TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue May 06, 2025 6:55 pm

Dude don't do that if you go single IDF, come look through my pile of single IDF manifolds and possibly viable carb bodies first. You would just need end castings then for the single port and those are almost free. That said, you'd probably be MOST happy with a single Zenith if you "just want it to work and stay working" on a single port 1600 off road car.

Tue May 06, 2025 7:57 pm

It would be pretty easy to cut up a spare SP intake and mig weld up a set of manifolds. Kadrons would not be my first choice, way overhyped for the dollar. I would look for a Solex 30PICT-2 and matching distributor. Failing that a set of type 3 Solex carbs would be my second choice but then that's just me.

Wed May 07, 2025 5:30 am

jimmyhoffa wrote: Dude don't do that if you go single IDF, come look through my pile of single IDF manifolds and possibly viable carb bodies first. You would just need end castings then for the single port and those are almost free. That said, you'd probably be MOST happy with a single Zenith if you "just want it to work and stay working" on a single port 1600 off road car.

I expect the SP end castings that are on the car would work, wouldn't they? I'd just change the center/main manifold out and stick a HPMX on it, right?

https://www.jbugs.com/product/47-7315.html?utm_con...OkQAvD_BwE

Any source for new/good Zenith's?

My main goal is to run this car on the street, and it needs to run well enough to do so (needs to have enough power to get out of its own way at least). Any off-road specific attributes are a bonus.

Wed May 07, 2025 7:19 am

If you'd even consider Zenith, snag the one with the pipe wrap on it. Singe port compatible with BugSpray or Zenith. Has heat provisions you can weld up. I have the little end flanges you can weld into your exhaust.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2635247

Then hail mary this P010 core and save it, if you're feeling adventurous and want a really reliable setup. They are very simple at their core and don't really have many weak points, I'd bet this one can be made perfectly good.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2735582

Wed May 07, 2025 7:25 am

I'll consider anything that gets the engine to run well. I can't seem to find a source for a new, or at least decent, Zenith carb though.

Mon May 12, 2025 10:48 am

Just noticed the edit; I think you were editing while I was posting last week.

The Chinese H30/31 should arrive some time this week. I'll see if I'm able to jet it to work decently. If not, I'll either pursue rebuilding that Zenith or just go with a new HPMX.

Tue May 20, 2025 6:01 am

To update this, I've had very little time to mess with the buggy, but I did stick the carb on it and started jetting it to get a decent AFR. It's already light years ahead of the Brazil-made H30/31 I removed, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get a reasonable AFR across the whole range. Having a choke is a game changer in and of itself.

I was actually dialing in the idle Friday when the storm front that generated the EF3 tornado just north of us came through. Had to put the buggy inside the shop in a hurry, close things up, and head out with chainsaws to get trees off of our power lines.

Tue May 20, 2025 12:16 pm

We had tornados for a couple days end of last week too. Power was taken out Friday and I couldn't get any welding done last weekend. Got the shop picked up though!

Tue May 20, 2025 12:20 pm

racecougar wrote: To update this, I've had very little time to mess with the buggy, but I did stick the carb on it and started jetting it to get a decent AFR. It's already light years ahead of the Brazil-made H30/31 I removed, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get a reasonable AFR across the whole range. Having a choke is a game changer in and of itself.
.

Are you talking about the chinese clone here? just curious.
I was going to encourage you to stay away from the HPMX if you wanted good driveability, but it looks like you avoided that. I've got those and they are great only when I got my foot in the gas. The rest of the time they are finicky.

Tue May 20, 2025 12:40 pm

Yep. We had two more small tornadoes pass just West of us last night. Ended up sleeping in the basement til 2AM; I'm dragging today.

Yes, the Chinese H30/31 is on the car now. Hopefully I'll get time (and weather) this weekend to finish dialing it in. If I can get it reasonably good, I'll likely move on to checking rear camber and toe next. The tracking of the rear end feels "spooky" when taking a corner at 50+ MPH.

EDIT: This is the carb on the car now. https://www.ebay.com/itm/375925521903

Wed May 21, 2025 6:18 am

Snapped these last night while installing shocks on another vehicle.

