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Re: SU Needles

To: WSpohn4@aol.com, mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: SU Needles
From: REwald9535@aol.com
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 01:11:15 EST
Bill,
I work with a guy who many years ago did some serious hop up work on an 122
Volvo with SU's.  After working on the engine, the stock needles were not up
to the job.  So this guy pulls the hood, removes the plugs on the top of the
carbs and fabricates a set of rods that stick up from the bottom of the piston
well (were the oil goes) to the top of the dash pot.  He calibrates and paints
them a different color every millimeter.  Then he goes out and drives and
observes the rods on the road.  When he got to the first flat spot he observed
how many mm were exposed on the rods and went back to the shop and with sand
paper reworked the needles at the spot in question.  Test drive again and
again until he got the performance.  He must have spent 8 hours total in dribs
and drabs getting the needles the way he wanted them.  So even if you don't
have a lathe it is doable not easy not fun, but doable.
In my own experience when I played the needle game there were two or three
that I thought would work for my application, one was in stock and as the
saying goes it was close enough for govt. work.
Rick Ewald

In a message dated 3/16/99 7:55:28 AM Pacific Standard Time, WSpohn4@aol.com
writes:

> <If you tell the program what needle you are running, it will
>  tell you the diameter at various stations along the needle.  If you have
>  a midrange stumble, you may want to pick a needle with a thinner middle
>  (we all want a thinner middle, don't we?) while keeping the top and
>  bottom the same. Change the numbers and Haystack will find the needle
>  number that most closely matches what you need (or think you need). 
>  Even if you don't replace your MG's needles the program is a lot of fun.>>
>  
>  A nice little program, Bill, but if it restricted itself to needles that
you
>  actually had a hope of finding, the program would be much smaller!
>  I guess it will help the guys with a watch lathe and a lot of spare time,
>  though.
>  
>  Bill S.

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