1835 Dual Carb Issues and Opinions

[Nestico18]

A few years back, I bought a rail with a “rebuilt” 1835 in it. It had dual solex 40/44’s on it. The guy said it sat for a year before I bought it but when it was running, he said it was an animal and ran great. I’m new to these so I’m not sure what the route is to go. I had rebuilt the carbs and messed with tubing them a little bit but it never seemed to run as well as he claimed. It seems pretty sluggish. Someone had told me that these carbs were too big for what I was running. What’s everyone’s opinions or suggestions as to what I should do. I’m sick of seeing it sit and I just want to get it running already before I lose interest in it.

[dirtkeeper]

You should be able to get it running like an animal again. What you probably need to do is a a complete tune up, valve adjustment, double check all the spark plug wires, points etc and then get your timing right, and thorough cleaning of the carburetors and then clean them again. Confirm that there are no leaks. At the manifolds. And that you have good clean fuel. Then you have to sync and tune the carburetors You could have worn carburetors or fuel pump but my experience has been that thorough cleaning and proper tune up and adjustment will get and old engine back to life. You will have to do some research here on the samba to figure out all that stuff but it isn’t rocket science and can be completed pretty quickly. Welcome to the Samba

[manxvair]

Did you happen to write down the jetting sizes while you were rebuilding them?

[Nestico18]

I do not remember what jets are in it, but do you recommend a certain size I should be running?

[dustymojave]

That dual Solex 40-44 AIS setup is known by the original brand name they were developed and sold under "Kadron".

For best info on that "Kadron" carb setup, I strongly recommend you talk to Jeff Lain at KaddieShack. He specializes in those carbs. His name on the Samba is "57Baja".
http://www.kaddieshack.com/

I have Kadrons on my Baja with an 1835. Because Kadrons sometimes have issues with slosh from the fuel bowl vent into the carb throat, I also have one of Jeff's "HI-FLO™ Off-Road Rough Terrain & HP Enhancement Kit for Kadrons". Jeff was inspired to make those based on his seeing the brass tube I put in my carbs back when he was 1st starting KaddieShack around 2009. Then when the brass tube broke in one of my carbs recently, I went ahead and ordered one of his kits. I liked that the air cleaner mount crossbar is up out of the throat of the carb too.
Jeff can get you rebuild kits and advise you on proper jetting for your engine. Although it sounds like they are already set up for your engine, but may need some rebuild.

Note that modern fuels with alcohol can eat some carb internals and will very quickly turn into thick gooey stinky varnish that will gum up a carb that's been sitting.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.