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SU Carb restoration/overhaul


Scooby Jim

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Just received an email from Burlen.

Dear Sir

You are welcome to bring in your carburettors anytime and have a chat with the restoration manager.
The postcode is indeed SP1 3SA, we are off Castle Road, look out for signs to Janspeed and Hudsons Field campsite.

Regards

So looks like I'm off to Salisbury on Monday, will hopefully take a few photos if I am allowed :D

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Well dropped off my carbs on Monday, and have to say I am rather excited now. The Carbs on display were drool worthy, but I couldn't get any photos as I arrived a little later than expected.
Anyways I'll take pics next time, esp of the Jag V12 carbs and Rolls Royce Merlin SU Carb.

Also for clarity I missread the email regarding prices it was £220+Vat per carb :(

But as I am planning on keeping her for a long time, call me stupid but I am getting them done, glad I have 4 months to get the money together :D

They will strip each carb down and replace everything, and replate all linkages, and machine polish all pots etc, they will be brand new when I get them back. And at that price I should bloody hope so lol.

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I think it's completely worth it to be honest. Quality (most of the time) only hurts once!

Yeah I keep telling myself that, but then time will tell. As longas when I get them back they look outstanding, and work like new I'll be happy.

Then discuss what warranty there is :D

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Looks good in there!

I would pull the pushrods, and take out each lifter, just check it isn't dished, a sign the cam hasn't broken in properly when installed.

Rockers aren't adjustable.... Hydraulic lifters :)

They look fine, almost new. I know the guy I bought it off said something about a 3.9 (now I'm not sure if he knew what he was on about as he said Carb Needle), BUT looking at that it looks more like a cam, as it looks to have been changed along with the lifters and push rods. I will pull one or two out to check though.

I'm gonna check the lifters if not for adjustment but making sure everything is tight lol.

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  • 2 months later...

Well, red WILL make it go faster..

I'd personally go black. Nothing beats a super clean, but factory fresh style in my books.

Looking forward to seeing how it comes out!

Cheers buddy.

Still can't decide between red or black.

I might be wrong, but that inlet looks ex-MOD with the duck egg blue paint on it.

I'd prefer silver tbh, would blend better, but than actually, I prefer plain cast aluminium over it all! :)

Yeah I think it is. This is a second hand manifold, that I picked up to paint and setup whilst the original is with the carbs in Burlen.

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Have decided, but its gonna cost me more money :D

Have gone black, BUT to make it look even better I have emailed Burlen to Bright Nickel plate my carbs and linkages :D Yes its a tarty thing to do, but I dont really intend this to be a pure offroader, but more a classic car as she is a 1972. And I want the "WOW look at this!!" when I open the bonnet :D

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Glad you dropped red, will look better than it can be described so look forward to seeing it when finnished

Bit confused though TBH unless I got it wrong, you're getting them ballanced on another manifold? When transfered to this manifold it will need doing again surely?? You may be OK if the gaskets and carb tower are the same thickness and you can just click the actuating rods back together I guess?

Marc

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Now I can understand the nickel plating, very approved of choice ;):i-m_so_happy:

:D Cheers bud.

Great choice of colour :D

Will end up looking very smart!

Cheers bud, bloody hope so :D

Glad you dropped red, will look better than it can be described so look forward to seeing it when finished
Bit confused though TBH unless I got it wrong, you're getting them balanced on another manifold? When transferred to this manifold it will need doing again surely?? You may be OK if the gaskets and carb tower are the same thickness and you can just click the actuating rods back together I guess?
Marc

Yeah the carbs do get "balanced" but will still need a tweak to be setup correctly, thats what the restoration manager said to me when I dropped them off, but to quote Burlen.

"The carburetter is then tested on an Exhauster. This machine simulates the vacuum of an engine so that the carburetor piston can be checked to ensure it lifts within the standard parameters and that the throttle disc will close down sufficiently to stall the engine. Idle is then set by adjusting the idle screw and if there is more than one Carburetter, they are balanced.

The carburettors are then wet tested. In this process the carburettors are filled with fluid to test all the seals in the carburettor against leaks and ensure the fuel level in the float chamber is correct. This process also checks the needle valve to make sure it shuts off correctly and holds pressure."

But the picture from their site (below) shows the carb not on the original manifold, but straight onto a machine. So I'd imagine they set up one, then the other and then its just the linkages that are tweaked to get them balanced further. As I shouldn't imagine that they would keep in stock an interface between each inlet manifold and their machine, whereas the carbs should in theory be all very similar. So when one is set up the other is set up to match, and then its just setting the linkage so that they open as a pair, instead of staggered (if not balanced). It is something that I will discuss further when I collect them, maybe take my new manifold with me, so that I could transfer them over and check.

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Also I have spoken to Burlen today with regards to the Nickel plating (as I was unsure), and the body of the carb will be cast ally but polished up to look "as new", the float bowl will be highly polished so will look like chrome, and the linkages and connecting parts are being Nickel plated. So all in all should look superb. The linkages plating, and polishing, is all included in the restoration process.

As it goes these parts are currently out getting polished/plated, and my end date of last week of March is still on.

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There are two parts to 'matching' multiple carburettors.

Balancing is set so that both carburettors flow the same volume of air (throttle butterflies open the same amount) and the same fuel air ratio (mixture).

Then the carbs are synchronised so that when the throttle is operated, both carb butterfies open the same amount, and because of the balancing, will flow the same fuel air mix and volume at the same time.

Regards, Diff.

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Wow my carbs would propably fail miserably and would benifit this attention! But then again my engine is in the same condition!

I see thier tools are compatible with LR adjustment techniques, hammer and screwdriver only!

Marc

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Cheers Diff, that helps explain it better. Well hopefully they will be ok even if I swap manifolds. As long as I mark the linkages up before I swap over it should be ok?? If not I will be getting the engine a tune up and check at a local guy. But the carbs were too far gone to have been use to do this before hand. And I know that it's a lot of money, but it will be worth it, as they will be like new, instead of a "they will do for now".

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  • 2 months later...

:D I'm a happy bunny :D

Got a little setting up to do, but should be able to get them setup and the rest of the Landy, then get her up to get the engine setup sweetly.

I honestly cannot believe the difference in these carbs, I was debating £528 all in being a bit much, but holding them in my hand makes me realise this was a no brainer and I was glad I did it.


These are actually my carbs :D

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Some other pics from inside Burlen.

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And some of my Scooby 350miles of fun along country lanes, and boring M4.

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