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> From: Art Pfenninger <ch155@FreeNet.Buffalo.EDU>
(SNIP)
> Lawrie why is it so expensive to rebuild carbs? Short of having
> to rebush the shafts the parts can't cost much at all.
Art.......Experience and skill cost money? Maybe that's too simplistic an
answer but it's pretty close to the truth. The rebuild kit - which includes
jets, needles, float valves and all gaskets and seals, is now close to $70
at retail. The shafts go for $13.50 each and the bronze bushings are $1.50
each.
> Apple charges $315 for a pair of SU's which is about what they charge for
a cylinder head.
We charge $275 for a pair.
> How long does the job take? It seems the last time I did it (many years
ago)
> it only took a few hours and that included reading the instructions.
About three hours per pair. The job involves disassembling, chemically
cleaning, inspecting all the parts to make sure there's no damage to
threads, flat surfaces, etc. (and, of course, fixing any problems we find).
Next, the aluminum pieces are bead-blasted with plastic beads, and the
hardware is all wire-brushed. Then re-assembly takes place, with careful
attention to correct settings, lubrication of moving parts, etc. We
(thankfully!) no longer have to read the instructions but it is our years
of experience that lets us see whether the carbs as received are correct
for the application, whether they have the correct damper springs, etc. An
owner doing his for the first time might take pains to put something back
the way he found it, not knowing that a previous owner had botched the job!
> The Zenith seems to be a bit more complicated but only because of the
automatic choke.
Actually, because of more than that! There are lots of "hidden passages"
and obscurely placed o-rings, which need the correct attention for this
carb to work as designed.
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