Scooby Jim Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Hi guys, apart from doing it myself, are there any reputable companies you may have used to restore/rebuild/overhaul twin SU's??I can do a Google search with the best of them, but after somewhere that you have personal experience with. As lets be honest and advert saying what they can do, and a personal recommendation from a customer is another thing.My SU's work, but have a leak, and could do with a damn good service. I wouldn't know where to start, so getting them done by a pro would just need them fitting and then setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I used "carboreta exchange" at Leighton Buzzard and they did a good job a few years back. Before that, they did my S1 carb. My error was not drying them enough before posting, so royal mail sent them to Dublin? Dried out and in a sealed plastic bag is my recommendation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 I used "carboreta exchange" at Leighton Buzzard and they did a good job a few years back. Before that, they did my S1 carb. My error was not drying them enough before posting, so royal mail sent them to Dublin? Dried out and in a sealed plastic bag is my recommendation Have emailed them, cheers. Also Gower Lee, and Burlen (Su Carbs.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Just been emailed by Burlen www.sucarb.co.ukPrice for both to be restored £220+vat. BUT there is a 16 week turn around But for all the bits; 1 x Rebuild Kit Full set of gaskets and seals for both. main Jets, needle valves, seats for the bowl floats, spindles and bushes, throttle disks, and screws. 2 x 100in Jet needle. 2 x Yellow springs2 x HIF Float kits.2 x Damper assembliesThat lot comes to £144.66 inc Vat.So hmmmmmmmmm, looks like I'm gonna have to develop a taste for very fiddly jigsaw puzzles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Fair play to you, because as a time served plant fitter and master engineer I chickened out Also I think it was a more friendly £82 each at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Smith Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Haven't rebuilt an SU for many a year, but did one or two in the 70's. Not too bad to do yourself, just take your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 What is the best thing to soak the parts in, to degrease and remove all the old fuel. So clean them up a bit.I may well chicken out, but worth me getting all the information in advance I suppose lol. Invaluable help here.http://sucarb.co.uk/technical-carburetters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Kerosene? Or maybe industrial degreaser? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 They are about the simplest carb out there to be honest, so think you are doing the right thing, with some time on the kitchen table and a good lamp you will be fine Carb cleaner, ironically, is a good way of getting deposits out of carbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 There is a (Haynes?) manual for rebuilding SU's for about £15-20, well worth it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Kerosene? Or maybe industrial degreaser? I'll see what my mate uses in his parts washer. They are about the simplest carb out there to be honest, so think you are doing the right thing, with some time on the kitchen table and a good lamp you will be fine Carb cleaner, ironically, is a good way of getting deposits out of carbs Yeah I know carb cleaner, but wanted something I could leave them soak in for a few hours or a day or two. There is a (Haynes?) manual for rebuilding SU's for about £15-20, well worth it.... Oh is there? I'll deffo b getting that then!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I can totally understand why the 'professional' refurbers charge so much - until you get the carb in your hands and disassemble it you don't know how utterly messed-up it is. Example: I've seen three SU carbs from a 3.8-litre manual/overdrive S-type Jaguar where the float-chambers had the bottoms rotted-out because of historic water in the fuel, and any brass parts in the fuel path were similarly just so much scrap due to electrolytic corrosion. 3 new carbs were needed to get it running properly again. £1500 including a rolling-road session to select the correct needles to handle modern petrol - but it was truly worth it in terms of "a second-and-a-bit better than the factory-figures" 0-60 performance. Having driven it I have an inner appreciation of why the S-type Jag was the bank-blagger's getaway-car-of-choice in the 1970s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I had an su rebuilt by burlen for a 1929 Morris, the carb that came back didn;t even look like the same one, (it was) the way they refurb them is like nothing i could imagine, they are bead blasted, cleaned, polished, rebushed and every part that can be replaced is..... (apart from the needle on mine as they had no reference for it)..... Whatever they charge is good value, i would pay it again in an instant.... simply the rebushing element alone could render the carb useless unless done properly.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 I can totally understand why the 'professional' refurbers charge so much - until you get the carb in your hands and disassemble it you don't know how utterly messed-up it is. Example: I've seen three SU carbs from a 3.8-litre manual/overdrive S-type Jaguar where the float-chambers had the bottoms rotted-out because of historic water in the fuel, and any brass parts in the fuel path were similarly just so much scrap due to electrolytic corrosion. 3 new carbs were needed to get it running properly again. £1500 including a rolling-road session to select the correct needles to handle modern petrol - but it was truly worth it in terms of "a second-and-a-bit better than the factory-figures" 0-60 performance. Having driven it I have an inner appreciation of why the S-type Jag was the bank-blagger's getaway-car-of-choice in the 1970s. Now that is what I hadn't thought about, I knew there may be corrosion, but I didn't think It could get that bad to be honest. So when looking at £300 for a new set of carbs (well tbh after all that work they would be "new"), thats not bad tbh. I had an su rebuilt by burlen for a 1929 Morris, the carb that came back didn;t even look like the same one, (it was) the way they refurb them is like nothing i could imagine, they are bead blasted, cleaned, polished, rebushed and every part that can be replaced is..... (apart from the needle on mine as they had no reference for it)..... Whatever they charge is good value, i would pay it again in an instant.... simply the