I ve spent the better part of my free time the past two weeks offering this
new intake up to:
1. The empty Series V head on the workbench in my garage.
2. The head in the running Series II.
3. The head in the not-quite-running Series V that we just salvaged from
Bakersfield.
In the process, I also checked each possible scenario using:
1. A pair of borrowed Dago Weber "work-alike" carbs called Dellortos.
2. A single borrowed real Weber 40 DCOE.
3. Five or six Series IV and Series V cast-iron exhaust manifolds.
4. An original Series II tube-type exhaust header.
5. A new, currently available "stainless steel" one-size-fits-all (?)
tube-type exhaust header.
Last night I drafted a three-page report on my findings and faxed it off the
man at TWM Induction, and boxed the intake up for return shipment after work
today.
The good news is that the casting is ok. This thing IS going to work for
us.
The not-so-good news is that even after they rework the squawks, we are all
in for a bit of an "adventure" in bringing this system to life on our cars!
The bottom line is that this dual-Weber-40 thing is NOT going to be a
bolt-on application for any of us. So, whether you have ordered one of
these intakes, or are thinking about it, here s the not-so-good news:
1. The Weber intake will not work with the original early-car tube-type
exhaust header without some sort of modification. Those headers have big
ol "ears" on each end that provide the clamp-point for the original intake
manifold. These "ears" interfere with the Weber intake, and you ll have to
cut em off even to see if the rest of the fit is ok. (Right folks. Since
I don't plan to use the original tube-type headers with the Weber setup, I
declined to clip my "ears" for the sake of this project!)
2. For Series I and II applications (don t know about Series III), the left
cowl brace has to either go or be repositioned. I repeat "has to" either go
or be repositioned. Period! This is not the case for the Series V, and , I
presume, the Series IV, because on these cars the firewall mounting position
is a full 2-1/2 inches closer to the fender than on the earlier cars!
3. For Series IV and V applications (don t know about Series III), the brake
master cylinder has to go. It s too long. Even by removing the spacer
between the master cylinder and the firewall, it still interferes with the
intake.
Jay Laifman says he went with an aftermarket brake master cylinder and
discarded the brake servo to solve this problem on his Holbay-powered Series
V.
And, on page 156 of the new book, Vintage Racing British Sports Cars, there
is a picture of a really neat Tilton brake/clutch pedal assembly with dual
brake master cylinders mounted inside the passenger compartment of Dan
Sommer s vintage Tiger racer. I LIKE that! "Lookit here, Honey, we got
this little problem, and this is the ONLY possible solution . . . ; - )
For Series I and II applications, you can retain the original brake master
cylinder by removing the spacer between the master cylinder and the firewall
and reworking the plumbing to the remote reservoir.
4. Everyone in the line-up, Series I through V, is going to experience the
same interference problem between the bottom of the rear carburetor and the
top of the steering box.
The problem here is that the left-rear corner screw on an underside cover
plate on the carburetor is very close and possibly touching the right-rear
corner mounting bolt for the steering box cover, depending on the condition
of your motor mounts.
One alternative for this problem would be to machine the intake mounting
surface for a greater angle on the head. I was reluctant to petition for
that because it is my understanding (or misunderstanding, perhaps) that the
Weber carburetors are somewhat sensitive to mounting position and "prefer" a
more horizontal orientation.
Another alternative, according to Dan Walters, is to do what Steve Alcala
did with his Series II vintage racer. That is to remove the steering box
cover, countersink that hole, and use a flat-head machine screw there
instead of a bolt.
5. And, finally, no matter which "platform" we are working with, we are all
going to have to come up with some creative ideas concerning the
installation of velocity stacks and/or air filters, and the method of
attaching the carburetor throttle shafts to the "go" pedal inside the car.
I can hardly wait!
(Hey! If it had been EASY, then EVERYBODY would have done it!)
Have a nice weekend!
Ramon
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 09:29:25 CDT