Mobile engine tuning - Nottingham

[CJH]

I'm looking for recommendations for a mobile tuning guy in the Nottingham area. I've bought a carb rebuild kit and I just know the mixture will need setting up properly once I'm done - it already does in fact, so I thought I'd replace all the gaskets and whatnots before getting it set up properly.

We all know the sort of person I'm looking for - 50 years experience with Pierburg carbs, could fettle one and tune it by ear in 10 minutes flat, all for a tenner and a cup of tea.

Any recommendations?

[itchyfeet]

If I was as close to Gasure as you are I would take my van to Steve and get him to work his magic

[CJH]

He must be good then - Google maps says he's 114 miles from me. When I said 'Nottingham area' I had in mind more like 5 miles In fact, what I actually had in mind was someone coming to do this on my drive, assuming I mess things up so badly with the rebuild kit that I make it undriveable!

[itchyfeet]

If it was me id just fit the rebuild kit
But then I have two spare carbs and have spent many hours figuring out how to set them up

Id say You're unlikely to find many mechanics who know about 30;year old carbs doing the mobile mechanic thing

[California Dreamin]

Mixture wise...you just need to be careful not to have the engine running too heavily through the idle by-pass valve or throttle butterfly, so set the butterfly stop correctly as many novices use this to adjust idle when that should be done with the idle by-pass screw.
Trick is...to start the adjustment by running it rich by screwing out the mixture screw, then take the revs down to idle with the idle by-pass screw, finish off by screwing the mixture screw back in to find the 'hunting point' then out about a quarter turn.
All done with engine up to temperature and idle stabilisation valve disconnected......straight after a 10 minute run.

Martin

[CJH]

Thanks guys

I'm hoping that one of the things I'll learn by taking it all to bits, cleaning it and reassembling it, is where all these screws are and what they all do. It's one of those things I'd like to be familiar with. But aren't they supposed to be set up using an exhaust gas analyser, or can you get close enough 'by ear'?

I AM a novice, and I DID adjust the idle speed (when I had to adjust the timing), but I only used the screw that Haynes labels as the 'idle speed' screw. Nevertheless, I have the impression that I've now got a flat spot (on first press of the throttle when pulling away), and I'm not sure it's as 'perky' as it was. I think it might also be running a bit rich, based on exhaust colour and fuel consumption, and when I was setting the timing, although I set it correctly, it felt like it was happier when the timing mark was a little to the left of the crank case mark (is that advanced or retarded?). I haven't checked for leaks yet - thought I'd do that after replacing all the gaskets.

I also suspect my choke isn't working as intended, as I still need to sit with my foot on the gas for a while on a cold start. That's improved a lot since I discovered that the terminals on the inlet manifold heater switch were corroded and were making intermittent contact.

So all in I thought paying for an hour or so of an expert's time might be worth it, and I thought it would be good to have somebody in mind before I start. I'm quite happy to tinker though, and it's not my daily driver so it doesn't matter if I DO make it undriveable for a while.

Chris

[300CE]

These guys might be worth a call CJH? No personal experience, but had a butchers on-line:

http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=43551" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ed_the_robot]

If you can do the rebuild, without touching the mixture screws, then get your van to the campershack in Grantham..

[California Dreamin]

Interesting comments..lots to think about.
Flat spots on acceleration could well be a vacuum leak...take a careful look at the vac advance unit on the distributor, give it a suck to see if you get resistance or just sucking air which means the diaphragm is split (Very common) otherwise this might be indicating a dribbling accelerator pump (should give a nice spray down the centre of the venturi and not dribble).
Might also be worth checking the mechanical advance values on the distributor (sometimes bob weights and springs can wear giving erratic timing and timing advance) basically, a worn distributor.

Martin

[CJH]

Thanks again guys. A couple of useful contacts there, especially Campershack, as I've been planning a trip there for some leisure gas work - didn't realise they did general engine work too.

Thanks for the tips Martin - how do I go about checking the mechanical advance?

Chris

[California Dreamin]

Thanks again guys. A couple of useful contacts there, especially Campershack, as I've been planning a trip there for some leisure gas work - didn't realise they did general engine work too.

Thanks for the tips Martin - how do I go about checking the mechanical advance?

Chris

The mechanical advance specifications should be in any good maintenance manual or follow this link: Quotes and credits for this information go to Simon at Brickwerks......

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleSpec ... engine.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These are for the 1.9 DG
firing order 1 - 4 - 3 - 2
distributor part number Bosch - 0 237 024 011 (0 237 024 035 - 1985-1992)

ignition timing 5°±1° BTDC without vacuum see note at bottom of page
ignition advance checks 0°-2° @ 1500RPM w/o vacuum and basic timing (0-1 @1160)
10°-14° @ 2400RPM w/o vacuum and basic timing (13-17 @2400)
24°-28° @4200RPM w/o vacuum and basic timing (24-28 @4200)

vacuum advance range 12°-16° engine degrees
idle speed 900±50 RPM see note at bottom of page
oil temp for CO test 60°C
CO content @ idle 1.5±.5 % volume
HC content @ idle 300 parts per million

2 different distributors were fitted to this engine, the data for the later engine is in brackets.

Martin

[The Bobdogs]

If it's driveable get it over to Basford Dynotune at Northern Court, off Vernon Rd, Basford.
Pat is your man..he's been doing this sort of thing for years and he has a full rolling road set up...did my Aircooled last year.

[CJH]

Thanks Martin - I should be able to cope with that. Are there any marks to help me determine where those timing ranges are, or is it a matter of making my own marks based on the circumference of the pulley?

And thanks Bobdogs, just what I was after, a recommendation just round the corner. I'll see how it runs after fitting the kit.

[California Dreamin]

... you need a timing light with advance facility built in.

Don't blame me lol......just talking shop.

Martin

[CJH]

Oh, well my timing light doesn't do that. I reckon I could quite easily make a few reference marks on the pulley though.