What Carb?

[badvibes]

An informal poll. What do you run? Seems like I read that most don't like the Solex then it's a split 3 ways between the Zenith, Rochester and one of the Webers. What do you run/prefer and why? What are the downsides of what you run or choose not to run?

I have a Rochester. Was on the truck when I got it. Upside: supposed to make good power when set up right, decent off road, get a rebuild kit anywhere. Downside: I haven't ever been able to get better than 12-15 mpg no matter how I tune it or drive it.

Sorry diesel guys you don't get to play.....

[bmohan55]

Exact same story as you, Rochester from PO, fairly problem free but thirsty.

[thixon]

Hell I have the rochester that was originally on my truck. Engine is now built up with a brand new weber. It aint on the roat yet, but I'll be interested to hear how this thread goes. Should I rebuild the rochester?

[SeriesShorty]

I'm a Rochester girl!

I had the Weber when I got my truck. Ran like crap all the time, couldn't get above 35mph very easily. Super sensitive to dirty fuel.

I got a Rochester and rebuilt it and instantly noticed a performance improvement in that I was able to hit 45mph with no problems. Other than the fact that I can't seem to stop a faint fuel leak, and a bit higher gas consumption, I love it. My Disco was only getting 9mpg, so even lowering to around 13mpg with the Rochester switch it's still good gas mileage to me!

[siii8873]

I have two SIII's with two different carbs. Thing 1 is a 7:1, standard ignition, and an original Zenith which I rebuilt. The truck runs OK but took some time to get it that way. Seems a little lacking in power on hills. Not sure of the fuel economy.
Thing 2 is an 8:1, performance cam, electronic ignition and weber 2bb progressive carb. Truck runs very good, good power and gets about 20mpg. I have only had this one about a month.
Not fair to compare the two as they are very different. Either of them are acceptable to me as good running trucks.
The thing 1 and thing2 is what my wife named the rovers. When we would take a rover she always says "we're taking that thing". Quite a compliment in my eye.

[thixon]

Okay, since you brought up the weber 2bbl, as it turns out I have one lying around that I never used (actually, I have lots of stuff lying around that ive never used...sad really) It was bought for an MG, but never got installed. I believe its the same carb.

Anyway, I always heard they were'nt worth the trouble, and did'nt make much more power on a rover, and that the mileage was worse than a single. Sounds like I may have been misinformed. Where do you get the manifold for this carb?

[siii8873]

The carb came with the truck. From the receipts it was purchased with the carb from the "British Northwest Land Rover Co" I think that Pierce Manifold also has carbs and manifolds for fitting these to series rovers.
I like this setup so far. I have test driven a number of rovers while shopping for one and this one was the best runner of the group. Again it does have the 8:1 head and a performance cam.
Bob

[scott]

Okay, since you brought up the weber 2bbl, as it turns out I have one lying around that I never used (actually, I have lots of stuff lying around that ive never used...sad really) It was bought for an MG, but never got installed. I believe its the same carb.

Anyway, I always heard they were'nt worth the trouble, and did'nt make much more power on a rover, and that the mileage was worse than a single. Sounds like I may have been misinformed. Where do you get the manifold for this carb?

thix i have the weber 32/36 dgv and a standard manifold. it's not the best set up but with a 2.5 cam and a 1 3/4" exhaust and some shade tree engineering of the linkage i've been able to get it to run very nicely. i see the pierce manifolds on ebay every now and then and some original 2brl manifolds on ebay uk but just can't seem to sneak enough out of the wife's purse to get one.

[gudjeon]

Zenith every time for me. Once you figure them out and get past all the bad info on them, they are great. Dead simple to rebuild and simple to diagnose problems with. I have one on my 7:1 2.25, ser1 88". No o/d at 60mph can get 22mpg in US gal. (Imperial gal is 24mpg)

[siiirhd88]

I currently run a Rochester on the 109. It has been the most trouble free compared to the 1V Weber and 1V Zenith. I'm getting 11 mpg on winter blend fuel but was getting 13 mpg last fall when I first installed it. I do know this Rochester needs a smaller jet, as the plugs are dark brown.

The Weber 1V seemed to have more than adequate power and was getting 17 mpg. The Weber was having continuous idle issues due to dirt in the fuel, in spite of multiple filters. I never knew if it would idle fine or just die off one stop to the next.

