I keep being seduced by RWD

bkf_uk · Post by **bkf_uk** » Sun May 17, 2009 11:59 pm

Just for you jim, a good pic of the weber 32 dir carb on the 340 engine. hope it's useful to you!

glasgowjim · Post by **glasgowjim** » Mon May 18, 2009 6:50 am

dont you just love simple things

whatever happened tu the good old su carbs

B18FT - LOVER · Post by **B18FT - LOVER** » Mon May 18, 2009 7:00 am

That does look fairly complex, i hate re building carbs all those little screws and springs..

I'm sure on ebay you could get a whole gasket set cheap for that carb, my local suppliers do them..

B18FT - LOVER · Post by **B18FT - LOVER** » Mon May 18, 2009 7:01 am

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WEBER-32-36-DGAV- ... 7C294%3A50

ted clutch · Post by **ted clutch** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:58 am

i would put this kit on jim. the gaskets are bound to be ropey.one air leak to disaster.if its straight this will make it run good.also i was told check underneath the carb.it sits on a plastic plinth to separate the heat getting from the manifold.check its there.its about 1/2 inch plate.there is also a hot air duct pipe form the exhaust with a flap when its cold out.it suplys warm air to the inlet.if this is missing the fuel wont mist properly in cold weather causing it to use a lot of fuel.

bkf_uk · Post by **bkf_uk** » Mon May 18, 2009 5:17 pm

can probably get a used carb from a scrappy for a tenner that would do the job!

B18FT - LOVER · Post by **B18FT - LOVER** » Mon May 18, 2009 5:55 pm

but how good will gaskets be in the new one ? better to fix what he has..

bkf_uk · Post by **bkf_uk** » Mon May 18, 2009 6:28 pm

been completly honest it's a 340, the carbs where shit in them the day they came off the production line. never seen one that worked yet! throw it at the neigbours dog and get a new one from webber (probably cost more than the value of the car) or attempt to get a rebuild kit (very hard to find for the 32DIR). Myself though i would go to the scrapper find one on a car and start it and see if it runs ok.

glasgowjim · Post by **glasgowjim** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:23 pm

funnily enough the engine idles beautifully the car runs nicely just the starter motor is sticking and the fuel guage is a bit wonky but will sort that out easily enough. the smell of fuel and leak was at the fuel inlet pipe to the pump a known weakness now sorted once I have replaced the starter motor then all should be well. So he litle car does not have a fatal thirst for the amber nectar after all. The starter worked after I took a rubber hammer to it !

It didnt do it much good sitting for months in a shed then getting hammered for the best part of 500miles in one go!

It survived a total deluge at the weekend not a drop of rain entered the car felt good about that.

ted clutch · Post by **ted clutch** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:30 pm

on the whole mine was very reliable.it made 165k miles before leaded petrol was fazed out.i had one of the few that couldnt use unleaded.it even survived a snapped cam belt only bending one exhaust valve.

B18FT - LOVER · Post by **B18FT - LOVER** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:32 pm

glasgowjim wrote: The starter worked after I took a rubber hammer to it !

If in doubt give it a clout lol

bkf_uk · Post by **bkf_uk** » Mon May 18, 2009 11:48 pm

Ah the trusty rubber mallet, a must have when driving my 440, realy need to change the starter but cant be arsed with the hassle on a turbo auto. the worst combination for changing. A 340 starter is a relitivly easy job, but if i remeber rightly the solinoid can be removed and reconditioned. nice to hear there where a couple of the 300 series that did work then, my family must of had the lousey batch!

B18FT - LOVER · Post by **B18FT - LOVER** » Tue May 19, 2009 6:22 am

I always used to take my starters appart and grease up the inside but then one day i just took my one off and squirted aload of duck oil in side or wd40 either one, worked a treat witjh no hassles, still going now some 12 months later...

ted clutch · Post by **ted clutch** » Tue May 19, 2009 7:52 am

also if the comutator is worn it can be sanded with wet and dry and under cut the grooves with a hacksaw blade.it worked years ago and had my 340 turning over like a new starter.wasn't the carb on the 440 the same as a 340 as well.

Chris_C · Post by **Chris_C** » Tue May 19, 2009 12:18 pm

Ted, the carb on the 1.7 is completely different to that on the 1.4. The 1.4 carb is very very reliable, and if it's never had a rebuild gasket kits are only about 20quid. It's the 1.7 carbs that can warp if treated badly, there was a weber replacement made but these are even worse as things were left off, and even when rebuild they give slightly less power.

Jim, the fuel lines on 300's all perish, replace with FI hose as modern cloth covered low pressure stuff is really bad quality. Check the breather on the expansion tank too, as this has normally perished, and causes a 340 to leak if you put more than Ã‚Â£25 in.

ted clutch · Post by **ted clutch** » Tue May 19, 2009 12:59 pm

very interesting.thatl be why i never had cause to mess with the 1.4 .thanks for the info you sound like you know your stuff.i wish my 480 brakes were as good.all you hear these days is disc replacement and how scored discs reduce braking efficiency.the discs on my 340 were like the grand canyon and on the car from start to finish.it pulled straight and they were like hitting a wall.

bkf_uk · Post by **bkf_uk** » Tue May 19, 2009 7:53 pm

I have never been in a car with as good a set of brakes as a 340, pity they didnt use similar brakes on the 400 series. took ages to get them going but stopped bloody quick! even the early drum all round versions had better brakes than my 440!

glasgowjim · Post by **glasgowjim** » Fri May 22, 2009 9:52 pm

replaced starter motor and now i sats on he buton. Still a smell of petorl , so managed to find an 8 inch length of perisshed perol piping as describes in a post above so hopefullyeverything will be sorted tomorrow.

glasgowjim · Post by **glasgowjim** » Sat May 23, 2009 5:11 pm

replaced perished piping still a smell of petrol. Seriously teed off got so fed up I started to take things apart at random and surprise surprise found another fecking perished fuel pipe . so here goes will replace these 2 and if it doesnot work then beginning to think dark thjoughts and lit match

ted clutch · Post by **ted clutch** » Sun May 24, 2009 1:13 am

how heavy a smell is it.mine used to smeel of fuel all the time.its probably normal with a carb metering things.you could breath the co when it started on choke,the chokes are fierce.30% co.no one know about pollution then.