If I can do a weber so can you!!!!!!!

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by cobraviper_99

Money well spent.

You're a lot of help.

[Rick Parker]

the Webers worked for me for a lot less without electronic stuff in the engine bay

Very well put!

[Jake]

Jim, I noticed while following you down the freeway last night that you are blowing a lot of black smoke as soon as you give it a little gas at cruising speed. It really blows when you put your foot in it. It appears to me it is still running way rich at that RPM range.

Jake

[cobraviper_99]

I like the video idea. I surely wish I had something like that when this journey began. It would be a very time-intensive project since there are so many variables to cover. The people who should really consider producing a setup/troubleshooting video are Inglese or Redline or Webers Direct since they would be able to generate additional sales on systems, parts, etc.

BTW, if you're blowing lots of black smoke when you punch it at cruising speeds, that's a relatively easy symptom to correct. In fact, easier to deal with than an idle circuit stumble. Drop your main jet size. I'm running 160's and everything looks clean. I tried 170's once and the car performed OK but I was blowing lots of smoke. If the main jet reduction cures the smoke but you lose power in the midrange and up top, go back to the original main jet size and try a larger air corrector. They only impact fuel mixture when the engine is running on the mains. It could also be the accelerator pump jets may be dumping too much fuel on the hit, but I'd try the other solutions first.

[race-it]

Jake, Thanks, I know I am still rich and trying to cure that. I changed main jets from 135 to 145 before the run. I have a broken 140 jet so now I only have 7. I will have to pick one up and truy 140's. Part of the learning curve is like CobraViper said, I have to deal with eight carbs. At best my LM1 will only deal with four at a time so now I have to work with each one separately.

Cobraviper, Is your weber a 44 or 48, what size motor?

im

[cobraviper_99]

48IDA's. Originally set up by Total Performance in Wallingford, CT. The engine is a new-old-stock side-oiler, Shelby aluminum heads, Comp roller rocker solid lifter cam, MSD ignition. I should quickly mention that after the engine was originally built, the rings in a couple of cylinders scored the walls before they were seated in properly. Compression was way off and it was a while before I was aware of it. I could never get the Webers dialed in and I'm glad I didn't make the assumption that "Webers suck" and blame them for the lousy performance which many people do. Once I had the engine freshened up and all was well compression-wise, the engine responded to the Webers the way they should. That's another very important lesson: Webers have a low tolerance for bad compression, leaky valves, feeble ignition, or any other engine difficulty that a conventional induction system wouldn't expose.

[RedBarchetta]

So how do you go down this path and finish without a $$$ box full of jets, emulsion/choke tubes, etc.? It's bad enough spending four grand (plus) for what is essentially carburation. I love reading about how you guys sort this out, but the price of admission honestly scares the crap out of me.

And BTW, virtually all forms of carburation suffer at higher altitudes when tuned at/near sea level. I wouldn't expect Webers to be any different in that regard.

-Dean

[Steve Bisson]

I also have to question the initial expense of Weber's plus the added expense of extra jets, choke tubes and whatever other $$ items are needed to get it operating correctly. I understand the "WOW" effect when he hood is opened but if the effect is that important, why cover them up with a hood? It was mentioned that the originals raced with the Weber's rather than a carburetor and I suppose there is an advantage in the racing environment however that environment rarely goes below 3K rpm. I might see 6K for 10 seconds on a long freeway on ramp a dozen times a year and for that my $350.00 Holley DP does just fine. As far as efficiency goes, carburetors are pretty much a somewhat controlled fuel leak compared to FI.

I understand the desire of the Weber's and appreciate the visual effect but I really have a hard time wraping my mind around the performance gain over a 4bbl in a street vehicle.

Just another opinion.

[Rick Parker]

It's never too late Alan.

[zrayr]

in real life driving carburetor engines are not that finicky when driven to & from the mountains. Last year I drove my GT-350 from TX 600' elevation to NM 7000' elevation and back over 3 day trip. I was all set to change jets once I hit the mountains, but never felt a performance drop-off. I did have to bump up the idle speed at the 3000' elevation mark. Carb was the original 715 cfm Holley.

Z. Ray

[priobe]

Why have a look-a-like when you can have the real thing.

Go WEBERS!!!! They rock!

Popcorn anyone

[acindrich]

I'd love webers on my car for looks alone. Staggering performance is just icing on the cake. Problem is I'm still not confident I could put them on and make them work, or that I have the patience to do it. So, what sort of 'specialist' would one have to go to and just pay to have it done? Can the average Joe at your local garage do it? Is there a way to order them already tuned and just bolt them on? Or, do they really require someone willing to pay the price to own them what with their seemingly constant maintenance?

[lemans24]

I put 48 IDA's on KMP549. I bought the conversion kit from Pierce Manifolds.
The engine was being put together at that time ,so i got the right cam and gave the engine specs to Pierce for them to do a baseline setup.The first time I cranked it up, it ran very smooth. I put O2 bungs in the pipes for an LM-1reading. Going thru the tag/title process now, then I will really be able to see how it is running out on the highway. It does look awsome.

[ndpace]

I have the same concerns as Lemans24.
I found this ad on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

does anyone know anything about them? Does it look like a good deal? I am concerned about hood clearance so the IDF sounds better for me. Are there any downsides of the IDF?

