Vitesse 6 Carbs

[Gavin]

After the thrill of my car passing its MoT - came disaster when the tuning man came on saturday morning. I had replaced some very worn out solex carbs with a new curvy manifold and a pair of what turned out to be dodgy CD 150's bought from someone called Derek! 

Either way attempts to get the engine emissions anywhere near normal suggested the flow control wasn't working, this was confirmed when one of the carbs started leaking petrol. The problem is that I can't find anywhere with a pair of reconditioned ones in stock as opposed to sending mine off to be reconditioned which would mean I can't go on holiday in the car in a couple of weeks time.

So looking at other options and does anyone know what model of SU carbs would work for a vitesse 6 with a curvy manifold, I here good reviews of them and I can start trawling the UK for some of those instead!

Thanks Gavin

[Nick Jones]

Gavin,

Problems with the needle valves is a bit of a Stromberg favourite and doesn't necessarily mean they are shot.  They are sensitive to dirt, so a decent fuel filter is a must.  If you just bolted them on without investigating them, then this is pretty much bound to happen.  You can drop the float chambers off with carbs still on the car though it will be a bit fiddly and messy (disconnect the battery first!!). If you haven't had them apart before/recently it's probably better to get a couple of overhaul kits in before starting the job, and do them off the car.  Provided the throttle spindles are still a decent fit in the body there is nothing you can't tackle youself.

I'm not a huge fan of Strombergs myself but I think you stand a better chance  getting the car working properly with these (in a couple of weeks at least) than by trying to fit SUs.

All else being equal SUs and Strombergs are very closely matched in performance terms, but Triumph never made a version of the 1600 or 2L mk1 engines with SUs so quite alot of effort is needed to make them fit. To fit them will mean you have to modify your manifold (or make some adaptor plates), sort out the throttle and choke linkages, modify the fuel lines and then you will need to determine what needles to use.

Nick

[heraldcoupe]

There's little to choose between SUs and Strombergs on an every day car. SUs win when it comes to tuning on the huge range of available needles. No problem with Strombergs as long as you don't want to deviate from a standard setup, it's a factory installation which works well.
Cheers,
Bill.

[Smallfry]

I would prefer the simplicity, reliability, and ease of availability of SU carbs and spares any day. Some Stromberg replacement parts are of dubious quality too.

I would think the carbs and manifold from a 2000 saloon would go straight on without too much trouble, and would most likely be about right in the jetting department too.

And it just so happens........................

[heraldcoupe]

[quote by=Smallfry link=Blah.pl?b=hervit,m=1153749558,s=3 date=1153779103]Some Stromberg replacement parts are of dubious quality too.[/quote]

Currently available SU float valves are notably crap too!

Quote:

I would think the carbs and manifold from a 2000 saloon would go straight on without too much trouble, and would most likely be about right in the jetting department too.

The 2000 manifold angles upwards to compensate for the canted engine in that model. When fitted in a Vitesse, there can be problems with the dashpots hitting the bonnet. There are many different carb & manifold variants within the 2000 family, some will apparently clear the Vitesse bonnet OK.
Cheers,
Bill.

[Gavin]

Thanks for the advice - the carbs are being dropped off at the Carburettor Exchange where the nice man there has promissed to refurb them in a few days for me.

Will also be purchasing an inline fuel filter!

[Pete Lewis]

heres a pic of our 1600 we used a mk1 2ltr manifold jigsaw 631 exhaust
kept the header tank on new brkts. and rod throttle driven by ball joint on back carb
and twin cable choke cable from rimmers
the carbs should have no damper springs but have a heavier weighted diaphragm ring