JK carb rebuild kit vs Brickwerks kit

[Flyingchunk]

Hi all.

Looking to start strip down of my spare 2.0 CU Aircooled engine.

I want to start by refurbing the twin solex carbs.

I normally shop with Brickwerks and they had the kit at £66, but went over to JK and they have a kit (with what looks like more bits) for £29.95.

Has anyone any experience of either?

Thanks.

P.S. Looking forward to doing my first bit of "proper mechanics" instead of just cleaning spark plugs and changing filters.

[CovKid]

Well, the JK one has been reduced from £51 if you look. The most important parts of the kit are the o ring for the mixture screw and accelerator pump diaphram. Gaskets you can make if it came to it. Gaskets kits always seem to be costly these days and ofcourse they will not make up for worn throttle shaft bushes which will cause bad idling.

Not everything JK sell is bad. I know which one I'd go for.

[Flyingchunk]

Thanks. That sounds fair enough.

Anything else I should do whilst fitting this kit?

I sen some mentioning jets? Should I do these at the same time?

[CovKid]

The crucial thing to check is the throttle (lower) butterfly shafts. Grasp them each end and see how much movement you have in them. If theres any appreciable movement then air can get in and you'll always struggle to get a dependable idle.

If this is the case, Roger Ball (a keen VW fan) can rebush them (mail order or drop-in) to be almost better than new as he dumps original plastic bushes in favour of phosphor bronze ones which can be lubed, and hes not that expensive. These bushes are not available in carb kits and have to be tailor made to fit. Given the age of these engines, if its had no work done on the throttle stems, you can bet they're worn. He strips them out, checks them for true, and makes the bushes on a custom basis to fit those carbs. The choke flaps don't matter so much but throttle flaps have to be a good snug fit as the idle jet is just below them.

Quite a few on here have asked Roger to do their carbs and always sing his praises. He only needs the bottom half of the carbs, not the whole thing. The regasket side is down to you. Hes usually there most evenings. Lives in Clacton and works on them at home but as I say, he does mail order.

His number is on this page under 'carb wear': https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Fu ... -_Pierburg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Alternatively if you can find a good lathe man who doesn't mind fiddly jobs and is accurate, he should be able to do them but Roger knows these carbs well. He doesn't get into carb setups, but he does a brilliant job on worn stems on any of the carbs fitted to beetles, bays and T25s - been doing them at least 20 years. Put it this way, they'll outlive you. With those done, a thorough clean (airline through all passageways) and regasket, they're effectively new carbs. Cellulose thinners cleans all the crud off very well.

Check that the idle cut-off jets (those solenoid things screwed into the side) are a good fit and not loose. I'm sure he can rethread those too. Just never asked him!

I only mention all this because a gasket kit won't solve worn shafts and you'll be cussing trying to tune it. Do check them. May need to undo nut slightly. Its up and down movement you're looking for rather than side to side. If they rock, they're worn and will need rebushing.

[Flyingchunk]

That's Covkid

Very in depth and helpful.

I will check a report back.

[CovKid]

Bear in mind that these carbs are basically one, split into two. If you get even moderate wear in both, you end up with an unpredictable ingress of air, and doubled at that. The idle mixture has to have just the right amount of fuel and air - bang-on in fact. For that you need an airtight throttle flap and well sealed gaskets from then on downwards, including the metal inlet gaskets.

Let us know what you find.