Opinions on Carbs for the 2.25

[Eric W S]

Picking up the truck on Saturday. 1959 2 88 with a 2.25.

It has a Zenith on the truck now. Looking for input on replacement carbs. I am thinking returning it to the original Solex or a Weber.

Webers - Love em, hate them? Single or dual?

Thanks,

EwS

[scott]

i've the weber dgva 32/36. it's said that they don't work well on the 2.25 but mine seems to. I've got the 8:1 head and 2" exhaust and this is supposed to help. i get about 13 mpg in town, 17 hwy and 10 on the trail. my 88 runs pretty zippy. i'm about to build a snorkel so i too am interested in learning more about this carb and what's needed to get the most out of it.

[greenmeanie]

This begs the question - why are you replacing he Zenith? Unless it is totally shot it will be cheaper to overhaul the existing unit than replace it.

None of them is going to turn it into a hot rod I'm afraid and none is going to give you amazing improvements in fuel economy. IIRC all of the carbs mentioned flow enough CFM's for a 2 1/4 head. A smaller throat diameter will generally make for a more resposive engine beacuse of the better vaccuum signal but that's about it.

If your looking for fuel economy your money is better spent on doing a good tune up. Clean air filter, good spark, valves and timing, make sure the fuel pump is working and the filters are clean, tyre pressure etc.

I've run a Weber 34ICH and it was OK - you just need to be careful about setting up the jetting correctly as it is very rarely right for this application from he factory. Parts can be had from any place that deals with VW Beetles which is a plus.

I currently run a Rochester BV and like it. The truck runs well at approx. 65 - 70mph on the freeway, it is about as simple a unit as you can get regarding set up and adjustment plus overhaul kits are cheap and available at any auto parts shop. She also passes emissions with flying colours each year with nothing more than a quick adjustment of the idle jet screw which is about all I can ask. The only slight minus is that with the float orientation you can cause a hesitation in a hard left turn. The g's get you like the early WWII fighters.

I can't comment on the others.

Cheers
Gregor

[Eric W S]

Carb runs rich and My Mech can not get it to run correctly (He is a LR master mech and owns his own shop dedicated to LRs. In short he knows his stuff).

Car will be my Daily Driver. So I was either going to bite the bullet and convert it back to a Solex or was interested in the Weber as an alternative. People seem to be generally pleased with the Weber.

2.25 is a workhorse, not a racehorse! Not interested in hot rodding it. Just interested in getting it reliable.

[Bostonian1976]

do people not like Solexes? My solex seems to be great...

[I Leak Oil]

Your zenith may have the notorious warped casting. There's lots of info around on how to fix this. I've always liked the weber for it's simplicity and ease of tuning. Plus they're great at odd angles....for a carb anyway. They are sensitive to trash in the fuel so make sure you run a filter which is a good idea no matter which carb you choose.
Jason T.

[Eric W S]

do people not like Solexes? My solex seems to be great...

Most people toss them. They were made from a soft metal and the bases could easily distort from over torquing them to the plate on the manifold.

[sven]

I personally like the Zenith. I believe you can still buy them new too.

[I Leak Oil]

do people not like Solexes? My solex seems to be great...

I've heard they are a decent carb but never ran one. I guess parts are tough to get for them????? Dunno....

Eric's probably right about over tightening the base but that can be said about any the options. They don't need to be that tight.
Jason T.

[Daurie]

My 2.25 came with a Weber. I don't know what jets come in the weber when you order it from the land rover parts house but the word is they run lean out of the box. I read somewhere that a 165 main jet, 90 air corrector and f6 emulsion tube get it running well. My Weber happened to already have those installed so I can't really compare the "stock" weber to the re jetted. I can tell you this, the rejetted weber has SLIGHTLY more top end than the Zenith but the Zenith seems to get better milage and definately runs better around town.

Long story short, I took off the Weber to try the Zenith and haven't put the Weber back on.

[Eric W S]

My 2.25 came with a Weber. I don't know what jets come in the weber when you order it from the land rover parts house but the word is they run lean out of the box. I read somewhere that a 165 main jet, 90 air corrector and f6 emulsion tube get it running well. My Weber happened to already have those installed so I can't really compare the "stock" weber to the re jetted. I can tell you this, the rejetted weber has SLIGHTLY more top end than the Zenith but the Zenith seems to get better milage and definately runs better around town.

Long story short, I took off the Weber to try the Zenith and haven't put the Weber back on.

Interesting. I read online that the jets are prone to clogging and that they do indeed run lean as they are throated a little small for the 2286cc's. Lean running is not what I had in mind.

Guess I'll have to dig around for a Solex. . .

[EASTTNROVER]

i'm about to build a snorkel so i too am interested in learning more about this carb and what's needed to get the most out of it.

Scott can you hook me up with a few pics when you get that project started??

[Daurie]

Interesting. I read online that the jets are prone to clogging and that they do indeed run lean as they are throated a little small for the 2286cc's. Lean running is not what I had in mind.

Guess I'll have to dig around for a Solex. . .

From what I understand they do come lean out of the box. Clogged main jet would futher the lean mixture. Personally I had no issues with jet clogging on my Weber but I kept up on checking my fuel filter as I knew it was an issue with the Weber. My Zenith was new and I have had zero issues with it.

Good Luck!

[thixon]

Eric,

On my old SIII, I went from a zenith to a weber, and then later back to a zenith. At the time, it was my only source of transportation, so I needed a quick fix. My zenith had a worn throttle shaft (At least I think thats what it was...stupid memory.). I ordered a weber, and if I remember right, ended up re-jetting.

I drove it with the weber for a couple years. I don't recall noticing any difference on the highway or the trail in terms of performance, but I do remember it was extremely sensitive to trash in the fuel. I took it apart to clean it out numerous times (never had to do so with the zenith). It was easy to tune, but so was the zenith.

I ended up going back to a zenith a few years later. I got tired of pulling apart the weber to clean it out. Admittedly, I probably should have done something about the trash in the tank, and changed fuel filters more often, but oh well.

As for solex's, I've never had one on a rover. I have had them on numerous other vehicles, and found them to work okay.

my 2 cents.

[Eric W S]

Thanks for your help guys. I passed on the truck. The bulkhead that was supposed to be solid had been poorly patched and that was rusting thru as well. Add 1/2" of oily crap on the t-case and transmission and I passed on the truck. Needed too many things. New wiring, New bulkhead, potential frame, and the 6k leak free clean and solid 59 cost me 6 hours drive time, a rental car bill of 197 bucks since I sold my Defender, and a lot of angst. Truck is very original and has everything, but man, I do not have the time to swap a frame, find someone to properly repair the bulkhead, repaint, rewire, et al. It is a 1-3k truck. Not a 6k truck.

I must be cursed with finding every great looking, original rover that needs major repairs.

I just want a solid truck damn it! Hopefully looking at one this week and hopefully be able to find a decent one sometime this year!

EwS