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Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:59 pm

I've a 1776 that i have run with the solex 35 dual kit and it has been nothing but trouble. I would like to go back to a single, have all the parts and a 5 gallon bucket full of old carbs. Would a solex 30 pict 3 work? No racing just daily driving and some class4 roads. Thanks folks.

Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:20 pm

34 is the smallest I would go on that size engine. A 34 pict 3 and DVDA distributor runs pretty smooth on mild 1776's. If you got more cam, you may have to go with something more performance oriented.

What trouble are you having with what you have now?

Tell us about your set up. A 1776 and dual 35s isn't saying a whole lot.

Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:31 pm

For the record, the dual 35s are not bad bad carbs, but they are not a plug and play set up. From the factory, most of them had 22mm or 27mm vents. Look down the throat. The vent should say solex and a number...popular solex vent sizes were 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, or 30.

26mm and 27mm vents would be about right for a mild engine, or 28-30mm for something a little hotter. If yours came with the fun sized 22mm vents, chuck them. 22mm vents will kick the main jet on WAY to soon causing miserable frustration trying to tune them. No amount of jetting will cure that. Also, I have yet to see aftermarket linkage kits for them that I like.

Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:29 am

The Solex 30 will work, but you will really lose out on acceleration. Also, you didn't mention what cam you had. If it is much more the a w100, or c25, your idle will be very lumpy, and you may experience some low end stumble. I ran a Solex 34 on a 1776 with a c25 cam for many years, and it was a very nice motor. Got around 30mpg, and it would still haul 4 adults around pretty nicely.

Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:30 pm

Okay, sorry to be away from the forum. 1776 stock crank and cam, 1.4 rockers and full flowed. New SVDA with compufire.There have always been problems, the last being massive air leaks at the throttle plate bushings. It's always been something and i'm out of patience and really reluctant to spend more money.
Throttle plate bushings new leaked. Needed new ones cause i can be a bit heavy handed with the brass.

Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:57 pm

Plotch,

I definitely feel your pain. Throttle bushings are the scrounge of the VW world. yeah you will get a "little" more power with dual carbs, but you engine will also run fine with a single. Running 1.4 rockers with a stock cam opens up all kinds of carburation possibilities. However, as I mentioned before, I would not go below a 34mm.

How do I know this - my Baja (2010) is running the same setup as you. Originally I had dual 44s on it but one went south. I tried everything, even ultra sonic cleaning, but something internal on the carb went bad. To make a long story short I had an extra single progressive sitting around and threw it on. Did it run great - yes. Did I lose acceleration and top end - yes. However, I did end up with an engine that was very user friendly, but with a little less pep.

I even posted a large right up about it in the performance forum, and the EXPERTS told be I was full of $%#&^.

So for you, if you are tired of duals, and want to go single, find your self a GOOD 34. Running a stock cam with 1.4 rockers is not the most "hot rod" style engine. However, the power curves mimics a stock engine on MAJOR steroids.

PM me if you need any help

Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:23 am

Solex 35 carbs? Never heard of them.

Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:16 am

The 30 will work fine with a 165-175 main jet and a 65 idle/powerjet.

Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:46 am

Bashr52 wrote: Solex 35 carbs? Never heard of them.

The 35mm Solex kits are just a larger version of the factory equipped 32mm dual carb Type 3 engines. Scat sells them as a kit complete with manifolds, linkages, and hardware. Never been crazy about their linkages though.

Popular aftermarket kit. Good carbs save for the typical bushing issues which can easily be fixed by installing larger and better bushings. Bronze is a poor material choice for throttle shafts in my book. Poly with solid lubricants is far better if you ask me. These are the bushings to get. They come in a pack of five. Fiber reinforced poly bushings are resistant to cold flow. High grade poly resins make them nice and hard and solid lubricants dispersed thought the material keep friction and wear down to a minimum with low speed throttle shaft pivoting...something bronze is terrible at. Poly is also nice because because it doesn't cause galvanic corrosion of the steel throttle shaft like bronze does. These are the ones I chose to use this time around. I did a test on a spare throttle body and I'm really happy with them. Time for the real deal.

Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:29 pm

Unless one of you has a trade in mind, i think i'll go with Herc's advice and a rebuild kit. By the way can i test the bushings beforehand? And if so how?

