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Post by hydrolastic on Oct 15, 2016 14:02:56 GMT
Hello Guys, I am starting on Gromits carbs. Right now the car is very hard to start and is running on two cylinders. (twin HIF 6's from a volvo) the previous owner had gathered some parts for a twin carb 1800 but there are broken/missing pieces and the hs 4 carbs are very worn. I have a couple sets of mgb hs 4 carbs and i am looking at getting a complete set of carbs together. One issue i see is the maniflow header will hit the heat shield as the shield has been modified but was not used. Looking on the internet i saw a picture of a twin carb 1800 and the float bowls were set inside of the carbs. This is confusing as it would make the linkage a split throttle cable but there was not a detailed picture of what is needed to do this. I was wondering if anyone had detailed pictures of a twincarb setup. The owner told me that the air cleaner is a very rare piece but again not sure from what or what parts are missing. The list of what i need to do to the car is getting longer. Items like the starter is not staying engaged the shift cables seem to be leaking oil and the engine is sagging on one side. But for now i am just looking to get the carbs sorted. Aaron
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Post by hydrolastic on Oct 16, 2016 1:04:54 GMT
So Today i got all of the parts together and removed the hif 6's then picked one of the mgb manifolds i have and the heat shield that came with the car. Sure enough the heat shield hit the exhaust. So i made a couple of 5/16 spacers by cutting off the flange off of a couple junk carbs and faced them on the mill. After a couple of mockups on the spare head and mixing and matching parts i was able to get a set of carbs to bolt up.Now i have to make some linkage and or see if i can find some MGB ones locally. I am stumped however on what to do about the air cleaner. Maybe a set of mgb ones or the rectangular one i have here. Aaron
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Post by Penguin45 on Oct 16, 2016 8:52:06 GMT
Looking at your pictures, you have an "S" model air-cleaner box in the boot. You would need the two right angled elbows which fit to the carb inlets to fit that. Failing that, my Wolseley uses twin HIF44s with K&N pancake filters. The carburettors and manifold were taken from a scrap MGB as an assembly with the linkages and simply needed plain ended cables for the controls and a couple of screw nipples. They came with black phenolic spacers to stand the carbs away from the heatshield. I think that they were ¾" deep.
The real problem is that they are not really "matched" to the car - an 1800 is a much bigger and heavier car than an MGB. That said, I fitted "AAA" needles, which are slightly richer and allow for the increased airflow from the K&Ns. The car has always run pretty well IMO, but a session on a rolling road with an SU specialist would almost certainly yield improvements.
Chris.
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Post by dave1800 on Oct 17, 2016 9:34:04 GMT
If you can borrow a wide band analyser that clamps to the exhaust you could determine whether the SU needles you have are suitable for the crab. There are several websites that allow comparison of needles, but one of the simplest is the "Minty SU Needle Comparator here Just click "all needles". If the engine is too weak at low mid or upper ranges you need to find one that is smaller diameter at one of the stages, too rich need a larger diameter. If you are really clever you can reprofile a needle (Google it). Note that the MGB and 1800S used weaker piston springs than the standard single carb engines. regards David So Today i got all of the parts together and removed the hif 6's then picked one of the mgb manifolds i have and the heat shield that came with the car. Sure enough the heat shield hit the exhaust. So i made a couple of 5/16 spacers by cutting off the flange off of a couple junk carbs and faced them on the mill. After a couple of mockups on the spare head and mixing and matching parts i was able to get a set of carbs to bolt up.Now i have to make some linkage and or see if i can find some MGB ones locally. I am stumped however on what to do about the air cleaner. Maybe a set of mgb ones or the rectangular one i have here. Aaron |
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Post by hydrolastic on Oct 23, 2016 14:28:53 GMT
Hello Guys, So i have made some progress on the 1800, With a couple of sets of mgb Hs4's and some fabrication i was able to get the carbs to fit with the mgb heat shield and a set of .312 spacers to clear the header. Then the starter went out! It was by stroke of a miracle I got my hands on a used marina starter. Yesterday it arrived and it was Immediately put in and the car started on its first click. Some tuning and it was running like a champ. Took my wife for a ride in the neighborhood. Now that i can move it around i am looking forward to driving it But now i have to get it fully imported with paperwork. I went through the receipts and was surprised at the amount of work that has gone into this car. it has had a full engine rebuild with all new pistons, rings, bearings. reground crank to .010/.010 also the PO has a bunch of homemade tools and the receipts show syncros and a bunch of gearbox parts in the rebuild. I was happy to see a new clutch release bearing on there also. While the manifold was off i looked into the ports and the head has been ported similar to a mini in road spec. The receipts also show seats and guides to the head and a piper 270 camshaft. No wonder this car is so strong. I still want to continue with getting the inboard float 1800 S carbs together so i plan on getting the initial set of Hs6 carbs to start the process. The list of misc parts for this car is getting longer and i will be looking for more Items soon. Aaron
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Post by Penguin45 on Oct 23, 2016 22:59:53 GMT
Always quite exciting when you start getting into the history of a new aquisition. I hope you haven't fitted HS2s - little peashooter things compared to the HS6s. Reading what you've said about the engine rebuild, it sounds like you've got the makings of a quite potent machine there.
Chris.
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Post by hydrolastic on Oct 26, 2016 1:35:39 GMT
Hello guys, Thanks for the encouragement and posts. So i now have Gromit working well and it starts first click even when cold. Pretty happy with the car. Now i have to get air filters on it. For this setup i am thinking aftermarket filters but in looking i am worried that the brake booster will interfere with the filters. Gromit is lefthand drive. I also put in a set of .312 spacers to get the heat sheild to clear the maniflow header. It looks like it is pretty tight space to get the air cleaner on before the firewall. is there a recommendation from you on a good set?  |
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Post by dave1800 on Oct 26, 2016 11:45:08 GMT
I'm not familiar with the LH drive layout but is that a brake pipe running across the car in front of the header tank? If so, from the photo it looks as though it my not be routed that securely and could be vulnerable, but it's difficult to see. There are members here with twin carb LH drive crabs so hopefully someone can advise on the air filter options. One thing to watch is that the filters do not rub against the hydrolastic hoses, there's not much space as the engine rocks on its mountings - it used to happen and was a recorded cause of suspension failure.
Regards
David
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