Thanks, Jim

[cobraviper_99]

Originally Posted by acindrich

I'd love webers on my car for looks alone. Staggering performance is just icing on the cake. Problem is I'm still not confident I could put them on and make them work, or that I have the patience to do it. So, what sort of 'specialist' would one have to go to and just pay to have it done? Can the average Joe at your local garage do it? Is there a way to order them already tuned and just bolt them on? Or, do they really require someone willing to pay the price to own them what with their seemingly constant maintenance?

acindrich, I can only speak from my own experiences and other people who have run Webers (or attempted to). There are shops and skilled mechanics all over the place who you could bring your setup to and have them do the work. You'd be paying for their labor and who knows how high that could run? I know how much time I have in setting up my system and I'm fortunate somebody else's meter wasn't running the whole time. I am NOT a master mechanic by any stretch and have limited abilities when it comes to hardcore engine work. A lot of guys can tear down their motors, replace the crank, cam, do the machine work etc. That's not me so I know it's possible for someone with my skill levels to sort out a set of Webers, assuming the engine is healthy, the Weber setup is compatible with the motor, and you're willing to put in the time.

Here's the best reason I've found to try to handle your Weber setup yourself rather than farm it out: You will gain a tremendous amount of insight into the overall "health" of your engine and (I know I'm getting weird here) be able to have a "conversation" with it as you gradually find the ideal setup. It's almost like training your dog. If you can communicate with him, he'll obey your commands. Try a certain jet size, idle mixture adjustment, etc. and you're telling your engine "I think this is what you want." Your engine will tell you if you're right or wrong on your test drive and so you've just had a conversation with it. If you think I should be locked up somewhere, I understand fully.

The other reason I recommend you take the DIY plunge is that you'll never be "Weber self-sufficient" if you depend on someone else to troubleshoot your system whenever you have a problem or question (unless, of course, your brother-in-law works for Inglese). Once you've understood what each component in the carburetor does, how to access them, how your changes are supposed to impact the setup, and you graduate from fear and intimidation to confidence and a comfort level that comes with familiarity, you'll be glad you didn't need someone else's intervention throughout the whole process.

Now, there IS help available--either places like Redline or Inglese or Webers Direct, plus there is a good selection of books and manuals out there which cover the entire world of Webers. But I really think you have to be your own best friend when you finally make the move. And before you know it, you'll be helping other people running Webers because you've been there and done that.

Finally, there is a misconception that Webers need constant maintenance. If my experiences are any example, once you've got them dialed in, put all your tools and manuals away and drive the car. Webers will hold their tune unless a problem develops somewhere else in your engine or you move from Oahu to Fairbanks, Alaska. Can an idle jet get clogged up on occasion and starve a cylinder? Sure. Can a hex link lossen up and change the linkage synchronicity? Yup. But that takes me back to the point I made previously. If you understand your system and can recognize what your engine is "saying" when it's not happy, you can correct the problem yourself. But I haven't had any ongoing maintenance issues with my 48's since I got them in the sweet spot.

And yes, that takes patience.

[OCCOBRA]

If any of you FE guys are wondering what a set of Weber IDAs would be like I have a set for sale listed on this site. I took them off my FE 427 CO because I have no time to tune. I also purchased a set of 40MM Chokes, and F14 Emulson Tubes as per Eljaros Weber Tuning thread but decided I would save for a EFI Weber set up. I am borrowing a buddies spare manifold and carb until $ are available. I will say that I noticed a LOSS of Torque on the low end with the carb switch. Boy, those Webers do make a difference!!!! Just a note on my manifold. The Holman Moody manifold I have is a straight cut so could be a clearence issue. Not sure since I bought the car and the prior owner had installed large air filters and had cut a very large opening in the hood to clear the filters. I think if only stack filters/screens were used this manifold would still offer proper under hood clearence. Anyway, look at my for sale posting. Could be a cheap way to try or get into Webers. The F14 E tubes and chokes alone cost over $400.00 a real savings as I will include in sale of Weber set up. I just lowered price since they are taking up space on my work bench. If no replys from the Forum then they will go Ebay this weekend.
OCCOBRA

[rokndad]

Originally Posted by OCCOBRA

The F14 E tubes and chokes alone cost over $400.00 a real savings as I will include in sale of Weber set up. .
OCCOBRA

Not if you're a careful shopper. I just looked at my source on eBay and the chokes, any size are 2 for $25 and the e-tubes, any size are 4 for $35. That's a grand total of $170, not $400. I'm saying this so that those thinking to get into Webers, don't get thoroughly turned off from some of the misinformation that gets thrown about.

[race-it]

ndpace,, That is what I have on my car. I like them. I'm not all tuned in yet but out of tune I have much more torque than the duel quads I was running. See my pictures in these posts. Page 3.
Jim

[race-it]

A couple of things,

If someone who uses the LM1 and connects to your computer, I would like to call you and ask about settings. I cant seem to make my RPM to display on the guages.

I have tried all my jets and still unable to keep between 12.5 and 15. Most of the time graph shows between 15 and 18.
Main jet 145 (Largest I have) I ordered 160 &165.
I used the smallest air corrector that I have. 160

Jim

[race-it]

For those of you who run webers and use a LM1 box to check air fuel ratio, I have these questions.

Am I splitting hairs trying to keep the AFR between 12.5 and 15 at all times?
Does your weber go to lets say up to 20 for a moment during driving then back down to the 13 14 range?

I've been told to have an average range of between 12.5 and 15 knowing that at some times your LM1 may read 9 and 20 but the vast majority of the time stay between 12 and 15?

Jim