Hi Sam!!
On Wed, 11 Jun 1997, Saman P Perera wrote:
> like my mixture on my MGA is rich too. I do not ever use the choke to
Hmmm, it's been my habit to tune the SU's so that the car WON'T start
without the use of the choke, unless the engine's close to/at op. temp
> start the MGA either. However, the shop that re-built my carbs
> originally set those carbs that way, i.e., not to use the choke. Were
> they wrong ? Car had been runing pretty good up to now ...
Yes, they're wrong!! You can get away with a much "poorer" mixture on
the rich side, than you can if you go lean.
> I wish I knew how to tune my Carbs ?
They're really not that difficult to tune, as long as you realize that
THEY'RE THE LAST THING TO ADJUST when you do a tune-up. Plugs, points,
rotor, cap, wire resistances, timing, valve lash, vacuum advance
diaphram, are all checked/replaced/adjusted FIRST. Then you start on
the carbs.
Get yourself a factory shop manual, or good reproduction (Bentley?), and
do ONE THING on the tune-up list. Then start the engine, and drive
around the block. Then do the next thing on the list, and go around the
block again. Keep working your way down the list, and testing the
results of your work, until you get to the carbs.
If you follow the same procedure while you work on the carbs, you'll
finish the tune-up with a thorough understanding/feel for the system,
and won't have to start guessing what's wrong if it won't start and
you've changed/adjusted everything. If you can find someone to guide
you through the process as you learn, you'll end up saying "Oh, so
THAT'S what they mean!!" as you read the manual, instead of getting all
confused by the jargon.
TTUL8r, Kirk Cowen (who learned to tune SU's by comparing a factory
mechanic's work to the manual's desciptions)
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