webber 45's on c20xe

[richi]

hi all
right was thinking about fitting 45's on my c20xe, i have searched on the threads and found info about them
the nova is not a daily driver so should be good and not to bothered about fuel so was thinking that 45's are a good way to go.
just after info about fitting them, and what parts are needed, i know you need the manifold and carbs but what else?are they hard to fit? also how do you know if someone is selling you duff ones like when buying a turbo you check for play in the shaft
thanks for the help

[craig green]

Lots of grief, poorer running & economy for, 15-20bhp if youre lucky.

[Lee H]

Agree with Craig on this. Had carbs on my XE and went back to injection as I like my car to run from cold, not stink of fuel and not cost the earth in fuel.

Bear in mind there are specific Weber 45's for an XE with different choke hole pattern which not many people know and with the wrong ones it never runs as well. I was advised this by Weber as I bought the wrong type second hand and could never get them right.

[richi]

from all the other threads i have read people rather love em or hate them, it seems if they are set up correct then people like them

[Angus Closier]

There are pro's and con's to them just like anything in life, However when done properly they can run good power. If power is the only thing your worrying about (ie not fuel consumption/cold start etc) then fine.

[mk1nova_rich]

Twin carbs are great on an already carbed engine like a 1.3 OHC but on engines like the XE its a step backwards really. Yeh the sound is great but unless you can afford headwork and so on to get the best out of the carbs, the power increase is going to be minimal over the injection setup. ITBs are the way to go if you want to replace the standard injection

[BRoadGhost]

God how many times we gonna have this?

Match the carb inlet to each head inlet while it's all off.

Ok assuming you get some tired 45's cheap, you wanna buy full service kits for them - about £30 all in. While you're at it take the chokes out & get them machined out as far as they'll go - 40.5MM.

Buy brand new inlet to carb plastic gaskets that take TWO rubber o rings per chamber - NOT the 1 piece type.

Get some full radius pipes as long as'll physically fit.

Send the 8V distributor to H&H ignition to be re sprung for the engine.

Buy a syncrometer & go to wicks buy a piece of 90º pvc plumbing tubing - chop accordingly & seal one to the other so it can be used in the pipes close against the bulkhead. Balance them.

Set the idle by turning all screws in then out 1 full turn, adjusting so is as lean as possible with a bearable idling RPM.

Take the car to somewhere that's dealt with jetting carbs for the last god knows how many years - pay the guy some money [about £80 1 hr labor] - you'll know they're good if they enlarge the main jets by hand with a drill bit rather than trying to fleece you for another £50.

Set ignition timing on the distributor [& idle again if needed]

You're now in a position that WON'T be "just 15BHP" over injection and will be perfectly fine to drive from cold in any condition.

A correctly set of carbs will return almost the exact same MPG figure for the power you want it to produce based on how you drive. In other words if you want to use the extra 25 - 30 hp it'll use more fuel. You don't get something for nothing.

[BRoadGhost]

Add a proper exhaust setup plus even the mildest of cams & you wouldn't believe the difference.

[blue_peg_16v]

Lots of grief, poorer running & economy for, 15-20bhp if youre lucky.
couldnt disagree more

properly set up they run fine even from cold 2 pumps of the throttle then turn the key and away you go (thats what my 48s were like on my xe)

as for fuel economy its comparable to boddies when you have a lead foot

phil lofthouse has both a nova xe on wener 45 and another xe nova on throttlebodies and he recons the only difference is the bodies are a bit nicer round town foot to the floor there the same.

if your driving normaly you can get good figures on carbs i could easily get over 300 miles out of a tank on my 48s

and yes i do want them back lol the sound is awsome

also imo makes it more reliable as gets rid of all the cack sensors

[Sloth]

lee is correct, the 45dcoe thats specific to the xe has 4 progression holes, most normal ones have 3. the progression is what makes it driveable at low revs. if it isnt right it will spit back and run like poo. buying 2nd hand carbs is a nightmare, bent spindles, warped bodies etc etc.....

[bungle117]

i have 45's on my xe runs sweet took me two trips to a garage and about £16 on jets yeh they go out of ballance every so often but thats the joy of carbs :), the noise is awesome although my daughter asked me for ear muffs the other day lollol, economy wise i did a 334 mile trip to santa pod and 4 runs up the strip and a days driving after and i only put in £50 so not bad at all :thumb:
i should have mentioned that my carbs are the dcoe 152 which as the post before mine has pointed out only have 3 holes these are perfectly drivable even round town there is a certain point on the throttle where they cough but after a very short lengh of time you get used to it and i very rarely get this now

[Sloth]

you can drill the 4th hole in but it has to be mm perfect.

[blue_peg_16v]

meh your all wimps 48s with 42mm venturies and cams are what you need none of this 36-38mm crap lol

[bungle117]

the garage that set them up for me told me about this, but its like get it wrong and its game over :(

[richi]

God how many times we gonna have this?

Match the carb inlet to each head inlet while it's all off.

Ok assuming you get some tired 45's cheap, you wanna buy full service kits for them - about £30 all in. While you're at it take the chokes out & get them machined out as far as they'll go - 40.5MM.

Buy brand new inlet to carb plastic gaskets that take TWO rubber o rings per chamber - NOT the 1 piece type.

Get some full radius pipes as long as'll physically fit.

Send the 8V distributor to H&H ignition to be re sprung for the engine.

Buy a syncrometer & go to wicks buy a piece of 90º pvc plumbing tubing - chop accordingly & seal one to the other so it can be used in the pipes close against the bulkhead. Balance them.

Set the idle by turning all screws in then out 1 full turn, adjusting so is as lean as possible with a bearable idling RPM.

Take the car to somewhere that's dealt with jetting carbs for the last god knows how many years - pay the guy some money [about £80 1 hr labor] - you'll know they're good if they enlarge the main jets by hand with a drill bit rather than trying to fleece you for another £50.

Set ignition timing on the distributor [& idle again if needed]

You're now in a position that WON'T be "just 15BHP" over injection and will be perfectly fine to drive from cold in any condition.

A correctly set of carbs will return almost the exact same MPG figure for the power you want it to produce based on how you drive. In other words if you want to use the extra 25 - 30 hp it'll use more fuel. You don't get something for nothing.
this is exactly what i was after as i couldnt find something like this in any of the other threads thanks a million +rep

just need to find a good place to get them set up once in looking for a rebuild kit aswell taking ebay will have them

[richi]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WEBER-40-45-48-DCOE-SERVICE-KIT-TOP-QUALITY-BESPOKE-/150490328218?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2309ec2c9a

would this kit be good for the rebuild, i know i will have to buy 2 of them and make sure i get needle size 200???

[blue_peg_16v]

call webcon they will sell you exactly what you need