Henry,
I had a vacuum leak (vacuum plug on the bottom of the front carb failed
somewhere around Rochester, NY on the way to Maine) and didn't discover
it until I'd was back in Denver so I tinkered with it the rest of the
trip. Part of the problem was my bullheaded belief that I'd HAVE to
adjust the carbs given the 5000 ft. elevation change and I didn't
consider that it could be something else like a vacuum leak. I'm
presently a believer in the theory that NO adjustment is needed on
constant depression carbs such as the ZS and SU carbs at least for
attitude changes. Hey I learn the hard way.
Don't know about you Weber guys when you come to Breckenridge in 2001
(Blatant Plug for the VTR convention). Could be rough at 9500 ft., but
that's another thread for next year.
Bud
Henry Frye wrote:
>
> Phil (and Bud too)
>
> Bud is right... in my opinion to an extreme. Most newcomers to the British
> car scene are mystified by SU's and Strombergs. I don't get it.
>
> If you want to deal with a complicated carb, try rebuilding a Rochester
> quadra-jet! If you get it back together and your engine runs and gets
> almost as good gas mileage as before, I call that an unqualified success!
>;-)
>
> The theory of the constant depression carb is so simple. There are really
> only a few adjustments possible. Float level is the major one, as it
> greatly effects the mixture. The mixture itself, well on the SU it is
> infinitely adjustable and the results are immediate and easy to judge. The
> mix on a Stromberg is a little more difficult, and no where near as
> adjustable. Some Strombergs it is NOT adjustable at all. Strombergs add
> the temperature compensator. Then you have the cold start circuit and idle
> speed.
>
> Rebuilding consists of taking the things apart with the appropriate rebuild
> kit in hand, cleaning all the parts and putting it back together replacing
> the worn parts. Pressing in new jets into the carb bodies might be a job
> for the pros if you don't feel comfortable with it or are not equipped to
> do it. Follow the instructions on tuning and bingo, you are back in business.
>
> Bud drove his TR6 across the county this summer and (I am told) made
> numerous adjustments to his carbs seeking the perfect state of tune for the
> given altitude he was driving at. Bud, in retrospect, do you think you
> would have been OK setting up for the high country (Bud lives around
> Denver) and after getting out of the Rockies making one adjustment for sea
> level and continuing east... then on the return trip after ascending the
> Rockies turning back to high altitude setting? Do you think you needed any
> adjustments at all for the trip?
>
> My point is don't be afraid of a carb rebuild. If your car doesn't need
> one, then don't do it! If it does, get the books Bud mentions, read over
> the procedure until you are comfortable with it, and do it! Nothing bad is
> going to happen. The worse case scenario is what? The car won't start?
> Won't run right? Then you can bring it to the local guru to get them back
> in tune.
>
> I think you are trying to increase your comfort level by taking apart a
> junk carb... Trust me, there is nothing in there that will surprise you. It
> looks exactly like the exploded diagrams in the books!
>
> Good luck Phil, and if you run into problems, call Bud, not me! ;-) He
> has more recent experience with the Stromberg rebuild!
>
> At 12:44 AM 2/3/00 -0700, levilevi@home.com wrote:
>
> >Phil,
> >
> > > The guy says that some things go wrong that can't be fixed, such as the
> > jets, but that they throw those away.
> >
> >This guy is wrong. You can easily replace jets. I've done it and Apple
> >Hydraulics will sell you the jets and the tool (valve guide from a
> >Honda) to use.
> >
> >My advice is to get the Haynes book on ZS carbs and read it front to
> >back and sideways. Highlight things, ask questions of the list, hold
> >the book over your carbs as you read it, put it down for a few weeks,
> >pick it up again and read it some more. Do the same with the Bentleys
> >carb section. Then when you NEED to you'll have a base of knowledge to
> >work on your the carbs that are on your car. It's really not that
> >complicated working on them once you know what the theory is and a few
> >of the tricks from the listers (e.g. installing jets). Unless you need
> >practice putting screws in and out of something I think your time would
> >be better spend reading about carbs than practicing on one. There's
> >nothing magical to "practice" on a carb IMHO as far as rebuilding them.
> >The practice part is needed more when you tune the buggers when the car
> >is running, and even then all your reading will help make that
> >"practice" more systematic. If you want to practice something I would
> >suggest practice reading plugs so you can tell by looking at them if the
> >carbs are running lean or rich or just right. Ask the junkyard guy for
> >some old plugs and have him show you which is rich, lean, correct. But
> >that's just my experience. I'm sure others on the list will weigh in
> >with other constructive advice or maybe a junked carb.
> >
> >Bud
> >
> >
> >
> > > Would it make sense to ask if any of you have a TR6 carburetor that's been
> > > junked, but is complete? My '72 TR6 Stromberg carbs say CD-2 175 on them,
> > > I believe. I don't know if there's an early and a late type, but I'd like
> > > to get the correct one. Would anybody care to just mail one to me for
> > > "postage and handling"? Is this a stupid question? A stupid idea? Feel
> > > free.
> > >
> > > --Phil Haldeman
> > > haldeman@accessone.com
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Henry Frye - thefryes@iconn.net - Connecticut, USA
> Stag MkI Getting Sorted Out
> TR3B Driver
> TR4 Not For The Street!
> TR250 The BIG Project - Will Be Worth the Wait
> Homepage http://members.iconn.net/~thefryes/
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