Vacuum gauge take off

[gollane]

I have a GT6/3 with twin HIF6 carbs and I'm intending to drill and tap the manifold in order to use twin gauges to balance the carbs.

 

1. has anyone done this?

 

2  how  close does  the water cooling part of the manifold come to the flange,looks a good place to drill.

 

3 I would much prefer to acquire the small tube the same as the vacuum advance fixture on the rear carb,is that possible?

 

4 how important is the diameter of the hole into the inlet tract?

 

Please don't tell me to use a tube to listen to the hiss,tried that ,can't crack it.

[gollane]

Well after some surfing I have found that Minispares  suppy a carb spacer fitted with a vacuum take off,so all problems solved,

[Guest]

Well that may not be case solved, because it will depend on the length of the carb securing studs.

 

I purchased a full kit from Speedograph many years ago for the Vitesse and found that the studs were too short to take the extra spacer. So it may be worth measuring and taking n to account the increased length required. Agreed you can buy longer studs provided everything fits with room to spare when all bolted together.

 

I still have my unused kit.

 

Not sure if you have a servo fitted, but Doug & Pete added a few threads about taking the vacuum from the servo pipe. I am sure they will flag this up, or in the meantime you could look through the old threads and read up on it. Very good info.

 

Regards.

 

Richard.

[dougbgt6]

Ha ha! I love a gauge, but I'm surprised you want to use two vacuum gauges to monitor you're carbs. I use this device to set up my carbs. The pictures are a bit blurry. 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crypton-syncro-check-carb-balancing-tool-mk-one-/282545654885?hash=item41c9088c65:g:tFsAAOSw6YtZUnmS

 

My single vacuum gauge connects to a T piece in my servo vacuum pipe. Once the carb balance is set it's easy to set the advance/retard on the dizzy using  the vacuum gauge.

[gollane]

Thanks Richard,I already have a spacer from Triumph Tune which I will be replacing with the new one.

[gollane]

Ha ha! I love a gauge, but I'm surprised you want to use two vacuum gauges to monitor you're carbs. I use this device to set up my carbs. The pictures are a bit blurry. 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crypton-syncro-check-carb-balancing-tool-mk-one-/282545654885?hash=item41c9088c65:g:tFsAAOSw6YtZUnmS

 

My single vacuum gauge connects to a T piece in my servo vacuum pipe. Once the carb balance is set it's easy to set the advance/retard on the dizzy using  the vacuum gauge.

Why Ha Ha ,I already have gauges from my motorcycle racing days and always got the best results by having a gauge per carburettor,thanks for the link but the comment said there was too much fluctuation to be of much use.

[dave.vitesse]

My single vacuum gauge connects to a T piece in my servo vacuum pipe.

 

This was one of the ways Smiths gave in the fitting instruction for their vacuum gauge they sold in the 1960,s.

 

Dave

[dougbgt6]

Gollane, I said Ha! Ha! Because you've found a way to incorporate ANOTHER gauge that I hadn't thought off. More of an Ooooo! Than a laugh. No sarcasm intended. As to the balancing tool, I have one and if set up properly it works fine, certainly no fluctuations.

[Pete Lewis]

If the needles flutter you need to restrict the pipe to dampen intake pulses its standard practise

 

when these cars were built all settings were simple mechanical equalities, no faffing around with the myths and meaningless twiddlings

set the throttle plates equal and similar mixtures and you get whats needed

 

The gauge doug linked is one of the easiest, providing you dont block the atomspheric port with the rubber pad

 

if I ever need a vac gauge I have the nice brass 6"we used in our emmisions dept. Then you can spot small changes , but shes covered in dust.

[gollane]

Gollane, I said Ha! Ha! Because you've found a way to incorporate ANOTHER gauge that I hadn't thought off. More of an Ooooo! Than a laugh. No sarcasm intended. As to the balancing tool, I have one and if set up properly it works fine, certainly no fluctuations.

