Dan,
I think most people would agree that the engines run a little rich. The
plugs tend to foul if the engine idles for too long. There's been a fair
amount of discussion about plugs. Anyways, you should determine whether
you have the pistons with the adjustable needles or not. You don't have
to remove the carbs, just unscrew the carb top and remove the top,
spring and air valve assembly. Drain the oil out the damper tube and
look inside. If it has what appears to be a hex head than you can get an
adjustment tool and adjust it that way.
If it's non-adjustable than you have to get a little creative. Turn the
piston assembly upside-down and observe where the needles are in
relation to the bottom of the air valve. Loosen the set screws in the
side of the valve and pull the needles out. If they don't move then put
the assembly in a small jar (first remove the diaphragm) and soak the
assembly in carb cleaner overnight. Do not try to pull them out with
brute force or pliers. Slide the needles back in place and use a feeler
guage to determine how much the needle assembly should be positioned in
or out of the air valve. Turns out they can be adjusted quite quickly
but you might have to experiment some.
Also look at the Stromberg needle program that some patient soul
uploaded in the Golden Gate Lotus Club tech section. The Excel program
draws nice little diagrams of all your favorite needle sizes.
http://www.gglotus.org/ggtech/ggtech.htm#907 The needle size B1G is not
at all linear. It was probably chosen for emissions so there may be many
needles that are a better choice.
Have fun,
Dave Sutcliffe
69' +2
77" Esprit V8
________________________________
From: ***@***.***lto:***@***.***
Behalf Of collins_dan2000
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 3:18 PM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] New needles for Stromberg
It's running rich and I just learned that the PO hadn't replaced them
in a long time. I likely have B1G in now as its a federal S4 SE.
What's the collective POV on B1G vs B1Y vs B2AR... or any others that
I'm not aware of. I use the car mostly for spirited around town
driving as opposed to racing. I bought the book on how to rebuild them
and am wondering if I can replace the needles with the carbs still in
the car, or if I need to pull everything out? THanks. Dan