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Weber are they worth it?

R

robj

Regular Contributor
Hello,

My Solex is giving me some grief and I was considering a Weber. But they are pricey!! I know quite a few folks from this forum have done the conversion. Are you satisfied with the carb? How did it effect the engine performance?

Just looking for some feedback from those of you who run the Weber to help me in the decision making process. I am sure others are interested as well.

Thanx and have a great day

Rob.
 
Given the grief my Solex (x2) was giving me, the Weber was a no brainer. Takes a bit of setting up but well worth the effort, IMHO The conversion has been done by quite a few so help is available...
 
Thanx Tom,

How did it effect the performance? Will put the Solex back together and see if it works. If not, might have to start shopping for a Weber. Too bad there aren't any used ones around.

Have a great day

Rob.
 
Hi Rob,
I also had a lot of trouble with my twin Solex carbs some years back, but then I did a complete re-build with very good results. Things to look out for:

1) ensure that there is not excessive wear in shaft / bushes assemblies. if shafts are not worn excessively, new bushes fitted and reamed in place, will cure this.

2) In my case, when I split the carbs open, the mating faces of both carb bodies were warped (previous owner had tightened down on multiple rubber gaskets). Make sure this is not the case. If it is you can use valve grinding compound on a glass sheet to lap the lower section back to its original flatness and also flatten out the top section by VERY GENTLY tapping it against a flat surface with a soft hammer. Much patience needed here!

3) Fastidiously clean out all passages of the carb sections. Some areas will need mechanical scraping, but be careful not to damage the aluminium surfaces. Finally, if you can have access to one, use an ultrsonic bath with appropriate solvent to get at the invisible passages. Warning here: the bath will get hot after about 20min, so allow to cool down and start again.

4) With everything nice and clean, start re-assembly using a new repair kit, including needle valve, accelerator pump diaphragm, gaskets etc. Be careful to re-assemble the non return valves (tiny steel ball) in the accelerator pump passageways.

5) I decided to eliminate the gauze filter fitted around the banjo bolt at the carb fuel entry port. Instead I installed a polycarbonate inline filter just upstream of the carbs. My reasoning was that the in line filter is much easier to inspect and change without disturbing the carbs themselves. It is also very cheap.

Finally you will need to do the usual tuning as described in the manual (and many times in the past on this forum), after mounting back the carb to the engine.

Regards
Lawrence
 
Thanx for your reply. I just rebuilt it yesterday and will see this week how it worked out. My problem was that it was flooding. Turning the idle mixture screw in did nothing the engine kept running, when it should have stalled. Have my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile I will still keep looking for a Weber, but at $700 it is a little too rich for m blood.

Have a great day

Rob.
 
Just a note on the Weber performance...I get more WOT rpm and more initial power out of the hole. I have in the 45 jet and the engine runs cool (170) at cruise power (3500 rpm) The idle set screws are only open 1/2 a turn else the mix is too rich and I get a hesitation and a bit of rough running.
 
Rob:
I feel your pain. I didnt want to spend the $800+ bucks on a new weber kit either. I finally found and just purchased a used weber conversion kit for my aq125a for $265 (shipped) on ebay. Supposed to be in good shape.

Thostorey is right in that there are quite a few here that have done it and hopefully they can help if I have issues to resolve when I try the install.

I should recieve it this week. I will let you know how it works out.

Good luck.

Ken
 
Hello,

Just out of curiousity, how long does it take to install it? What about fine tuning?

Thanx and have a great day,

Rob.
 
One of the most time consuming operations, depending on your installation, is the routing of the throttle cable to the Weber. But they have all the connectors for purchase and my kit came with everything I needed. I also had to grind the new intake manifold to fit beside the thermostat housing. However, if you don't run into any issues, the install should not take more than 2 hours. If you must fashion brackets for the throttle cable, add that time. The fine tuning could be done in a very few minutes as long as you read the 'how to' and do just like is says. But I think that everyone fiddles with this part.
 
Hello,

Well I bit the bullet. Could not justify spending any more $$ on a junk Solex. Ordered the Weber, any help in installing it or pictures from the experts would be greatly appreciated.

Looks like I will be keeping this boat for a while.

Have a great day,

Rob.
 
The Weber upgrade is the best investment you'll make with these Volvo engines that have the Solex carb setup. I'm about 90% comp with the swap out now.
 
Just a quick update.

The Weber is installed and the boat runs awesome, never ran better. Idle is smoother and it seems to have more power and better response. I did not need a pressure regulator, runs great without it.

Overall it took a bit of time to finish the install, probably the most time consuming part was making the bracket for the throttle cable and raising the doghouse. My first attempt at the throttle bracket ended up in the recycling bin, but the second time around I got it right. I also had to raise the engine doghouse 3/4 of an inch, because there was not enough clearance, the spark arrestor was hitting the underside.

Before with the Solex, my engine would not run above 4000 rpm, it would bog and stumble. Ran OK below 4000 but not above. Now that problem is fixed.

Very happy with the conversion, even though it was a bit pricey. Will try and post some pix later. Thanx Tom for your help with the install!!

Have a great day

Rob
 
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