Thu Apr 16, 2015 6:52 pm

If they are used they are probably toast. Give the shaft a wiggle to check to a sloppy fit between the shaft and bushing. If you can easily see it moving, they are pretty much toast. The clearance should be a few thousands at the most.

Another thing to check is wear on the inside of the throttle body. When throttle shafts get sloppy, the brass butterfly valve wears the soft aluminum body. It that throttle bore isn't nice and smooth, aka you can see wear on the sides from the throttle shaft, don't bother. Move on and try the next one. Worn bushings are repairable. Worn body's are not.

Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:37 am

Would a 30 pict 2 work better than a 3? I've several to chose from.

Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:15 pm

The 30 pict 2 will play better with the SVDA you have.

Mon Apr 20, 2015 3:38 pm

Vanapplebomb wrote:
The 35mm Solex kits are just a larger version of the factory equipped 32mm dual carb Type 3 engines. Scat sells them as a kit complete with manifolds, linkages, and hardware. Never been crazy about their linkages though.

Popular aftermarket kit. Good carbs save for the typical bushing issues which can easily be fixed by installing larger and better bushings. Bronze is a poor material choice for throttle shafts in my book. Poly with solid lubricants is far better if you ask me. These are the bushings to get. They come in a pack of five. Fiber reinforced poly bushings are resistant to cold flow. High grade poly resins make them nice and hard and solid lubricants dispersed thought the material keep friction and wear down to a minimum with low speed throttle shaft pivoting...something bronze is terrible at. Poly is also nice because because it doesn't cause galvanic corrosion of the steel throttle shaft like bronze does. These are the ones I chose to use this time around. I did a test on a spare throttle body and I'm really happy with them. Time for the real deal.

Van, do you have anymore information on these bushings? Do they come with cutters or reamers for installation. I have "several" sets of Porsche Solex 40PIIs that are really great carbs, but have suffered from the chronic loose shaft problem. Any info you could give me would be great.

Mon Apr 20, 2015 6:33 pm

No takers on a trade? Manifolds, linkage, 3 Carbs, all jets, everything except the air filters. The carbs need work like new bushings.
Thanks for the help, I'll dig out a 30 pict 2 and go from there.

Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:57 pm

69, the bushings come in a five pack from Grainger Industrial Supply. They are German made by igus. ID is 5/16 in, od is 3/8 in, and 1/2 in long. I chose 5/16 in inner diameter because stock throttle shafts were 8mm. I have found that galvanic corrosion eats away at the steel shaft in the stock bushings almost as much as the bronze bushings wear down. 5/16 in is a few thousandths smaller than 8mm, so you can get a very very close fit after polishing the throttle shafts down to size with 320/600 grit sand paper. No special reamer really nescesary. A 3/8 in drill is accurate enough. The bearings are slightly oversized so that they are a light press fit in a 3/8 in bore. If you want to ream it out that is fine, but I found that they fit well with a good 3/8 in drill bit. I sacrificed one of the bearings and a core carburetor for science. Always good to experiment before you do the real deal.

For the Solex PII carbs, it will probably be easiest to just drill all the way undersized and then ream it out because a drill bit will be far to flexible to get a straight drilling. Reamers are a lot stiffer. So yeah, good for Solex PIIs, but not needed for carbs with a single throttle plate like the original poster.

Tue Apr 21, 2015 4:47 am

plotch wrote: No takers on a trade? Manifolds, linkage, 3 Carbs, all jets, everything except the air filters. The carbs need work like new bushings.
Thanks for the help, I'll dig out a 30 pict 2 and go from there.

A 30 PICT will be way to small for a 1776. If you are going back to stock, a 34PICT would be the smallest I'd do. If I was in your shoes, I'd stick with the duals and rebuild them.

Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:07 am

Do-able, but I agree with Basher, I would go 34 something or other.

With a mild cam and a DVDA a 34 pict 3 works well. With an SVDA the 34 pict 3 is...well, I don't care for it. To lumpy for my tastes. To much air at idle for distributors that have no provision for vacuum retard. At least that was my experience.

Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:58 pm

Vanapplebomb, you wouldn't happen to be able to re-bush a pair of Solex 35's for a fee?