Alternative carburetors

[Les Bates]

Hi guys, can anyone help me please ?

My 1967 1200 saloon..........

The carburettor on my car is not really much use ? I have great difficulty in starting the car, it has electronic ignition fitted and an alternator fitted, there is a good spark at the plugs too, the carb fitted is a solex I think ?

What I was thinking is this, has anyone ever fitted an alternative carburettor other than twin S.U. or Stromberg's ?

I was thinking of  having an inlet manifold adapted or  made up to fit a twin choke Webber perhaps ?

Any help or advice would be most welcome.......

Yours sincerely Les Bates

lesbates404@gmail.com

[Pete Lewis]

the moss performance manual gives some  triumph tune weber dellorto kits for 1300

but guess you need a cam /exhaust  to make the best of the change 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

As Pete says, Les, for a performance upgrade you'll need to add cam and manifold to see any improvement, however if it's only for a replacement carb you can go for anything from Stromberg and SU to Reece-Fish or Weber; with the first two you can buy bolt-on manifold adaptors on sites like eBay - I ran a Stromberg 150 with a 6J needle in my 1200 for six months with no problems other than working out to attach the cables (see photo). I've also got a SU carb from a Ford Anglia that has the float chamber in the correct orientation, and may experiment with that at a later date. 

Webers etc will be wasted on a standard engine but the manifold for the 1200 can be hard to find. You can buy an adaptor to use on the standard manifold - again very hard to find - or hold out for the proper manifold, but I think it may be too much for a standard road-going setup.

 

[Les Bates]

Hi Colin, that sounds interesting thanks, at some point I'd like to fit a different power plant, but my engine has only 29,000mls from new and is quite sweet, I've also had a stainless steel Vitesse exhaust fitted from the standard down pipe too, what I also have is a Ford 2.0 silver top 16v engine and was thinking of putting this in with a type 9  5sp box ???........do you think this would be achievable ? ?

Many thanks for getting back to me.........Les ?

[Colin Lindsay]

Ah.... now. You're asking the wrong person for that!

Period mods and add-ons yes, light upgrades where necessary (alternator, electronic ignition etc) welcome, but a Ford engine / gearbox? Not my cup of tea / slice of toast / bowl of catfood, I'm afraid. (Be aware too that with the new regulations coming in, mods like that will affect your historic status)

Plenty of owners here to guide you, though.

 

[Blitz]

I’m absolutely no expert but wouldn’t a power plant like that require some brake and suspension upgrades too ?  I’m with Colin on this type of thing I’m afraid. At what point does your classic car become another car. Lots of peeps like the Strombergs as on option 

 

[Les Bates]

Wow, I didn't know about the new regs etc, ?

I may have to change direction here ?  maybe I should just go for a 1500 engine and an overdrive box ?

Are the brakes interchangeable with other other models ie ............. Spitfire, GT6, etc or should I consider aftermarket parts ?

Would this conversion work ?

I'm guessing this conversion has been done before ?

Once again, thanks for your time................Les 

[Clive]

For balance, I have installed a zetec (actually an ST170 engine, but the same block etc) into my spitfire. You have the advantage of lots of extra space, and I think it could be fitted with mondeo inection, ecu etc, wheras I had to use throttle bodies, but that releases extra power/torque.

Needs a special sump, or possible to fit the sierra 1800CVH sump with some work. (No other CVH sump works)

Type 9 gearbox is ideal. Rear axle/suspension needs thought, though a std zetec should be OK with a 3.63 diff as long as you are not an animal with it.

Brakes off a vitesse/GT6 will work.

Re tax status, at present that is not affected. However, the car would not be eligible for the MoT exempt status. In the future who knows what/where the tax rules will go.

Be aware the conversion is not cheap to do well. Fitting a 1500 engine and overdrive is much simpler, but again would need a 3.89 or 3.63 diff. A more acceptable conversion to some people,, but really depends on what you want to achieve.

[Les Bates]

Thanks Clive ? yet more food for thought ??????

If I do anything to the car, it'll probably be next year now ! but I'll be trying to get the part's together first, and then see where we are ?

Thank you all for the feedback

Les ?

[Pete Lewis]

Theres a good few with  triumph 1500 overdive and 3.63 diff as a quick and original looking conversion.

Pete

[DanMi]

Or why not convert the 1200 to MK2 spitfire spec so MK2/3 cam twin SUs and a 4 branch manifold should give a good power increase whilst retaining originality or a higher profile cam with webers or motorbike type carbs.

[Casper]

Quote

The carburettor on my car is not really much use

What's the problem with the Solex.  Is it just that it's fitted to the wrong engine.  The 67 1200 has 48 bhp.  If that's not enough, perhaps you bought the wrong car.

