TheSamba.com :: View topic - Single two barrel Dellorto 36 DRLA for a Baja Bug?

Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:14 pm

I'm in the process of helping my son set up his Baja Bug. We have a used 1835cc dual port engine, 110 cam and a Dellorto 36. It'll mostly be a street Baja with some desert time. Is this a good choice for his Baja? Is there a better choice of carb for this application (that won't cost me a couple of hundred dollars)?

Thanks,
Richard

Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:40 am

The single Dell will work ok, as long as you have a good manifold with pre-heat. I would try and source another sigle DRLA to match, and run them in a dual setup. Best bang for you buck.

Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:10 am

Thanks,

I've been searching Craigslist for another Dellorto. I haven't found one yet but I've seen a lot of Webers with intake manifolds. Maybe I'll just switch over to Webers.

Tue Jan 08, 2013 3:19 pm

That single 36 will give you very good low, to mid range power for a mild 1835. If you find another 36 Dellorto you would have to make sure that it is a dual carb Dellorto. The single and dual Dellortos had markings on the base that identified them as either one. It has been awhile since I sold a new Dellorto (about 1996!) so someone on this site could tell you where the markings are, but there is a difference. I bet you could find a buyer for your carb and pick up a set of duals, but my old 1776 with a single Dellorto 36 was an excellent on/off road setup with good torque, and decent mileage.

Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:34 pm

If you already have the complete single set up----run it. Keep an eye out for another single. You mentioned your budget. Been there ----still there. You'll have a lot of fun with that set up. But duals are lots better.
Paul

Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:46 pm

If you can get the Dellorto Tech Book by Bob Tomilson of CB Performance.
It is good start to setting it up to run well off road.

Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:02 pm

I'm going to buy the book and the rebuild kit.

The only issue I still have is making the throttle cable work. It doesn't quite line up with the throttle linkage.

Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:17 am

chvyhs wrote: I'm going to buy the book and the rebuild kit.

The only issue I still have is making the throttle cable work. It doesn't quite line up with the throttle linkage.
Hopefully you have a single Dellorto carb.. CB Performance sells a slick single cable set up with an sheathed cable that routes over the fan shroud.

Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:32 am

wbrown45 wrote: chvyhs wrote: I'm going to buy the book and the rebuild kit.

The only issue I still have is making the throttle cable work. It doesn't quite line up with the throttle linkage.
Hopefully you have a single Dellorto carb.. CB Performance sells a slick single cable set up with an sheathed cable that routes over the fan shroud.

X2 Works great.

Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:40 pm

Finally got the engine running and drove the Baja Bug down the street but the carb still isn't ruing quite right. I still don't know if we have a single or dual Dellorto carb. I've read the Superformance Tech Book and still couldn't figure out how to tell the difference. Anyone here know how to tell the difference? I'm going to call CB Performance tomorrow and ask when I place and order for other parts.

Thanks

Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:42 pm

Some single Dells have a hole in each butterfly. You can take two singles and make duels. You can also take a set of duals and make two singles with the right parts. I have done this many times. Singles require smaller venturies than duals and need different jetting. Post your engine specs and your carb specs and I can get you close.
uglyoffroader

Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:50 pm

Ok, 1835, 110 cam I see. I would start with, 28-30mm vents, 60-65 idle jets, 135 mains, .2 emulshion tubes and 160 air jets. You may need to go up or down with jets, change only 1 thing at a time.

Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:21 pm

I called CB Performance today. They've got great customer service! Their carb tech talked to me for a little bit and we came up with this.
32mm venturis
160 air correction
160 and 170 main jets (2 sets for tuning)
70 idle jets
60 pump jets

Currently the car has,
28mm venturis
170 air correction
150 main jets
60 idle jets
55 pump jets

When we ran it this weekend we couldn't seem to keep enough fuel in the engine and the exhaust got really hot. Almost glowing. That's why I went a little fat with the carb tuning parts.

I also bought some of their velocity stacks. They look much better than the empi ones and I didn't have any at all.

Thu Jun 06, 2013 9:56 am

After reading my Dellorto book again, I understood the section that mentions that the carburetor may get too cold and possibly ice over. When I was adjusting the idle mixture screws I noticed that they were extremely cold to the touch. The Dellorto book goes into detail about running the proper intake manifold with provisions to heat the intake and carburetor. The intake manifold on my son’s Baja doesn’t have the tubes that go from the intake manifold to the exhaust. His Trimill exhaust also doesn’t have any provisions to get heat to the intake manifold. Any ideas on how I can fix this? Do I need to fix this immediately or can I just make sure I take care of it before winter? The Baja doesn’t need to be on the freeway and it’s not leaving southern California any time soon.
Thanks

Thu Jun 06, 2013 12:02 pm

The key to running a center mounted carb is good preheat. You need a quality manifold like this one:

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Bugpack-IDF-DRLA-Centermount-Manifold-1-1-2-p/1018-11.htm

When the manifold gets too cold, the fuel will fall out of suspension and cause the engine to run too rich.

Thu Jun 06, 2013 5:27 pm

Looks like I'll have to buy a new exhaust system too.

Thu Jun 20, 2013 9:55 pm

We finally got the engine run right! The timing was way too advanced causing the engine to run bad. We ended up going back to the 28mm venturis and tuning according to the example engine in the book. Just like the pros always preach. Less carb is better.