Date:         Mon, 8 Mar 2004 10:22:09 -0500
Reply-To:     David Brodbeck <gull@GULL.US>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Brodbeck <gull@GULL.US>
Subject:      Re: Converting EFI to Carberator
Comments: To: Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <20040307161730.93745.qmail@web13503.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004, Malcolm Stebbins wrote:

> Just a jab at EFI, I hope that you all are following
> the thread re Warren's "Billy Bones" EFI problems.
> Malcolm (91 carb'ed syncro westy)

I once carb'ed a FI bus.  It was a '75 Westy.  It was either spend $400 on
an ECU, which might or might not fix the problem, or $300 on a Weber
progressive carb kit, which would.

I put the carb on, and it ran sorta okay, but I probably wouldn't do it
again.

I had to tinker with the idle jets to get it to run right.  Had a big flat
spot coming off idle at first.  It always idled a little rich (if you
adjusted it so it didn't, it would be back to having a big flat spot) so
if you let it idle too long it would load up.  It would never have passed
smog in any jurisdiction.  In cold weather those long, unheated manifold
legs would ice up and it would run crappy.  Top speed was down from what
it was with EFI.  Fuel economy was about the same.  The noise level
went up a bit because the tiny air cleaner that came with the carb didn't
muffle intake noise at all.  Stepping hard on the throttle at low RPMs
would cause massive bogging, because the engine just couldn't take having
the secondary barrel open at that speed.

Most of these problems could probably eventually have been corrected by
carefully tuning the carb with a tailpipe sniffer...but then you're back
to needing expensive tools again and you might as well just run EFI.


David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Volkswagen Diesel Westfalia
'86 Volvo 240DL wagon