C.

[Clive]

1 hour ago, DanMi said:

Or why not convert the 1200 to MK2 spitfire spec so MK2/3 cam twin SUs and a 4 branch manifold should give a good power increase whilst retaining originality or a higher profile cam with webers or motorbike type carbs.

Don't forget the head swap and distributor, that will be rather important to making such a conversion actually do what you think.

Casper, it could be a combination of carb and distributor off spec and out of tune. Years ago I did a "rolling road shootout" for modded Triumphs, There was Ians rather nice Herald 1200 with spit spec engine, but was about 40bhp when it went on the rollers, came off with a significant increase, near what the book said it should be. Made a huge difference to the way thge car drove. And I have had similar experiences, a proper tune/diagnosis etc can transform a car, and not just flat out. Usually gives big torque increase across the range AND better economy, win-win.

[Les Bates]

Hi Casper, sorry about the quote my solex carb etc ?

I should have made myself clearer, my Solex I think has had it, my car has new plugs, good spark, electronic ignition, but it really is very hard to start ?

I've checked the timming too, and all is well, the car is not really what you would call lively through the gears either, it just seems to be lethargic ?

Please don't get the wrong impression of me, I am a genuine classic car enthusiast, I've had a few, I'm genuinely trying to sort this problem out, I just want to keep up with modern traffic ?

Many thanks Les Bates

[Pete Lewis]

Hard to start hot or cold or both ?

Pete

[Casper]

Clive, in my clumsy way I was pointing out that the 'hot cam' 1200 has more oomph than the the early 39 bhp setup.  Frankly, there's not a lot that can go wrong with the Solex.  From a post by John Kipping in 2003:

Solex B30 PSE1 type carbs:

This accelerator pump type carb has three principal jets, and how the car drives shows which one is giving trouble.

If the car won't tick-over it is the pilot jet on the side of the carb (above the slow running screw); simply remove, blow the rubbish out and replace.

If there is trouble accelerating, i.e. the car tends to slow slightly when putting your foot hard down, then it is the accelerator pump – usually either the diaphragm or a blockage in the swans neck jet.

Trouble running at constant speed is the main jet; this is accessed with a screwdriver through a plug in the side of the float bowl (after the carb top is off and the float removed).  Take it out and check it doesn't have bits in it; also clear all the rubbish out from the bottom of the float bowl.                                       John Kipping

Casper

 

[Pete Lewis]

Other things to add are keep the manifold drain pipe clear

Cold starting relies on whats called the automacity spring this is the small coil spring which loads the choke flap and should when on choke allow the flap  to flutter  , its worth checking when you pull the choke it actually closes the flap.

Pete

[Clive]

2 hours ago, Casper said:

Clive, in my clumsy way I was pointing out that the 'hot cam' 1200 has more oomph than the the early 39 bhp setup.  Frankly, there's not a lot that can go wrong with the Solex.  From a post by John Kipping in 2003:

Solex B30 PSE1 type carbs:

This accelerator pump type carb has three principal jets, and how the car drives shows which one is giving trouble.

If the car won't tick-over it is the pilot jet on the side of the carb (above the slow running screw); simply remove, blow the rubbish out and replace.

If there is trouble accelerating, i.e. the car tends to slow slightly when putting your foot hard down, then it is the accelerator pump – usually either the diaphragm or a blockage in the swans neck jet.

Trouble running at constant speed is the main jet; this is accessed with a screwdriver through a plug in the side of the float bowl (after the carb top is off and the float removed).  Take it out and check it doesn't have bits in it; also clear all the rubbish out from the bottom of the float bowl.                                       John Kipping

Casper

 

I remember about 15 years ago, arriving home from our family holiday to find a 1200 herald on my front lawn. My dear Dad had bought it as it was heap (it turns out he was wrong!) It ran poorly, mainly crud in the(almost brand new) carb. Dear Dad fixed it easily enough. Revved the car to goodness knows what, and then but his hand over the carb air intake. Repeated a few times, and it sucked the jets clear, engine ran fine, though still tired. In the end that car got a replacement diff, gearbox, prop, engine, not to mention 4 weeks to weld it up and spray it.....Think we made a profit equal to about £1/hr for the labour.... I digress. Yes, when running correctly they are fine. Never going to set the world alight, but nice cars to drive. 1500 is a very different beast, and the obvious "fast" version.

[Pete Lewis]

 hand over is an old school fix,  can be quite effective

One other is do check any small  holes in the top face these bleed air to the back of slow running jets and can run right down to the venturi at the throttle plate  they get blocked and it can realy upset things  a probe with a wire or a blow with a compressed air

should test them out ,  

Pete