Resurrecting 45 DCOE 13s from '72 Elan Sprint

[simpsoff]

Hi Everyone,

I've finally started the process of resurrecting my dad's '72 Sprint, and starting easy with getting the carbs in working order once again. They (and the car) have been sitting for many years. Someone suggested to my dad that he put the carbs off the car, in a bucket of gasoline for storage, which after 15+ years of course evaporated and left behind a very nice, thick, brown coating and completely seized up the carbs (one more than the other). I've started to do the rebuild, going gingerly with some spray carb cleaner and a microfiber cloth, but i don't think this process is going to be able to un-stick the throttle plates.

Do any of you have any suggestions on the best way to proceed (besides buying a brand new pair, haha)? A friend has suggested i soak them in some premium (no ethanol) gasoline to try and dissolve some of the buildup, does anyone here think that sounds good, or have an alternative i should try?

Thanks,
-Andrew

[mbell]

Welcome Andrew,

I'd strip them down to component form and soak in a bucket of carb cleaner to start. Should be able to pick a bucket up from local motor factors.

Having bought a car that had sat for probably 20 years, I stripped and cleaned the carbs, replaced the missing jets etc. Once I had the car running and driving I ended up just replacing them. They worked but wouldn't balance well and probably had a few air leaks so the car didn't drive well. With limit skills and questionable quality of replacement parts I ended up buying a new set.

I suspect yours are going to be much harder to sort out and will require a full strip, including remove and replacing lead plugs to clean the passages etc and a decent number of new parts. Then given the DCOE45 aren't original/standard for the car, it probably had dellorto not webbers and would have been DCOE40 if webbers, you'll save your self a lot of time, stress, hassle and possibly $ by just getting a new set of carbs to start with. You can then sort out the current ones as a fun project when you have time.

[simpsoff]

Thanks for the reply!

Getting them apart to be able to soak is already the issue, some of the parts are practically glued together! I'm in the same boat of just trying to get the car running/driving, i am sure there will be much more than just the carbs and electrical that needs work, but if i replaced every part that could use replacement with a brand new version i'd be better off buying a new car =]

I've read elsewhere that a carb cleaning chem dip might be the way to go so i'm definitely going to explore that route, if i can at least get a "workable" version to start with then we'll go from there... not planning on having the car running in the near future so the time needed to rebuild isn't an issue, it's my first step in the resurrection process and i don't mind spending some time trying to get them working and then replacing with "good" ones later.

But yes they are definitely after-market, the engine was bored/stroked and the "up-sized" webers were a part of that (so my dad tells me). I'm terrified to find out what they actually did inside the engine but that's for another day =]

[elj221c]

An ultrasonic cleaner maybe the best start....?

This gives you the idea.

https://bestultrasoniccleaner.wordpress ... c-cleaner/

[Elan45]

Soak them in automatic trans fluid, ATF. I think I use Mercon type, but I've got some SU parts soaking in a coffee can from my Falcon bodied Sprite. This may take some time, but it is a gentle process that will penetrate the threads to allow you to remove screws and other close tolerance pieces. Remember, they didn't get in the condition you find them overnight. My Sprite's SUs sat out in the open in a farm field for as long as 8 years.

Roger

[bill308]

I highly recommend you go with new, Spanish made carbs. They have some very desirable enhancements, an intercarb air balance circuit and built in provision for a vacuum tap. The 152G (German) model has an additional progression hole for better low speed mixture tuning.

New carbs should save you a lot of time, effort, and probably cost. I suggest you find out how the existing carbs are jetted and transfer these pieces to the new carbs. This should be a good starting point once they have been thoroughly cleaned, assuming the fuel you will be using is equivalent to the fuel the car was tuned to. If the current available fuel has been oxygenated with alcohol, you will likely want to go a little richer.

Bill

[denicholls2]

On the U.S. side of the pond, you buy a gallon of carb cleaner. Don't waste your time and blow yourself up with gasoline, it won't work and your Elan might be damaged in the explosion, keeping your heir from finishing the project. Ignore anything your friend has to say that involves volatile compounds in the future, they are dangerously ignorant of basic safety practices. (Yes, I said that as nicely as possible.)

A DCOE might fit in the can, but you can solve that problem if you have it. Do expect to replace all rubber parts as either modern fuel or the cleaner (or both) tend to shrink them to unusability.

