Seriously thinking webers. Weber guys -your feedback

[Stentor]

I was in the same place as you over the summer--seriously considering Webers.

I have "pulled the trigger" and am having a set of 58 mm Berg IDA carbs made for my FE, and should have them on my car in a couple weeks. I didn't go with 48 mm Webers because I was concerned they would be too small for my bored and stroked FE (at higher RPMs).

As long as you go into the switch to Webers with your "eyes wide open" about what's required to get them dialed in you should be fine.

It's hard to beat the look, sound, or throttle response of the Webers.

[RICK LAKE]

Stentor Think it will be great to have another FE with rare 58 mm runing on the street. Where are you geting the manifold from? You know that the 48mm bores are about 1 7/8" butterflys and the 58 mm are 2.1/4" There is alot of welding and machining for this to work. I know what Dave S went through. There is only about 1/8" of mounting surface in some spots. What cam shaft are you going with. Lift and duration are no problem the overlap is what will make the car great to cruise and drive or the reversion is going to give you a fuel bath. I hope you talk to the forefather who do this for a living like Iglesis or Gene Olberg. I believe that Gene is more into German motors, Porsche and VW. Make sure you have a large fuel system with 1/2" line and 3/8" return with a big pump and good pressure regulator. Have 2 outlets fron the tank to the fuel pump. Dave has a weldon pump in the r/r corner of his car with 2 pickups. The ERA gas tank is heavily modified. Looking forward to your build. Rick L.

[ENTDOC]

the webers were the most fun I had with my Kirkham. Go with at least 40mm chokes with a 427 and you will get much less frustrated.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Stentor

I have "pulled the trigger" and am having a set of 58 mm Berg IDA carbs made for my FE, and should have them on my car in a couple weeks. I didn't go with 48 mm Webers because I was concerned they would be too small for my bored and stroked FE (at higher RPMs).

Stentor, may I ask what made you concerned that the 48's would be too small for your engine. Rokndad a few months back installed Webers on his 482 and I think he's running rich somewhat. I'm not an expert in any of this, but Rokndad's engine was making 640 HP before the Webers and, while I'm not sure, I believe he feels that the 48's are plenty for his engine.

I just have always toyed with the Webers idea, but darn that carb, it's so darn simple and it does such a great job.

[rokndad]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Stentor, may I ask what made you concerned that the 48's would be too small for your engine. Rokndad a few months back installed Webers on his 482 and I think he's running rich somewhat. I'm not an expert in any of this, but Rokndad's engine was making 640 HP before the Webers and, while I'm not sure, I believe he feels that the 48's are plenty for his engine.

I just have always toyed with the Webers idea, but darn that carb, it's so darn simple and it does such a great job.

Hand that man a cigar. I haven't had the car on a dyno since the conversion to 48 IDA's, but I can feel an instant difference in throttle response and it sure ramps up to 120 mph a lot faster than with the Holley. Scary before, frightening now.

Yes, still a little rich, but getting better with time. Still fussing a little with the idle circuit and getting rid of laminar flow through the hood scoop over the tops of the velocity stacks. Making offset baffles for the scoop.



Saw this on a really nice original 289 FIA car with Webers last Saturday at the LASAAC show.

Other than that, I couldn't be happier with the switch. With 40 mm chokes I feel it's getting plenty of air. Well, more than I'll ever be able to handle.

[Stentor]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Stentor, may I ask what made you concerned that the 48's would be too small for your engine. Rokndad a few months back installed Webers on his 482 and I think he's running rich somewhat. I'm not an expert in any of this, but Rokndad's engine was making 640 HP before the Webers and, while I'm not sure, I believe he feels that the 48's are plenty for his engine.

I just have always toyed with the Webers idea, but darn that carb, it's so darn simple and it does such a great job.

Rod,

Based on conversations with various folks (e.g., Inglese, Pierce, Keith Craft) as well as calculations using information and algorithms from a variety of sources, the optimum choke/venturi size for Webers on my 511 ci FE is between 49 and 52. The 48 mm Webers would not accommodate this large of a choke (from what I've been told for a street car it's not practical to go above a 42 choke with 48 mm IDAs--as low-end performance will suffer).

Furthermore, the estimated HP loss from switching from a carb to 48 IDA Webers on my engine ranged from 60 HP to 150 HP (something on which I didn't want to compromise).

The good news is it looks like the 48 IDA FE manifold is going to work just fine with the Berg 58 mm IDAs.

I will keep folks posted.

Stentor

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Stentor

Rod,

Based on conversations with various folks (e.g., Inglese, Pierce, Keith Craft) as well as calculations using information and algorithms from a variety of sources, the optimum choke/venturi size for Webers on my 511 ci FE is between 49 and 52. The 48 mm Webers would not accommodate this large of a choke (from what I've been told for a street car it's not practical to go above a 42 choke with 48 mm IDAs--as low-end performance will suffer).

Furthermore, the estimated HP loss from switching from a carb to 48 IDA Webers on my engine ranged from 60 HP to 150 HP (something on which I didn't want to compromise).

The good news is it looks like the 48 IDA FE manifold is going to work just fine with the Berg 58 mm IDAs.

I will keep folks posted.

Stentor

Yes, please keep us posted. While I think the 48's would be enough for my 482, I wasn't aware that you have a 511. More cubes is definitely a good reason for the bigger IDA's. Thank you for sharing.