Why is it this hard to find someone local to tune carbs, and work on my baby

Ohmess

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Leaking is not uncommon, but I would look at hoses and connections before I got to the gearbox. Remember leaks that run down from the reservoir along the low pressure hose to the gearbox can appear to be gearbox leaks. Wipe everything clean with a rag and see if you can determine for sure that the hoses are not the problem.
 

jefftepper

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This post is a reply to the question posed in the thread title. If you think about it, cars with carburetors are few and far between these days. Those that remain, are generally not daily drivers and many of those occasionally driven cars are owner maintained often by necessity. To make a living working on cars, one must have a large enough customer base to support the business. Unless you live in a major metropolitan area with an affluent population that can afford to have a hobby car with carburetor(s), the skill is rarely used and eventually withers due to non-use. Freshly minted auto technicians these days are taught to work on fuel injection, and NOT carburetors. My son the auto tech tells me that the periodic factory training he receives focuses more and more on computer controlled powertrain systems and his computer skills are in greater demand than his general mechanical skills. (Note he now knows how to keep the Holley 750 in his muscle car in top shape but he learned that skill on the kitchen table with a "How To" book by Holley and a rebuild kit) Those old enough to have been taught to work on carburetors back in the day are either out of practice, retired, or dead. Those fortunate to live near someone trained in the carburetor arts and still in business have a choice. Others simply do not. Any idea how many carbureted cars remain in Ketchum? Of that number, any idea how many would pay someone else to work on their carburetor(s)? Consider learning to work on your own carburetors. Turning your own wrenches can be therapeutic and generally less expensive than psychotherapy !!! LOL
 

scottevest

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This post is a reply to the question posed in the thread title. If you think about it, cars with carburetors are few and far between these days. Those that remain, are generally not daily drivers and many of those occasionally driven cars are owner maintained often by necessity. To make a living working on cars, one must have a large enough customer base to support the business. Unless you live in a major metropolitan area with an affluent population that can afford to have a hobby car with carburetor(s), the skill is rarely used and eventually withers due to non-use. Freshly minted auto technicians these days are taught to work on fuel injection, and NOT carburetors. My son the auto tech tells me that the periodic factory training he receives focuses more and more on computer controlled powertrain systems and his computer skills are in greater demand than his general mechanical skills. (Note he now knows how to keep the Holley 750 in his muscle car in top shape but he learned that skill on the kitchen table with a "How To" book by Holley and a rebuild kit) Those old enough to have been taught to work on carburetors back in the day are either out of practice, retired, or dead. Those fortunate to live near someone trained in the carburetor arts and still in business have a choice. Others simply do not. Any idea how many carbureted cars remain in Ketchum? Of that number, any idea how many would pay someone else to work on their carburetor(s)? Consider learning to work on your own carburetors. Turning your own wrenches can be therapeutic and generally less expensive than psychotherapy !!! LOL

I could not agree more with everything you said. Frankly, most of the issues I am having seem to relate to the tuning of the carbs, along with familiarity with the vehicle generally and the love of what it takes to deal with a 40+ year old car.

I just find it so freaking hard to believe that I could perhaps train myself how to "tune" carbs, but yet there doesn't appear to be anyone in my area that can do it well. Bill was a master. I have a video showing him at work. He lifted the hood and had a strobe going helping him tune. Seem crazy that I have to drive 800 miles to get this done right. Fact is though that if it is worth it, then I will do it. The car is running great now.

Heck I'd love another road trip in October perhaps.

Thanks all.
 

Ohmess

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I could not agree more with everything you said. Frankly, most of the issues I am having seem to relate to the tuning of the carbs, along with familiarity with the vehicle generally and the love of what it takes to deal with a 40+ year old car.

I just find it so freaking hard to believe that I could perhaps train myself how to "tune" carbs, but yet there doesn't appear to be anyone in my area that can do it well. Bill was a master. I have a video showing him at work. He lifted the hood and had a strobe going helping him tune. Seem crazy that I have to drive 800 miles to get this done right. Fact is though that if it is worth it, then I will do it. The car is running great now.

Heck I'd love another road trip in October perhaps.

Thanks all.

Scott - you can learn to tune your own carbs. I started from scratch learning about mine two years ago. I have a way to go, but it is very satisfying. And Stevehose has been an invaluable resource.

You need a handful of tool, most of which are cheap, some parts (also relatively cheap) a willingness to be methodical and keep records and both patience and humility.

The process can be broken down into separate steps, with the most important being synchronization, idle, and transition. Full throttle seems to get a fair bit of emphasis, but I don't drive at full throttle much and I think this is primarily of interest to racers.

Take a look at Stevehose's thread and think about your interest level. If you want to give it a shot, bounce back and we can go from there.

https://www.e9coupe.com/forum/threads/my-zenith-carb-adjusting-synching-process.10942/#post-70525
 

Gary Knox

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Scott,

I agree with Ohmess. Back in the late '70's when I installed triple Weber DCOE 40's on my '73 CS, I bought a 'vacuum tool that fit over the intake of a carb, (available in that era, not sure they are still available), and set out to get the air intakes all balanced. From there, I proceeded to test out a few jets, etc. Fun work if you want to 'learn' about carb tuning.

