilding it. If you can do it buy the carb new. The heat shield is just cut down from the twin SU’s, looks ok, when I get to painting my car I am going to make something nicer.

Just three parts
carb,intake,air filter
Phil

 

[George Zeck]

Luke -

The key here that I believe everyone is saying -- knowledge. I never found the SU's easy to work on. Others obvioously do.

Secondly, I did not grasp the books and was unlucky in getting help.

To me - for the same $$ - I went with new and plenty of help in my neck of the woods. IF you can get help with the SU's & / or truely grasp the books - then by all means go for the SU's.

For me - the Weber's made nothing but sense. And I know I can get parts for a long time (AutoZone or 'local' places; not speciality).

Good Luck

George

 

[ncbugeye]

Tuning SU carbs is not as bad as you may think, if you know what to do. Tuning two of them can be a pain, but still not beyond the typical LBC enthusiast.

To help out, I have a "reworked" version of the old "Tuning SU Carburettors" booklet (18 pages with good diagrams) which is available from me as a MS Word Document. I should translate it to PDF one day...

Send me email if you want it, chrisgage `at` bellsouth `dot` net.

 

[JPSmit]

get primopdf.com - freeware and couldn't be simpler to convert. it Print - choose PrimoPdf and it converts.

email to me johnpetersmit"at"gmail.com and I'll either convert and post a link, or if already pdf, I'll post it.

 

[John Moore]

I'm an SU guy. I like the way they perform, drive and look. Personally, I think a DGV looks like a tractor carb! Plus guys seem to complain about weber hesitation.

I also love their simplicity. I can't imagine a more simple and elegant design. A good set of SU's you bascially set and forget for the season.

I had Hap rebuild my SU's, but a few other choices are Joe Curto or Jimmy Hilton.

 

[bugi]

You may be working on the wrong side of the engine.A distributor that is not advancing properly will give you some of the same symptoms,especially the stumbling coming off idle.

I have a reasonably warm 1275 with a Weber 45 DCOE on it.Unless you're going to do the whole engine ( big valves,header,free flow exhaust,etc.) it's probably not the way to go. Rebuilding the S.Us is not that that difficult. There are books or DVDs that will walk you through it.The only tricky part might be pressing in the shaft bushings.

The Weber is not an high MPG carb. Through hard work and dedication I've been able to get my MPG down to about 20-24 Mpg. You will need about $200-300 worth of jets,chokes,etc. and six months of your life to get it right. Of course,if you're a sissy you could go to a shop that has a chassis dyno and an air-fuel ratio meter and do it in about an hour.

It goes like stink!

Healey on.
Ray

 

[bill_powell]

First, I would suggest that you get this book:

Tuning The A-Series Engine, David Vizard. Very helpful, indeed.

I've tried a few different setups on various Minis, but I always seem to come back to the single HIF6, alloy manifold, LCB header. A simple, proven, and reliable setup.

You will need to source the intake manifold carefully. Those meant for the Mini are angled upward some 20 degrees. They are too tall for the Spridget hoodline.

Links FYI:

Setup guide...

https://www.mgcars.org.uk/bcmg/did_you_know.htm

Manifold, parts source...

https://www.aptfast.com/

Good SU Builder (just one suggestion)...

https://paltech1.com/_wsn/page3.html

 

[regularman]

The weber 23/36 dvg is the one to go to if you don't want to have to work on the carb any more and just drive it. One carb one mixture screw and one idle screw and that is it. There is a reason they make kits to put this carb on about and 4 cylinder engine made. They last and are pretty trouble free.

 

[jvandyke]

32/36 I'm sure you meant. Here's two cents worth from a newbie. On a progressive Weber you have two interdependent circuits, primary vs. secondary, each with their own idle jets, main jets, emulsions tubes. Simple they're not. Once the jetting is good (much easier said than done) then minor adjustments are easy. Not that I'd know, being pretty new to SUs but the SUs sure seem a lot more simple and easier to wrap your head around. I've got a 32/36 and it needs tweaking, my last toy car had a Holly 5200 (a copy of the 32/36) then I put on a 38/38 and never did get either spot on.
I think it's safe to say you'd spend as much time if not more getting the Weber set up right initially as you would the SUs and it seems you take a hit on MPG with the Weber and also a little less responsiveness compared with SUs but maybe more on the top end, maybe.

 

[Gundy]

I love the 38DGAS I use on my '72 land Cruiser. Dependable
as all get out. Working great for more than 20 years without a rebuild. I use an electric choke so I can use the truck's choke cable as a hand throttle. Great carb. I once had a 124 Spyder that also had a Weber. Worked great too.
That said, the HIF6 on my BE is da bomb! Very responsive.
I love the sound of that thing sucking air through a K&N above 5000 rpm. :cooler:

 

[Bayless]

I have owned 3 Fiat 124s, all with the DGV carbs. They are very good devices when properly set up for the car. Fiat does a good job from the factory. You're on your own with aftermarket stuff though. I'm not so sure the DGV will ever provide the performance that properly tuned SUs will do on an LBC though. The DCOE is, of course, a whole nother matter. I once owned a 190SL with 2 of those babies, tuned right. They are indescribable.

 

[bthompson]

When it comes down to it, it's really all about what you're used to dealing with. Weber's circuits, tubes, and accel pumps are more familiar ground to most folks. SUs and Zeniths are terra incognita till you wrap your brain around the variable venturi concept.

The Weber DGV's complexity means it's harder to get "just right" under all conditions...but it also means more stuff can be slightly "off" and it'll still run tolerably well. And once it's set, it's set. (Well, you might have to replace the pump diaphragm in a decade or so.) The DCOE is more sensitive to not being "just right," and can be a royal PITA to set up.

An SU (or two) is so incredibly simple, there's not much to fine-tuning it other than taking emery paper to the needle. Of course, the flip side is, since there are so few components, if anything goes out of adjustment, the dam' car won't run at all. And SU's are mysteriously 'fluid' in their operation, requiring periodic checking and tweaking. (Zeniths are similar beasts, just with more places to leak vacuum.)