Side Draught Carbs

[davos]

Hi Just bought a wide body Westy. The previous Owner/Builder was not happy to fit DCoe Webers as it would nesestiate de facing the lines of his excellent creation by having filters sticking out of the side of the bonnet for which I now sympathise. However after 2 weeks of driving in this unusually hot end to a summer feel that a conversion maybe on the cards as the temperature gauge seems somewhat high and I am sure the performance from the 2Lt Pinto is somewhat resrticted by the single carb running without an air filter trapped under the un ventilated bonnet.. Any advice welcomed including how you calculate the exact location for the final cut in the bonnet and if there are any Ali cover panels available to assist. Also any advice on Twin Side Draught Webers and manifolds would be appreciated.

[Geoff101]

Hello,

If you don't want to cut the bonnet, you should be able to fit twin webers with shallow (45mm) filters under the bonnet. Won't help your temperatures though.

[Hammy]

If you do want to cut the bonnet, tape a big piece of card to the nose cone to cover the bonnet / carb area. With the bonnet off drop the card across the carb and cut a suitable hole on it . Fold the card forward and replace the bonnet . Fold the card back onto the top of the bonnet and the card hole will show you where to cut.

Another solution is to pipe cold air from the front if the car to the carb area

You can get decent power with a single carb, so it's not an automatic throw away , it will be thirstier on twin 40's , but they do look the part.

[Mid life crisis]

Hi Davos, you could always go the route of my car with 1" holes in 3 lines drilled through the bonnet and short trumpets, to keep the lines intact.

Right click the pics at the bottom of this post and view image

[mikef]

My Pinto has twin Weber 40s with the thin K & N filters thus avoiding any holes in the bonnet. It works fine and I don't have any overheating problems.

[Blatman]

Agreed. If the temps are up (and they would be a bit up because of the warm weather) drilling holes in the bonnet is not the answer.

I'd fit an air filter too. Running without one is bad for the engine as it will be ingesting large® partiles than it wants, and because an air filter helps to smooth the flow of air going in, which is not to be understimated.

[SootySport]

Upset the previous owner and cut a damm great hole in the bonnet and fit an airbox.

[Mid life crisis]

The holes in the bonnet are not to let the heat out Blatman but to allow the cooler air in through the filters which are almost touching the inner of the bonnet where the holes are drilled.

However on my car there are cutouts to the rear of the bonnet to let the rising heat out. bit like a catering van