Actually, I have four paper back books on Weber Carburettors. If you decide you'd like to do this, I'll loan them to you for 3 months, cost of shipping both ways, and an assurance that you'll return them to me in the same condition by ~11/1/17 is all I'd want. Two are by John Passsini - 1st is Theory , and 2nd is Tuning. Approx 60 and 115 pages respectively. Then, a Guide to Tuning Weber carburettors published by Borg Warner in Australia, finally a 190 page Hanes publication on Weber Carburettors - Tuning -Overhaul-Spec tables-Popular Types to 1979. Since all of these were printed in the early to late '70's, they may no longer be available. IF they are, I'd suggest you buy them as a critical part of the long term library for your car!! But - available for loan if you prefer that approach.

While I'm typing away, a couple of other comments. If I recall correctly, I sold you some window motors last year. If that is correct, I hope the windows are going up and down properly.

Finally, commenting on you Forum name: I finally did something I've been wanting to do for a long time this morning. I did a Google search to confirm my suspicion that my wife and I own two of your products made for travelers. I've been using my ScotteVest for about 4-5 years, and I liked mine so much on the first trip to Europe that i bought one for my wife before our next trip. I think she's had hers for a least 3 trips. We wouldn't travel across the pond east of us without one. The only drawback for us 'old' folks (80 and 72) is that there are SO many places to store items when we are out and about that we sometimes forget exactly where we put xxx and have to go through 2 or 3 pockets to find that item we want!!!! GREAT product, and our compliments on your development.

Cheers,

Gary--

PS: Nice pix of a portion of your e9 and I assume your wife on the corporate page.
 
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scottevest

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Thanks very much. I really do appreciate the offer. If I had a bunch more time, I think I would actually like learning and tuning my carbs, but currently I don't have the time or inclination, but seems that it actually would save me time in the long run vs. driving to SF just to have it tuned properly...
Thanks for the offer though and let me think on it.
Btw, i do sincerely appreciate the business.

Scott,

I agree with Ohmess. Back in the late '70's when I installed triple Weber DCOE 40's on my '73 CS, I bought a 'vacuum tool that fit over the intake of a carb, (available in that era, not sure they are still available), and set out to get the air intakes all balanced. From there, I proceeded to test out a few jets, etc. Fun work if you want to 'learn' about carb tuning.

Actually, I have four paper back books on Weber Carburettors. If you decide you'd like to do this, I'll loan them to you for 3 months, cost of shipping both ways, and an assurance that you'll return them to me in the same condition by ~11/1/17 is all I'd want. Two are by John Passsini - 1st is Theory , and 2nd is Tuning. Approx 60 and 115 pages respectively. Then, a Guide to Tuning Weber carburettors published by Borg Warner in Australia, finally a 190 page Hanes publication on Weber Carburettors - Tuning -Overhaul-Spec tables-Popular Types to 1979. Since all of these were printed in the early to late '70's, they may no longer be available. IF they are, I'd suggest you buy them as a critical part of the long term library for your car!! But - available for loan if you prefer that approach.

While I'm typing away, a couple of other comments. If I recall correctly, I sold you some window motors last year. If that is correct, I hope the windows are going up and down properly.

Finally, commenting on you Forum name: I finally did something I've been wanting to do for a long time this morning. I did a Google search to confirm my suspicion that my wife and I own two of your products made for travelers. I've been using my ScotteVest for about 4-5 years, and I liked mine so much on the first trip to Europe that i bought one for my wife before our next trip. I think she's had hers for a least 3 trips. We wouldn't travel across the pond east of us without one. The only drawback for us 'old' folks (80 and 72) is that there are SO many places to store items when we are out and about that we sometimes forget exactly where we put xxx and have to go through 2 or 3 pockets to find that item we want!!!! GREAT product, and our compliments on your development.

Cheers,

Gary--

PS: Nice pix of a portion of your e9 and I assume your wife on the corporate page.
 

scottevest

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Omg SFDon just told me that it should be fairly easy for Bill Arnold to remove the carburetors and install fuel injection. That would solve all of my problems of having my vehicle worked on locally. Thoughts?
 

rsporsche

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Don is the master at this work. its a task that might seem complicated, like cooking a very elaborate meal, the difference between the home cook and the pro chef is the number of times they have done it. i guess that there aren't many more people that have done this work more than Don on one specific model. This doesn't take anything away from Bill Arnold as he is a true pro as well.
 

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Scott
One more idea. Are there shops out there that field vintage race cars? If yes, they'll be pretty good with carbs.
John
 

Gary Knox

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Scott,

Tough decision! I had triple Weber side drafts on my '73 e9 manual back in the late 70's. Loved the sound, and the performance. The '74 I now has is a 3.8+ with Motronic fuel injection system from a later BMW engine and 265/6 5 speed overdrive. Love this combination for flexibility and drivability. But - the 'sound' of the Weber's is missing. All in all, I think the injection system is probably better for all around driving, but that is just my opinion.

