Charley, Andy etc,
>balance the carbs by listening to them
Put me in that bucket, even though I've only tried it on two MGs. <G> No
need for a flame suit Charley! <G>
I haven't tried a Uni-syn (but Lawrie likes 'em <G>), but the Gunson 'Carb
balancer' IMHO is a total waste of money (apart from the plastic tube that
comes with it.. thats good for listening to the carbs! <G>). Sometimes I
spend $ because I don't trust myself, as I get used to working on the car I
realise a lot of gadgets are a waste of money (not that I'm saying the
Uni-Syn is, it appears to work fine in Lawrie's Video) I get different
readings every time I put it the Gunson product on the carb, even when it
appears to be properly sealed and in the same location! I found my ear a
much, much better tool than this product. It takes a bit of practice and a
good tube, also precise, repeatable location of the tube in the carb throat.
I was shocked at how out of balance my carbs were.. I have a good ear, I've
been known to play a few musical instruments for $ so this is one area where
I trust myself. <G> Actually I can't think of anywhere else on the car where
I could say the same thing.. lol! Bill Bressington at SU Midel recommended
the listening approach, he has the Uni-Syn in his catalog but seemed
reticent to sell me one (old school?). I asked about the Colortune too -
with the same sort of 'bah!' reply! <G> I figured I had to go it alone or my
manhood would be in serious question ;) - *roflmao* - no one seemed to want
to sell me a gadget!!! Damn!! <G> So instead I spent plenty of time
listening to the carbs and the exhaust (for mixture). I was pretty suprised
at how easy it was to tune by the exhaust note. Very easy to hear the
irregular beat, splashy misfire etc. *sigh* Wish I could play with my car,
pity my motor is in a million and one pieces on the floor of my garage!!
*sob* I would like to get some reliable test equipment to see how close I am
with the tuning, but I won't bother. I think a trip to a rolling road/dyno
is a better option, especially now I'm uprating the motor.
Tomorrow I go buy an Engine hoist so I'll finally be able to take the block
out of the car. :)
> The following is pure opinion: Unless your're going racing don't
>solder the poppet valves on the butterflies unless closed you are _sure_
>they're causing a problem. Why borrow trouble?
Yes. But I have read the springs go slack very very quickly - I think
Burgess also mentions this? If the throttle shafts are already out it's a
piece of cake to swap the plates with the older style. Besides there's a lot
less restriction to the airflow when the pedal is floored. Those poppets
surely stick out a long way!!
Cheers,
Neil
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