Soak the bodies for a minimum of 24 hours, then blow compressed air through the passages. Repeat as necessary to get clear flow. While they're in the can, I swirl the can once in awhile just to move stuff around.

If you feel you must poke into holes, use a toothpick, never a wire or piece of metal.

The stuff does work, and you'll have learned that your father's approach is about the worst possible way to store a carburetor. Gasoline contains tar and turns back into it over time.

[Bruce Crowthorne]

As I did mine I received all sorts of suggestions about transmission fluid etc etc.
In the end I used "gun cleaner" as used to clean spray guns after use - probably not the safest - but worked a treat.

I still keep thinking about buying an ultrasonic cleaner that is big enough to take a carb, maybe next time mine acts up I will use that as the excuse to buy one....

[gjz30075]

Thanks for the reply!

if i can at least get a "workable" version to start with then we'll go from there... not planning on having the car running in the near future so the time needed to rebuild isn't an issue, it's my first step in the resurrection process and i don't mind spending some time trying to get them working and then replacing with "good" ones later.

=]

Good idea! You may find out you don't need 45s and 40s will work just fine. But you don't know that now. Good steps.

[stevebroad]

Unless the engine has been pretty heavily tuned 45s will be too big and give a sluggish response, IMO.

In order to get the car working source a pair of second hand Webers or Dellortos, clean them up and use them as a stop gap. Whilst building the car clean up the 45s as best you can and sell them on, giving you a down payment (along with the money you will get for the working 40s) for a pair of new carbs.

The difference between worn and new carbs is a revelation

[StressCraxx]

Unless the engine has been pretty heavily tuned 45s will be too big and give a sluggish response, IMO.

In order to get the car working source a pair of second hand Webers or Dellortos, clean them up and use them as a stop gap. Whilst building the car clean up the 45s as best you can and sell them on, giving you a down payment (along with the money you will get for the working 40s) for a pair of new carbs.

The difference between worn and new carbs is a revelation

Steve is correct. The 45's are a bit big for a stock sprint. However, if the engine has been modded with porting, high lift cams, higher compression pistons and tubular exhaust, they might be perfect. Do you have any records of an engine rebuild or performance upgrade? If so, you could check with the engine builder. Checking for high lift cams is fairly easy, using calipers or a dial indicator.

The carbs can be rebuilt to look like new if you decide to keep them. The trumpets and any other steel parts can be soaked in "evaporust" which is a water based EDTA solution that dissolves iron based corrosion. It won't harm anything else.

Regards,
Dan Wise

[simpsoff]

Steve is correct. The 45's are a bit big for a stock sprint. However, if the engine has been modded with porting, high lift cams, higher compression pistons and tubular exhaust, they might be perfect. Do you have any records of an engine rebuild or performance upgrade? If so, you could check with the engine builder. Checking for high lift cams is fairly easy, using calipers or a dial indicator.

The carbs can be rebuilt to look like new if you decide to keep them. The trumpets and any other steel parts can be soaked in "evaporust" which is a water based EDTA solution that dissolves iron based corrosion. It won't harm anything else.

Regards,
Dan Wise

Thanks for the tip about the trumpets, I was wondering about those. But yes the engine has actually been modded to 1700ccs, bored out, high comp pistons, different crank and I _think_ different camshaft, not sure on the cams or lifters, and I know the exhaust has been upgraded to a stainless steel variant, not sure if it qualifies as 'tubular'... Maybe it's just 'radical'

I've ran the numbers for rpm and cc through a weber tuning chart and I _think_ the 45s will be okay based on the mods, probably need new chokes (has 36s in I think, 34s are probably better) but really the plan is 'working' with current parts, then 'optimized'.

Thanks for the suggestions all.

[StressCraxx]

If the fasteners and jets are corroded and seized, a product called pb blaster works really well.

http://blastercorp.com/PB-Blaster-Penetrant-remove-stuck-parts-spray

Rebuild kits are available as well.

http://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/92.3246.05.htm
http://www.piercemanifolds.com/product_p/92.3247.05.htm

[weddingcarclive]

If the car ran well before storing, using the set up you have and your dad says it did, (we dads always know best) then just go with what you have but sending carbs to a specialist cleaning and rebuild company replacing jets etc to same spec. This will save you lots of headaches with uncertainty of changing bits here and there, which you will never know to be correct for what is going on within the engine upgrade.

Good Luck