The Zenith carb was always leaking and frequently required adjustments. I replaced it with a brand new Zenith, and did all of the required fixes, but the new one still leaked and also needed frequent adjustments.

I have a used progressive Weber 2V from a 4 cylinder Jeep that I am going to try on the original manifold as soon as I have the opportunity.

Bob

[LR Max]

I've run three carbs:

Zenith = crap. Never could get the stupid thing adjusted worth a crap and was just crap in general.

Weber 34ICH (one barrel). Friggen bullet proof and goes forever. Bestest off road carb hands down. Always ran and kept going. However I never felt like I got the most power with it.

Rochester: Preferred and what I recommend. Put in the correct jet and roll with it. It works and provides A LOT more power than either of the ones listed above. For off road, put some 1/4" fuel line on the vent tube at the top of the mouth of the carb. When you get off camber/climbing/descending, the carb will keep working. I couldn't tell a difference but after the modification, a number of people told me that the engine "just sounded better".

As a second reason to run the rochester: When it craps out, just take it to NAPA (ONLY NAPA!!) and exchange it. Done. No fiddle farting around and don't bother trying to rebuild it. Tried a few times with instant fail. Besides, the exchanged one is about $40 bucks more than a rebuild kit.

[Rineheitzgabot]

I have a Weber with a Pierce manifold. I absolutely love the performance. Never falters. It gets about 18 mpg, on perfectly level, concrete, that has been smoothed like a garage floor, and is long enough for me to reach 55 mph, with a slight back-wind.

Seriously, does anyone ever get more than 15 mph in their Series?

We're driving Land Rovers, folks. We should seriously consider another mode of transport if mileage is of any concern.

I would be interested if people have ever measured their mpg, in a reliable method, that I can compare mine with, for curiosity.

[ybt502r]

Zenith for me. I had a Weber when I got the truck, and the mileage was sad and performance ditto. I found a new (in the original box) Zenith in the UK, installed it, and had an immediate improvement in economy and performance both. Eventually I moved with the truck to Colorado, where it ran rich (8000 ft altitude).

Moved with the truck to Calgary, Canada. Warped the carb on the drive (the basic problem with some Zeniths), reground and rebuilt it, and then killed the carb by breaking off the idle screw tip inside the carb body. I did find a rebuilt Zenith (already un-warped), changed out the basic jet for a high altitude jet, and it runs sweet. Installed Pertronix, and the whole thing runs solid with very little need to adjust. I would not go back to a Weber; don't know about the Rochester; but the (original) Zenith is simple, steady, and works. Mileage is 15+ and around 20 on freeways (which I don't see much of).

[JimCT]

gallons vs gallons

Remember a gallon is different in different places.....

[jgkmmoore]

what carb?

For a different perspective...I'm running an SU. Believe it's an HS series, but unsure what size. It's a trooper. I have a tired ol' engine, but it still has fairly good power. Couple friends running Webers and one with a Rochester, have driven my 109, and are reasonably impressed with the power, and the lack of cold bloodedness. I just bought the truck about 9 months ago, and it had a nasty running engine. Took it to a local guy that is GOOD with SU carbs, and within a hour and 1/2 he had it running like a Rolls.Sweet idle, excellent acceleration,better upper end power than other carbs me buds had (by their remarks). Instant starting, with about 5 seconds of choke after start, then drive off. Not cold blooded at all. The plugs remain perfectly, evenly tan with no electrode wear. Claims to be excellent off camber for sidehilling and steep climbing either backward or forward...never stumbles. 16-21 mpg so far. I can ignore it. Dirt doesn't seem to upset it. K&N filter makes it sound like a 4 bbl when you accelerate(if you can call it that). Haven't timed it 0-60 yet, haven't made it to 60 very often. Too scary. It's less than 5 minutes tho.
The guy that slicked it up for me, told me to leave it alone, and concentrate on ignition first, whenever uneven running occurs. He sez to resist the urge to screw with it at all because it's the least likely thing to go awry once set up right. Me buds with the Webers complained that they were cranky about dust/dirt, and off camber driving. The Rochester guy liked his just fine...got it off a '54 Chevy truck 6 cyl. $20.
If someone offers you an SU for free, DON'T turn it down. Good carbs. Oft used in multiples....easy to sync.(Jags,MG's,Triumphs,etc).