Weber carb spindle wear

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baldilocks
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2018 12:25 pm

Weber carb spindle wear

Post by baldilocks »

Hello All,
I recently became the guardian of a 330GT mark 1 which is a runner requiring improvement.
I have already improved the running of the car considerably by syncing the 4 sets of points.
The idle speed was always a little high and after balancing the air intake vacuum and setting the mixture with 6 colourtune kits the only way I could reduce the idle was to weaken the idle mixture by 1/8 turn on all idling mixture screws, as the throttle stop screws are fully out.
The only issue I still have is getting a smooth pick up when opening the throttle
The car is away having minor body rust repairs so I took the opportunity to remove the carbs. All 3 seem to open in unison left to right and the butterflys are fairly central, I could get the to fit a little better but not much. I stripped the rear carb and there is some fairly noticeable wear in the spindle fit.
I notice that oversize spindles are available but changing these would involve re pinning the end fittings in exactly the right position.

I can see a bush in the carb body and most of the wear is here as the spindles seem hardly worn.
So it seems to me that re-bushing the bodies would be the way to go unless you can warn me of potential problems with this.
Any tips appreciated and any link to a 40 DCZ6 diagram with English part description would help.
Keith Hudson UK
John Vardanian
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Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by John Vardanian »

Hi Keith, I have removed pins form the shafts (spindles) of my DCL's and I can tell you that it was very difficult and nearly destructive to the throttle shafts. The shop we use typically line bores the the bodies and fits new oversize shafts. Have you checked to see if bottoms of the bodies are square and flat? The later carbs are a softer material and tend to warp with over-tightening, and correcting requires special skill.

john
PF Coupe
baldilocks
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2018 12:25 pm

Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by baldilocks »

Thanks John,
The carbs all have flat bases. I now have managed to remove the second spindle, this has 2 thou wear and is made of brass.
The spindle carrying the synchronising quadrant is made of steel and all of the wear is in the bush on this side.
It looks like I need 1 spindle and 2 bushes, or I can replace both spindles with the headache of re-pinning the quadrant and pump lever.


Keith
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tyang
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Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by tyang »

Hi Keith,

It looks like you're well on your way to figuring out a solution.

I wanted to take a moment and welcome you to the forum and to the ownership of your 330!

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
Steve Meltzer
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Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by Steve Meltzer »

WOW! I'm impressed that you had the balls to really take this thing down! Pretty big deal...the parts and advice might be available from the Weber master, Mike Pierce. Super nice and knowledgeable guy. www.piercemanifolds.com
He has all the tooling and expertise to rebush and repair these carbs.

BTW: he was recently featured in Sports Car Magazine as one of the top restorers in the country. This was a poll taken among experts, as I recall...not an advertisement or one where the featured "star' paid for the notoriety.

Welcome to the forum. steve meltzer
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
baldilocks
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2018 12:25 pm

Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by baldilocks »

Thanks to all for your help.

Keith
John Vardanian
Posts: 1906
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:13 am
Location: San Francisco Area

Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by John Vardanian »

Keith, the original shafts were brass. Today they tend to be replaced with steel shafts as part of rebuild. I know Pierce Manifold (our shop of choice in the west coast) does it this way. It is possible that the steel shaft you mentioned is a retrofit.

john
PF Coupe
baldilocks
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2018 12:25 pm

Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by baldilocks »

I think you are right, a friend noticed that the slot for the butterfly is too long hence air can leak in at that point.

I found some new spindles on Ebay at 8mm diameter, planning to re-bush the bodies and fit these. It will be necessary to re pin the toothed segments with the risk of tears, but my friend says he can make new ones if necessary.
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Tom Wilson
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Re: Weber carb spindle wear

Post by Tom Wilson »

Keith - Make sure to check the carbs for warping as well. As those shafts wear, owners tend to tighten down the bolts at the base of the carb, assuming that the air leaks they hear are coming from a loose connection. The gaskets at the bottom of the carb will allow the base to bend if overtightened, which twists the carb, which often seals the leak at the shaft....temporarily. Then, more tightening seals it again and over time you end up with significantly bent/twisted bodies, like my car had. Mike Pierce sees this all the time and makes a good living straightening them out. He does a great job of it, by the way.

Good luck!
Tom Wilson - Series III 250 GTE, SN 4247 GT
Curator of the 250 GTE Register
http://www.250GTE.com
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