in praise of the lowly single barrel solex carburetor

[jerry]

i recently reacquainted myself with my long-sleeping late-71 project car that sadly took a back seat to life's other demands. anyhow, not wanting to attend yet another 02 gathering in my non-02 gave me the incentive to work on getting it roadworthy.

all i can say is that this particular car seems to be so much more torquey than my weber 32/36 carbed 02. i suppose the hi-comp piano tops and slightly hotter cam 284 (i think) is really the difference (installed by PO, 25,000 miles ago). i'm using COMPLETELY stock suspension and it feels like it. it's got a very smooth 5spd that is a joy on the freeway.

i took a neighbor whose big into 356 porches for a ride yesterday and he was truely impressed. said the car was much more responsive than all but the S90's or hot-rodded 356's. he owned a 71 02 when it was new and was not impressed at the time, but i suppose the pistons and cam did the trick. either that or we're both turning into old farts.

[Mike Self]

Mine's still going strong after 218k miles--no air leaks around the throttle shaft, no probs at all.

And it's always idled smoother than my 32/36 Weber. Even after I rebuilt the 73's engine, I have a bit of a lopy idle, while the 69's engine--never rebuilt with 218k, a thirst for oil and somewhat uneven compression--idles as smoothly as it did the day I bought it new.

Even better, you can "rebuild" the 1 bbl Solex in about 20 minutes...

mike

[ClayW]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I've got the original 2 bbl Solex form my original motor. With a stock cam on an E12 head and 9.5:1 pistons, do you think that I'd be better served with the original Solex 2 bbl or my current Weber 32/36?

[ryanOC]

argh!

see, this is what i was thinking, but i just was told to use a 32/36 instead.

i think my mileage right now could be better (seems like im getting under 200miles per fill up)

i think i want to rebuild the single barrel solex and keep it going. it seems to have a better sound than the weber too.

where can i get a rebuild kit for it? i think it's the stock carb (never changed) on my '69 auto

[Poon]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I've got the original 2 bbl Solex form my original motor. With a stock cam on an E12 head and 9.5:1 pistons, do you think that I'd be better served with the original Solex 2 bbl or my current Weber 32/36?

Does your 2bbl Solex have the manual choke, or the automatic eletric/water choke. If it's the automatic choke, forget it. I have one on my 1976 2002, and it's given me nothing be problems. As much as I prefer my car to be original, I'm really contemplating converting to a weber 32/36.

As for the single barrel Solex's I've never actual driven a car with one.

-Andrew Poon

[jerry]

it seems to have a better sound than the weber too.

where can i get a rebuild kit for it? i think it's the stock carb (never changed) on my '69 auto

yea, i forgot that little detail too. it DOES sound cooler than the 32/36, more throaty like a little race car under the hood. even my passenger commented on that, too.

all you guys contemplating an S14/M20/Turbo conversion should take heed.

as for rebuild kits, try Mesa Performance. at least they had the kits for the Solex PHH carbs.

[ryanOC]

haha....... seems like the last 3 times ive asked for certain parts someone reminds me that mesa performance might carry it..... useful since it's right around the corner

thanks

[DanOKC]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I've got the original 2 bbl Solex form my original motor. With a stock cam on an E12 head and 9.5:1 pistons, do you think that I'd be better served with the original Solex 2 bbl or my current Weber 32/36?

Sorry to follow the hijack :-)

If your weber is running fine, I'd stick with it, however, my current daily driver I got on ebay 2 yrs ago has a 2 barrel solex, I've had solex's before to the point they were worn out, & switched to 32/36 webers. Plus, the solex has expensive parts, the vac box that pulls open the secondary is $90 new. I think I got lucky & got a "good" used solex 2 barrel (except for the vacuum box, and the choke spring is busted, so choke operation isn't quite right).

Only real advantage to me is I keep the stock air cleaner, quieter than a weber with aftermarket filter, pulls cold air from front too.

[cj]

The single barrel 38 is a great carb. Good on gas as well.

Cris

[InkaSteve]

The single barrel 38 is a great carb. Good on gas as well.

Cris

Absolutely love the one on my 1802, smooth and 2 years as DD without even a hiccup.