rebushing element alone could render the carb useless unless done properly.......... Its a shame that the turnaround is 4 months, as if it wasn't so long then this decision would be a LOT easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Yes, if a carb's been left with water in the float-chamber (even if you didn't realise it was there - there's generally a 'dead space' in a float chamber designed to retain any grot rather than letting it go into the jet) it will react with the alloy of the float-chamber and you end up with - at best - a horrible furry white powdery mess, and at worst a porous casting. if there's any brass [Jets? Unions? Filters?] in contact with the water too, it forms a battery with the aluminium and you get spectacular electrolytic corrosion. On a Weber 38DGAS (Ford V6) carb this completely ate away the brass jets and the threads in the alloy casting where the jets screwed in. New carb time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 The SU manual (HAYNES) is actually rather good! Just had a poke thro a copy, well worth the money. Burlen also flog an SU manual for about a tenner, haven't seen that yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 Yes, if a carb's been left with water in the float-chamber (even if you didn't realise it was there - there's generally a 'dead space' in a float chamber designed to retain any grot rather than letting it go into the jet) it will react with the alloy of the float-chamber and you end up with - at best - a horrible furry white powdery mess, and at worst a porous casting. if there's any brass [Jets? Unions? Filters?] in contact with the water too, it forms a battery with the aluminium and you get spectacular electrolytic corrosion. On a Weber 38DGAS (Ford V6) carb this completely ate away the brass jets and the threads in the alloy casting where the jets screwed in. New carb time! The SU manual (HAYNES) is actually rather good! Just had a poke thro a copy, well worth the money. Burlen also flog an SU manual for about a tenner, haven't seen that yet. Well this kind of make my decision a LOT easier. I wanted the Carbs rebuilt, and then once rebuilt balanced. Now I was budgeting for the expense of the two processes, but having read their restoration process here http://sucarb.co.uk/restoration-and-rebuild they will balance and set up idle etc etc so should be a fit and forget setup. Which makes my life a LOT easier. Also they will take the original inlet manifold too, and clean and polish it up for £50. So I can imagine the look on my face as I open up to see a pair of perfectly clean and polished carbs, on a cleaned and polished inlet manifold. Like this Pic taken from the Burlen website. I will get the Haynes manual, and try and blag a copy of Burlens, as they will always be handy for future reference and maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 Seeing as the inlet is coming off sometime soon. Where is the best place to get lifters, and (if badly worn) pushrods from??May as well change the waterpump, and possibly look at a cam and chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Genuine lifters if you can afford it! The rover v8 will thank you for it. Duplex timing gear. Look at: www.Summitracing.com Search: Buick 215 engine. It really helped me choose what I went with for my 3.5 v8! Research is the key Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyninety Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 SU Carbs can be rebuilt EASILY on the kitchen table. Don't be afraid of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Genuine lifters if you can afford it! The rover v8 will thank you for it. Duplex timing gear. Look at: www.Summitracing.com Search: Buick 215 engine. It really helped me choose what I went with for my 3.5 v8! Research is the key Josh Cool will look now, dont see the point of doing carp parts, so if there are genuinely better longer lasting parts then that will save money in the end, and make it more reliable. SU Carbs can be rebuilt EASILY on the kitchen table. Don't be afraid of it! Unknown carb history, unknown carb condition, and I have limited time and limited expertise. So imho best off getting them restored, so at least then in the future I know that what I'm starting with is a decent set of carbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Well got the carbs off, just waiting on a reply from Burlen and I'll drop them down a week Monday. List is now, new 3.9 cam, 16 new push rods and a set of 16 decent followers, new pulley and chain. New water pump gasket, and thermostat. With new valley gasket ready for putting back on.Anything else whilst its apart?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Check the rockers and the rocker-shafts: poorly-maintained Rover V8s clag-up the oil feeds to the top of the engine with sludge and then the rockers/shafts wear. You should be able to run your fingernail along the entire length of the rocker-shaft without detecting any steps or ridges. If you feel any ridge, replace the shaft and all the rockers. If your engine's done 100,000 miles replace shafts and rockers anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 When your carbs come back check the carb air filter stub to see if they have put an o ring on it as there isn't one at the moment! When I fiddled with my carbs I mangled the thread on one of the cold running enrichment jet spindles, guess which part isn't available? Now I have a pair of carbs for spares! Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 Check the rockers and the rocker-shafts: poorly-maintained Rover V8s clag-up the oil feeds to the top of the engine with sludge and then the rockers/shafts wear. You should be able to run your fingernail along the entire length of the rocker-shaft without detecting any steps or ridges. If you feel any ridge, replace the shaft and all the rockers. If your engine's done 100,000 miles replace shafts and rockers anyway. Cool, any info you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Will check all the rockers and see what is what. When your carbs come back check the carb air filter stub to see if they have put an o ring on it as there isn't one at the moment! When I fiddled with my carbs I mangled the thread on one of the cold running enrichment jet spindles, guess which part isn't available? Now I have a pair of carbs for spares! Marc I will, hopefully Burlen will do a good job as they said anything that needs replacing will be replaced. Last thing I want was for me to have had a go at rebuilding them only to mess something up and be left with spares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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