Thu May 22, 2025 11:49 am

That header is way overkill for a SP 1600. What kills me is why you want to fight what works your clearly a talented guy with a good shop fab up the heat risers and build a simple intake using hot air from under the cylinder's plastic flex tubing is 15$ on ebay. If it doesn't work Ill eat my shorts.

Thu May 22, 2025 12:02 pm

There is plenty that the PO did that is overkill for a 1600 SP. I'm not spending money to step backwards though. The goal for now is to get it running properly, then decide if it's good enough, if it needs to be swapped, or if it needs to be sold.

What am I fighting exactly? If I end up keeping the single carb, I will likely install heat risers. I wanted to go dual carb to eliminate the need for all of that and pick up some power, but I flat out cannot justify spending $1500 on carbs for a 1600 SP.

Available time to mess with this thing is exceptionally limited; I have a number of other cars/projects to work on. Honestly, as it sits now, if I pulled the WBO2 off of it, I expect most folks would think the carb is dialed in well. I'm shooting for more accurate fueling than that though.

Thu May 22, 2025 2:33 pm

DesertSasquatchXploration wrote: That header is way overkill for a SP 1600. What kills me is why you want to fight what works your clearly a talented guy with a good shop fab up the heat risers and build a simple intake using hot air from under the cylinder's plastic flex tubing is 15$ on ebay. If it doesn't work Ill eat my shorts.

Is it 1-5/8? If so I have the same exact exhaust in a 1-1/2" if you want to trade. Mine even has the O2 sensor welded in the same place. I've been waiting on an 1-5/8" because I ran out of funny money too.

Tue May 27, 2025 5:29 pm

It's 1-1/2". I'm going to keep it as-is.

The $45 Chinese carb did the trick. Fueling is now where it should be across the rpm/throttle range. I put a few miles on it tonight, and it did well. It zips up to ~50 MPH well, but it really lacks balls once you hit 60 MPH. I realize it's a 1600 SP, but I figured it would be quicker being as light as it is.

Next steps is to check the alignment, particularly in the rear, drive it more, then decide what I want to do with it.

Currently planning to take it to a local cruise in on Sunday.

Sat May 31, 2025 12:23 pm

Ended up taking the Top Banana and the '65 C10 out to a car show, then lunch, today. It was about a 20 mile trip, including a little highway time, and it did great.

Saw this guy at the show:

Sun Jun 01, 2025 4:24 pm

Put another 20 miles on it today, then checked the alignment. The front had 5/8" toe in; I reduced that to 1/8". That change alone made it significantly easier to roll back and forth by hand in the shop. Those tires had to be scrubbing pretty hard.

Then I moved to the rear. It has 1-1/4" of toe out! It has so much toe out that my gauge doesn't reach (see photo). Additionally, the driver side rear tire has 0.3 degrees of positive camber and the passenger side has 0.7 degrees of positive camber. I'll tackle this another night, but now I'm curious how much this has been holding the car back in fourth gear.

Sun Jun 08, 2025 4:42 pm

I didn't have much time to work on it, but I was able to move the rear toe from 5 degrees toe out to 2 degrees toe out. At this point the torsion arm is contacting the control arm, and I'll need to grind a little clearance to improve it further. The left rear was WAY out relative to the chassis.

I took it to a golf tournament yesterday, and what an improvement the alignment made! It actually cruises at 70 MPH decently now. Don't get me wrong, the car needs/deserves about triple the power this 1600 makes, but it at least gets around now. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well the body and windshield deflects rain, as I certainly drove through plenty of it yesterday. You can feel a mist around you, but otherwise, I stayed dry.

Wed Jun 11, 2025 5:52 pm

I've been putting miles on this thing, rain or shine, and man, does it ever get attention. :)

Tue Jun 24, 2025 7:55 am

No real new news to report other than that I've been racking up a lot of miles with it. Fueling is dialed in at 15.5 cruise and 12.5 WOT, and it's running great. At this point, I'm ready to pull the wideband off and stick it on another vehicle.

I still need to improve the rear toe (need to grind clearance to allow further adjustment), and I'll add a turn signal indicator to my dash (I've left the signal on a few times without realizing it). Other than that, I'd say the car is pretty much finished for now.