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T-Series Switch from Weber back to stock

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Bill Tubbs

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I was lucky enough to get my LBC last year from a friend who no longer had the time nor inclination to fix it up and drive it. This 79 Midget has been converted to use a Weber DFEV. Unfortunately, it just won't fly in California. Fortunately, I also have all (I think) of the original hoses and carburetor. My plan is to remove the Weber and restore the original Stromberg setup so I can see if it will pass smog test here. I have most of the manuals but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of photos so I can see exactly where and how the hoses go. Any suggestions? I'm not a mechanic by any means, so what might be obvious to some may not be to me.

Thanks!

Bill Tubbs
https://tubbs.cc/mg
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The shop manual I have for an MGB shows the routing of all the hoses. Does the air pump work? They are prone to seizing up after storage. You might want to check that first. I would be interested in the weber if you would like to get rid of it.
Johnny, 75MGB
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Hi, Johnny. Well, I have a general idea of the location from all the books I have but it would be nice to know exactly. I suppose one way would be to find someone else with a 79 and either look at them both side-by-side or see if I can talk someone into detailed photos of the compartment. B/W photos in books leave a lot to be desired sometimes. At some point I WILL be offering up the Weber if my current 'trade' scheme doesn't pan out. But for now, I need it to run the car until I can start working on the new setup. Thanks!
 
Piperbill: Do you have the factory shop manual? It has some diagrams (maybe the same as Moss). If you don't have it, I can scan the pages for you.

I don't know if it's possible to remove the Weber intake manifold with the head on. I wasn't able to remove mine. Then again I think more than one company makes DGV intake manifolds for the 1500.
 
Hi, Tyson. Well, I'll have to look at it in more detail the next chance I get. I don't actually know the condition of everything, but the car runs (roughly) with the Weber and manifold. I have all the original parts (I think) and the car only has 37K original miles, so I'm hopeful it's all in good shape.

I do have the shop manual, and the diagrams are starting to make more sense to me. What will really help is if I find another 79 in the area that I can study and photograph in person.

Bill
 
I'm surprised to hear of a Weber running roughly. Mine on my 77 Midget is pretty rough but the car runs pretty good. Maybe yours just needs a rebuild.

For my Midget, when it's done, I have a set of UK-spec dual 1.5" SUs (UK spec for 1500 Midgets). One day I'll get to put them on.
 
Well, actually I have to qualify my comment. This car had been sitting in the side of a yard for several years without any attention whatsoever. Last registration was in 1997. The cooling system was totally blocked with rust/gunk and I replaced all the hoses, cleaned out the radiator and other pieces to make sure THAT system was good to go. Then I put a gallon of gas in the car and after a lot of prodding, got it to fire up. I crank it up now and then just so it doesn't forget how to do that ;-) It actually seems to run okay if I keep on the gas, but it dies pretty quickly without constant attention. At this point I'm really getting ready to attempt the conversion back to stock, so I haven't made the attempt to tweak the exising system. I'm sure a rebuild would help the Weber immensely.. probably some good varnish buildup in there.

Bill
 
Update to my Weber-to-Zenith/Stromberg project. I decided to tackle this on my own after figuring I can't lose a whole bunch by trying.

Here's the first 'dumb' question... I think I know the answer, but want to get corroboration:

I removed the Weber and want to pull the Weber manifold. Do I have to pull the exhaust manifold too? I can't seem to get the dang thing off and the Bentley manual pretty much says to pull everything.

Assuming that's true, when I reinstall the stock gear and manifolds, (second dumb question) do I use a new gasket? The old one looks okay but I don't want to do all this work for nothing. I know gaskets are relatively cheap, but I didn't know about how the metal holds up.

My exhaust system appears to need replacement (from all the popping sounds when I ran the car with the Weber). Any suggestions for replacements? They all seem to be around $200-250.

Thanks, y'all!

Bill
https://tubbs.cc/mg/
 
Hi Bill, Go ahead and pull both manifolds. It's actually easier than trying to pull only one. Definitely use a new manifold gasket unless you plan to do another (more experienced )job SOON.
 
Okay, I started to suspect as much. Thanks, Doug. I'll play with that tonight, once I get it up on the jackstands.

[ 05-21-2002: Message edited by: PiperBill ]</p>
 
I hope you have better luck than I did. I couldn't get to the two inside bolts holding on my manifold. It was difficult to do with the engine in the car. Since I was pulling the head anyway, I just removed the head and then unbolted the manifolds with the head off the car.

Good luck
 
After rigging a ratchet with a couple of extensions I finally got the inside nuts off the exhaust manifold. Geez. I suppose there is a special tool to do this but good grief, what a pain. I just hope I can get them nicely tightened when I put everything back on.
 
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