carburettor types

[worzel]

Hi

Slim Romeo who's recently posted about his plus 2 which he's just mot'd lives close to me and was having a few "teething" problems with his resurrected toy. Firstly I couldn't get the dizzy to clamp. This turned out to be caused in the past by somebody clearly overtightening the clsamp and it causing the body of the dizzy casing to break off (pieces at least) where the clamp surrounds the dizzy base. It looks like scrap unfortunately and I'm out of touch with prices- what are these for new dizzies.

The other question is the carbs. Following its fire years ago somebody has put on webers to replace the dellortos but these are 40 dcoes types 34 and 35- any ideas what these might be from and are the bodies/internal galleries etc different in some way from the type 31's originally fitted. Any info would be very handy.

Regards

John

[Mazzini]

If my memory serves me correctly the 23D4 dizzy clamping collar was hollow, hence if over tightened it collapsed, it's replacement the 43D4 (?) has a solid collar, but it's taller, so unless you machine a bit of the collar it sits high on the block, high enough for cap to touch the inlet manifold, crack and short out. It's probably just as easy to get a machine shop to weld up and machine off the old dizzy.

[alan71]

QED sell a clamp for cracked distributors
http://qedmotorsport.co.uk/qed-shop/lot ... m/ignition

Alan.

[types26/36]

Following its fire years ago somebody has put on webers to replace the dellortos but these are 40 dcoes types 34 and 35- any ideas what these might be from and are the bodies/internal galleries etc different in some way from the type 31's originally fitted. Any info would be very handy.

This forum seems to suggest they are from a Hillman Hunter with a Holbay engine.
http://sunbeamalpine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13352

[elans3]

Hi John, re the carbs, These were made by Weber specifically for the Hillman Hunter GLS / Sunbeam Rapier H120, and along with the 40DCOE 90 and 91's (a later version of the same carb) are peculiar to that car.
They are unique in that they don't have a float chamber breather hole in the front left side of the carburettor body casting.
They don't seem to work very well on other engines, and as such are the "runt" of the 40DCOE litter, not attracting decent prices to those people "in the know".
Many an innocent Ford man has bought them only to be disappointed in their performance on their X-flow / Pinto / Twincam.

To be honest, they are only really worth anything to a guy with a Sunbeam Alpine 1725cc. They work well on that engine and it is a good mod for that car.

Hope that helps
Steve
elans3

[slimromeo]

They don't seem to work very well on other engines, and as such are the "runt" of the 40DCOE litter, not attracting decent prices to those people "in the know".
Many an innocent Ford man has bought them only to be disappointed in their performance on their X-flow / Pinto / Twincam.

To be honest, they are only really worth anything to a guy with a Sunbeam Alpine 1725cc. They work well on that engine and it is a good mod for that car.

Hope that helps
Steve
elans3

eeek, not good news for me

[FOX5D]

My 1970 S4 distributor had a cracked collar and Paul Mattys arranged a recon that corrects the original weakness and recons the rest of the bits. Lovely job, about ?140 from memory. They also do another distributor but it doesn't take electronic ignition so I stuck with the original. No problems at all now.

Cheers

Jim

[FOX5D]

I should have mentioned that I also have an S3 with the same cracked collar problem, but I haven't got round to having it reconditioned yet.

I am told that it was a weak design, and that it is quite rare to find ones that haven't been cracked due to overtightening!

Hope that this helps

Jim

[worzel]

Hi

Thanks to all who've replied to my query. That's not very good news is it. Is it the general opinion that these won't work at all/very well on the twink or is it that driveability etc will be seriously compromised. I've noticed since my first posting that some of the jet sizes are a bit different from the factory numbers for the type 31's which adds to the problem/potential expense.

Regards

John

[elans3]

To be honest, they will work, but will never work as well as a DCOE31 or DCOE 18 for that matter. (The only real difference on the Elan engine between the 18 and 31 is the jetting, choke size and the accelerator pump stroke, same internals, same carb body etc.)
The 34's and 35's were specifically made by Weber to suit the Rootes 1725cc engine, and as such will have very different characteristics. It is likely that the accelerator pump stroke will be different, emulsion tubes, all / most of the jets originally were different, choke sizes, no breather in the body,and on, and on. If you put the Sprint recommended chokes and jets in them, they wouldn't work the same.
Don't forget that the 18's and 31's were originally made to suit the T/C only, and that they worked so well, that they were recommended for aftermarket use on pre-xflow, crossflow, Triumph GT6 (in triple form), Toyota Corolla, Merc 190SL, Datsun 240Z (triple), BMW 1600 4 cylinder, etc etc, until the advent of the 40DCOE 151, they were almost the "generic" carb recommended by Weber to suit most under 2ltr 8 valve 4 cylinder engines.
151's can be jetted exactly the same as a 31, to give the same results, I have done it many times.

Best thing to do with them is Ebay, recommend for a Sunbeam Alpine and get yourself a good pair of 31's, (if you crave originality), or 151's if not. You'll never get them right.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Steve
elans3

[twincamman]

I struggled for 2 years with set of DCOE32 from an Alpha with a myriad of problems until I sprung for new set of carbs . The car is super now and well worth the investment so bite the bullet and spend the money ...now about the electricals----ed

[Robbie693]

Hi John,

http://www.h-h-ignitionsolutions.co.uk/index.htm

These guys can repair distributors and I wouldn't be surprised if they are who Paul Matty used to do Jim's repair. Although I've not used them myself I've heard very good reports about them. I bought a new 43D type for mine as that was what was fitted when I bought the car, they are marketed by Aldon Automotive and Paul Matty sells them too, I think the cost was about 180 quid outright, with no exchange. Fit's fine and doesn't foul the inlet manifold, although it's a bit tight to get the cap on.

Cheers

Robbie