My wife liked your video of the road trip nearly as well as she likes her travel vest!!

Gary
 

mulberryworks

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Scott,
Tough decision! I had triple Weber side drafts on my '73 e9 manual back in the late 70's. Loved the sound, and the performance. The '74 I now has is a 3.8+ with Motronic fuel injection system from a later BMW engine and 265/6 5 speed overdrive. Love this combination for flexibility and drivability. But - the 'sound' of the Weber's is missing. All in all, I think the injection system is probably better for all around driving, but that is just my opinion.

Gary

I'm guessing you brought along the cat with the rest of the FI Motronic 1.3 system to keep everything happy. Is there room for the cat under the car? How does that placement of the exhaust work out?

Ian
 

Gary Knox

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Ian,

I haven't touched the car in over 3 months. I was away for nearly 3 weeks, then I experienced a major medical problem (subdural hematoma of a pint and half of blood in the cranium) which resulted in emergency brain surgery. After 6 weeks of hospitalization, in and out patient rehab, I was dismissed from all constraints two days ago. I 'think' the cat is there, and there is room for it, but that would have been installed when the engine was built and the 265/6 transmission rebuilt and installed in the early 90's. Info about the cat might be in the records I have, but I won't have time to go through them in the next 6 weeks or so, as we are leaving on a long planned trip to Kauai next week. Sorry I can't be more immediately helpful.

Gary
 

mulberryworks

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Congrats on recovering so you can go to the Garden Isle. I only visited once, but it's lovely there. Even more tranquil than Maui where I lived for 6 years.

No urgent need for information about your exhaust system. I'm staying stock for now, but briefly considered adding a cat till I realized that FI cats are different animals than for cars with carbs, and without an air pump and proper setup, it would probably be a disaster.
Swapping in a later engine with compete FI system is a different story since it was designed by BMW & Bosch engineers. My original 2.8L engine may pack it in someday, so I like to think ahead and try and plan out what options I have.
If you think of it and have access, a few photos of the under side would be nice.

Aloha, have a shave ice for me.

Ian
 

Gary Knox

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Ian,

Please contact me after 10/1 via a conversation message, and include you direct email address, then I'll take pix and send them to you.

Gary
 

sfdon

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Carbs..... my last day touching carbs was Las Vegas Barrett Jackson auction 2014?
New smog law in Clark County. Must smog car to sell at auction to anyone from Nevada.
100 degrees outside and I'm smogging a 365 Gtb2+2 v12 with 6 Webers and Daytona cams.
When the oil pressure hit 6 psi and water temp was at 235 at 2500 rpm with a sand cast block - I was done.... never again. No carbs.
There are still states that require smog for our cars - Idaho and Nevada are examples
 

scottevest

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This seems to get more more complicated day by day. SF Don says that I can replace the carburetors using the same engine converting to fuel injection but it would cost $12,000 to do so and he is one year out from getting any work done. Bill Arnold seems to think that converting a carbureted engine fuel injection engine is not feasible for one reason or another but can easily replace my tired Weber carburetors for new ones that I have already purchased and give me some lessons on how to tune it.

That seems to be the best way to go for me but I would hate to think that I have to transport the vehicle 800 miles if I need to have occasional tuning done that I am not capable of handling.

I hope and trust that I can have the carburetors tune for altitude in San Francisco. Thank you everyone for all of your help


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Ohmess

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Hi Scott -- Removing the carbs is rather drastic. I wouldn't go that route, but I really like mine.

Carbs don't have to be a constant source of irritation. Doug DWMBMW from Miami drives his car every day and hasn't had any serious work done in his carbs in years. He drove to Monterey and back last year. Once they are set up, you do need to make sure your car doesn't sit for more than a couple of weeks without running it, primarily because the fuels we must use break down so quickly. And of course, you need to change your oil more often because sometimes excess fuel dumped into the engine by our carbs ends up washing down the cylinder walls into the oil when you shut the car off.
 

scottevest

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Hi Scott -- Removing the carbs is rather drastic. I wouldn't go that route, but I really like mine.

Carbs don't have to be a constant source of irritation. Doug DWMBMW from Miami drives his car every day and hasn't had any serious work done in his carbs in years. He drove to Monterey and back last year. Once they are set up, you do need to make sure your car doesn't sit for more than a couple of weeks without running it, primarily because the fuels we must use break down so quickly. And of course, you need to change your oil more often because sometimes excess fuel dumped into the engine by our carbs ends up washing down the cylinder walls into the oil when you shut the car off.
that is very helpful advice. Thanks. I didn't know that.
 

scottevest

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OMG. So very helpful. I have been limited my search to my little town which is 150 miles from Boise and word of mouth for Boise, where most of these other places are located. I will be in Boise next week and will visit with a few of these places. Do you feel that someone needs to be a BMW specialist to work on BMW Webers, or one carborator is like another? I met with a shop here who works only on American carbs, which makes zero sense to me. Thanks much.

 
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