 

Gollane, I said Ha! Ha! Because you've found a way to incorporate ANOTHER gauge that I hadn't thought off. More of an Ooooo! Than a laugh. No sarcasm intended. As to the balancing tool, I have one and if set up properly it works fine, certainly no fluctuations.

Hi Doug,are we talking at cross purposes here ,I don't want a dash mounted vacuum gauge ,to control my right foot ,but to synchronise my carbs in order to get the best from my rather expensive stage 2 Triumph tune engine.

BTW  with your gauge do you have to do each carb separately and note the readings ? sounds a bit of a faff but  a cost effective answer.

[dougbgt6]

No I don't check them individually. The feed to the gauge comes off the servo, so it's joint vacuum but I'm happy the balancing tool has got it right. I use the gauge primarily to set the advance/retard but the grandchildren like to see it flicking back and forth. The balancing tool has to be switched between the carbs several times as each adjustment has a small effect on the other carb. Presumably this also happens with individual gauges?

 

Sounds like you have an interesting set up. How will you cap the vacuum outlets (inlets?) when gauges not connected?

[gollane]

Thanks Doug,I guess a bit of tube with a dab of silicone in the end,well with separate gauges I used to balance them individually until they all read the same,time consuming but that was for 4 carbs the benefits were very noticeable,

 

When you refer to my set up is that for the gauges or the whole motor ? The engine is to full Triumphtune stage 2 spec with HIF6 carbs and used to run beautifully but it has been unused for far to long hence my other post about fuel tank sludge.

I really thought I had cracked that problem but just today I had to be towed home with another flake of rust blocking the tank outlet,very ,very frustrating..

 

I now understand how you use 1 gauge to balance your carbs,thanks for your input.

 

Brett

[Pete Lewis]

having just stripped some stroms from a not run since 82 GT6 the hard corroded crud has taken its toll,  needed some serious chemicals to dissolve the stuff and much soda spraying

 

the needle where firmly jammed in the jets ...a nightmare i have never come across to this extent   never ad to lever things apart 

 

jelly in the SU jet tubes is common , but this old fuel was about to form fossils

 

Pete

[Guest]

Brett.

 

I used POR15 fuel tank sealer for the twin tanks on my other classic.

 

Straight forward job and well worth doing for numerous reasons.

 

Cheaper than buying a new tank or gambling on a "good" second hand tank.

 

Regards.

 

Richard.

[gollane]

Thank you Richard ,I will look into this with great interest.

 

I don't know if my tank is original but the outlet is dead level with the bottom of the tank,I'm wondering about blocking this with any potential sealant,

 

Brett

[Clive]

Just a thought, but the manifold has a balance pipe, effectively joining the runners, so not certain you will record a difference?

 

If you proceed, you can drill and tap to m5 or 6 and use mig welder tips. Similar size to the nipples on bike carbs etc so you gauge should connect perfectly. (I use a morgan carbtune to balance the bike throttle bodies on my car, makes it so much easier when you can compare the 4 at the same time, and how adjusting one affects the other 3!)

[Guest]

Brett.

 

POR15 fuel tank sealer, once applied, coats the entire tank with an extremely smooth almost glass / ceramic like finish - the thickness of the layer is so minimal that you would not notice the difference on fuel flow from the outlet.

 

Not only does the sealer prevent any further shards of tank lining from coming away but it also seals the tank internally from corrosion issues. Some owners paint the outside as well but this is due to having stuff left over and not wanting to waste it; I just sprayed mine black afterwards.

 

I purchased the 3x stage kit via Demon Tweeks, best price at the time. There will be plenty of Marine Clean (degreaser) 1st stage of process and then the rust neutraliser (2nd stage) left over which can be used as a base treating process for other POR15 applications such as underbody sealing - again another process I can thoroughly recommend. 

 

If you do decide to purchase the sealer, you will only need the smallest tin.

 

Have attached some photos which show some pertinent points to the above.

 

Regards.

 

Richard.

[gollane]

Thanks a million