Date:         Mon, 5 Feb 1996 08:51:36 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         dlytle@as.arizona.edu (Dyer Lytle)
Subject:      '73 Westy twin Solex rebuild



Hi all,

Last week I asked a question about the twin Solex carburators on '72-'74
busses, specifically I needed to have the throttle body shafts rebushed.

Over the weekend I read up on the carbs, disassembled them, had the
rebushing done by a local shop, cleaned and reassembled with new
"rebuild kit" parts, and got them re-installed.  They run better
than before the rebuild already and I haven't adjusted them at all yet.

Some observations:

a. I found it interesting that this "pair" of carbs is really one big
   caburator in two parts.  Each part has its own main throttle
   circuit but only the left-hand part has an idle circuit.  The air-fuel
   mixture from that single idle circuit is piped to a central location
   and then split through tubes to the two intake manifolds.  I assume
   the purpose of this is to make it easier to adjust the idle.

b. I payed a guy at "Milex" $69 to rebush the two throttle bodies.
   This is higher than I had expected but he did an excellent job and
   I would do the same again.

c. I have a feeling that prolonged exposure to carburator cleaner is not
   a good thing, even in a very well ventilated area such as the one where
   I was working.

d. One of my electric choke elements, the one on the right hand carb, was in
   sad shape, falling apart.  I found a good working one at my favorite
   junk-yard and paid $10 for it.  Again, I felt that I overpaid but it was
   a lot less expensive than ordering a new one from Rocky Mountain Motorworks
   at about $75.  These choke elements are left and right and push in opposite
   directions so a choke element from the left carb won't work on the right
   carb.

e. These carbs are simple to work on, I've rebuilt other, more complex carbs.


My thanks to all who responded to my last letter with helpful information!

Cheers,

 -Dyer


 --------------------------------
 Dyer Lytle
 Near Infrared Camera/Multi Object Spectrograph project
 Steward Observatory
 University of Arizona
 --------------------------------