Carter carburetors in old Series Land Rovers

[cbschneider]

I recently acquired two oldies, a 1960 SII and a 1964 SIIA (both restoration projects). They both have Carter carburetors, and both appear to be model "YF", although the '64 has an automatic choke (that CAN'T be original) and the '60 has a manual choke. Has anybody heard of this conversion being done? I assume both vehicles should have a Solex as original equipment.

Thanks for any comments/advice.

Charles Schneider
Mass.

[Les Parker]

Hello there,

Any chance of a pic. or 2 of these carbs. I have not seen these mounted to a Series vehicle before.
Tks

[Alacrity]

In case the OP is unable, pics at this site - pretty good rundown on YFs.

http://www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/Tech/Carburetor.html

I havent seen YFs on Rover engines, but they're contemporary and comparable to a Roch B. I could easily see one swapped in with the same benefits. They were well made simple carbs.

Carter manufactured replacement carbs for Chevy stovebolts. Many stovebolt guys find them preferable to the Rochesters - which warp resulting in a vac and petrol leak - sound familiar . Considered the YF for this reason, but thought it'd be too tall - interested to see how the carb elbow is fitted.

YFs were OE on everything from 134 Jeeps as above to Ford 300 I6 - but never Rovers. See them as replacements on many straight sixes - but they differed significantly for specific application - as did the Chevy 216 and 235 Roch Bs.

If they'll run well - I'd call it a bonus and leave 'em alone.

Luck
Alac

[yorker]

I've seen Carter YF's on LRs before. They are a great little carb- parts are easy to get. They often came off a jeep with a similar displacement engine 134ci. If they are in good shape I'd see no reason not to use them, they were an excellent carb.

http://www.tocmp.com/manuals/Carbs/Carter/YF/index.htm

http://carbs.partschoice.com/tech/Carter/Y-index.html

http://www.northstarwillys.com/fuel.htm

[graniterover]

I put one on my 88.

Power is great.

Fuel leaks out of bowl every night - an issue with mine I need to fix.

I've had zenith, rochester, weber (single), and carter. Carter is the best in my experience.

It's kind of funny no one seems to be using one as they are super cheap and work well.

They are not good on inclines, that's why jeep guys swap them. Mine came from someone who swapped it out of a CJ 7.

[Alacrity]

Think its partly because the Rochester B is widely trumpeted as LR improvement - that and I was told (and my cursory measurements seemed to confirm) the YF was too tall. Obviously thats not the case.

Any issue with height - did you use the stock elbow?

Partly - as you point out, YFs dont have a good rep offroad (sensitive to dirt/inclines + vac leaks) - but it depends on what BBS your reading.

Stovebolt guys - Old USA (not "Brit pot metal") Zenith and Stromberg are best, YF a strong second and value leader, Roch B is a POS.

Jeep - YFs are good or they are the devil (depends on thread) - but the YF was an economy measure,(something Jeep wheelers arent worried about) so it gets little attention. Solex gets a good mention occasionally

LR - the Roch B now seems to be the default performance carb - flows better, does well at angles (esp after the tube mod). Weber's about even tho.

Amazing the difference - Im guessing use influences opinion. Not many stovebolts getting offroad anymore. Dont think there is anything conclusive other than how it runs for you. If they are in good repair and setup right - seems most of these do a decent job

Granite - What was the app - assuming the 258?

Luck
Alac

[graniterover]

Alac,

258.

I have to say that the weber single sucks. Runs good, but zero power.

[yorker]

Alac,

258.

I have to say that the weber single sucks. Runs good, but zero power.

I don't think all vendors sell the Weber jetted properly- Mine was set up way lean- I bought it from British Bulldog- remember them? Anyway I suspect they come jetted for 1600cc VWs or something like that.

I pitched mine before I learned about the jetting and after my valves burned up.

[cbschneider]

Thanks everyone for the replies on this topic. I have not been able to assess yet how well the Rover runs on the Carter YF, as I need to clean or rebuild the fuel pump to get her running. It appears that the original air intake elbow was used with the YF. The carb does not appear to have been modified to accept the original elbow.

Another Rover I have is a 64 Series IIA and it also has a YF on it, but with an auto choke on it. No idea how it runs as the engine is seized. (it's a parts vehicle.) However it also has the original air hose elbow and no evidence of modification of the carb air horn.

I agree with Alacrity if she runs well with the YF I'll probably just leave it there unless I find a good rebuildable original Solex.

Les Parker: I'll try to post some photos of both YF setups for those interested.

Thanks!