11 replies to this topic

[Boycie]

Hi all,

although I currently have float chamber issues, I also want to ditch the aluminium spacer between my HS4 carb and ally minispares inlet. The reasons being, I have a 1975 car with the shallow crossmember cutout and my (pre-waxstat) carb jet hits the body when I pull the choke out. It's also very close to the choke cable.

My only issue is with the studs that secure the carb. Can shorter ones be bought or shall I just chop down the originals? I'd use some bolts/ universal studs but they have different threads on each end..

Does losing the spacer have any negative effects?

TIA

[RetroRay]

I had the same problem with the carb hitting the bulkhead .. minispares should have a smaller spacer it sorted out my problems

[dklawson]

Until you are satisfied that the carb works better with the shorter spacer, why not take a different approach than cutting.

If the studs do not foul anything by being long, why not put the carb on with the thinner spacer, then the carb, and finally two short 5/16" inside diameter shaft collars or similar. The collars should take up the extra stud length. If the thin carb spacer doesn't work out, you can always go back to the thicker spacer. A cheap and dirty thing that might work would be hex nuts for 3/8 UNC bolts instead of the collars. They should have large enough through holes to go right over the 5/16" diameter studs.

[Boycie]

Thanks guys, I've investigated and I notice Minispares even do correct studs in varying length.. so it should work out fine. Good idea about spacing the studs Doug, I think there's clearance on the HS4 to do it. Even with the standard cast manifolds, the carb jet has always hit the crossmember when it's lowered.. surely they weren't all like that?

Going to get on with it today- there's a glimmer of sun out there but it's still 0 degrees C

[dklawson]

Going to get on with it today- there's a glimmer of sun out there but it's still 0 degrees C

I feel your pain. Our temperatures have been below freezing here for days and we had a ice storm hit on Friday. I had to force myself to get out in the garage to work on some school projects with my younger son.

My hat is off to you for getting out there and working on your car.

[Dan]

Get yourself a 5mm fibre spacer. The carb needs a spacer, although I can't see an alloy one working well at all. It's there to isolate or damp both heat and vibration.

[Boycie]

Hi all. Made a bit of progress with this today.

This is the problem, yellow arrow pointing at the jet, almost touching the crossmember. Just a bit of choke makes it hit, which is obviously not acceptable.



Here, the carb is loosly assembled, but this time, the standard aluminium spacer 12H1389 is shown. It is 1/2 an inch thick..



I made various measurements with washers, to find the ideal distance for the HS4 carb, torquemaster inlet and (early) shallow crossmember. 7mm clearance gives room for the throttle movement, space for the pre-waxstat jet to move it's entire travel and has the added benefit of totally missing the standard centre-clock speedo cable!! (which previously added to the problems.)



So, two options- either machine down the standard aluminium spacer to around half it's thickness, or buy part no. MFA338 from Minispares! It's a poly spacer, really intended as a takeoff point for a vacuum gauge, but will do the job fine I think!

[Big_Adam]

I ditched mine and replaced the studs with bolts,

tricky to put on but I've not had any problems.

[Burnard]

Where could you get the 5mm fibre spacer dan?

I want to move mine away from the bulkhead aswell for clearence.

Chris

[minimender]

If you use an adjustable ultimate steady bar you can wind the engine forward a little and cure the problem. I once used three of those fibre spacers using the head studs that hold the rockers on instead of the original studs.
Depends on the manifold as well but the Howley is the one I used I think. As the carb was spaced further back it went higher so the only problem I had was the filter but as I was only tetsing then it didn't matter that I never used on on that setup.
The motor ran well and it pulled loverly but the mod was together with others so I broke the rules of testing which says only change one thing at a time.

[Boycie]

I've fixed this now, and I'm finally happy with it

First off, I ordered a new, longer speedo cable. This has allowed me to move it over, still using the correct clip, but now it's nowhere near the red-hot manifold and even better, doesn't foul the jet and it's fuel transfer pipe when you pull out the choke control-



The carb is now spaced by this black vacuum take-off spacer, part no MFA338 from Minispares. It's 7mm thick and was perfect for my setup. The vacuum takeoff part is plugged with a screw (included). This seems to keep the carb away from the manifold, insulated by the spacer and finally, well away from the bulkhead.
I gave the carb a proper clean for good measure too!



It doesn't look it in the photo, but now the jet is miles off contacting anything, as is the carb itself, so I'm happy

[Dan]

Good news.

Where could you get the 5mm fibre spacer dan?

Burlen or most Mini or carb specialists that know their stuff. Plastic spacers are available in a range of thicknesses too.