Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Hey Team, I'm in serious need of advice and input from any side draft carbie gurus out there. Due to engine bay height restrictions I'm investigating the option of fitting a Weber 40 DCOE side draft in place of a standard Toyota twin choke down draft on a dirty old Toyota 4Y engine. Due to engine choice I'm obviously not chasing performance, but economy is a factor. Being a total side draft noob any advice, comments or guidance would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valiant Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 If economy is a factor is avoid a Webber side draft. Have you considered a SU? Or an impco LPG carb? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Thanks for the suggestions Valiant. I know absolutely nothing about LPG, but I quickly Googled an image for an Impro carb and I see exactly why you are suggesting it. Neat low profile with side air entry and I'm guessing since there are heaps of 4Y powered forklifts out there it wouldn't be too difficult to find one that should bolt straight up. What is involved in converting a vehicle to pure LPG ? I'm guessing that I would need to replace my petrol tank with an LPG tank and then plumb the tank to the LPG carbie. I do know that LPG tanks need to be certed, but apart from that I'm pretty clueless. SU could also be an option. Again I know very little about them. I do have a single SU on our Moke . Haven't ever checked its consumption so wouldn't have a clue in that regard. Reason I was thinking Weber DCOE was because you can still get brand new ones. Not sure if that is the case with SU, do you know ? I've heard that the 4Ys are not that economical in standard format anyway. Popular conversion for them is a Weber 32/36 downdraft which is supposed to improve economy if properly set up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajg193 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 LPG conversion would most likely be a simple case of drop it off at certified lpg installer/certer, waiting a week and then paying them a couple grand when you pick it up. If in NZ, LPG makes a lot of sense (no idea about Aus, but probably good there too). Pretty much half the running cost of petrol, so you could justify daily driving it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 https://www.recarb.com.au/genuine-weber-twin-40-dcoe-side-draft-conversion-kit-suit-y-series-engine.html Not many side draft options for carbs these days, if not LPG then a weber or dellorto would be the go. I imagine a single twin choke would be sweet. My Townace with a 2y isnt great, but was better after I swapped the vacuum spaghetti version carb for a NZ spec one. They clearly are a slugger not a sprinter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Yikes Pog, that twin setup looks the business and they are located on the Sunny Coast which is "just down the road from me" in Aussie terms. Complete conversion kit with two new carbies and 4Y manifold so is worth the asking price. Can't help but think that twins on a 4Y might be overkill so I'm with you in thinking that a single would suffice. Have poked around to see if I can get a single side draft manifold for a 2, 3 or 4Y, but no luck so far. Can't imagine it would be that difficult to fabricate one up. Keen to hear more about the carbie conversion you did on your 2Y. Did you retain the insulator spacer between the new carbie and inlet manifold ? I looked at my donor 4Y HiAce and there seem to be a million and one vacuum pipes going to the standard carbie. Can't imagine that running that many can be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 1 hour ago, ajg193 said: LPG conversion would most likely be a simple case of drop it off at certified lpg installer/certer, waiting a week and then paying them a couple grand when you pick it up. If in NZ, LPG makes a lot of sense (no idea about Aus, but probably good there too). Pretty much half the running cost of petrol, so you could justify daily driving it. Thanks for the extra info. LPG is pretty popular across here too. Most of the Holden taxi's seem to run LPG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nominal Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 You can get new SU carbs from Burlen in the UK. E.g. http://sucarb.co.uk/conversion-replacement-sets/metro/hif44-service-replacement-carburettor-for-a-austin-metro-1300-1980-onwards.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valiant Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 I'm not sure what the rules are in Australia regarding LPG conversions. It's very cheap motoring in NZ, it's a bit of a job to convert but not impossible. You'll need a tank, liquid line, lock off valve, converter, and gas carb. It sounds like a lot but it's not really. The lockoff, converter, and gas carb can be picked up off ebay, I think there are locally (Australian) made components OHV I think they call them selves. I have an OHV gas system on a car and it's been faultless for years. The good part about gas carbs is they work on any angle, upside down, or right way up. You can mount them away from that manifold flange if they are further away from the motor it gives the gas more time to mix with the air. Here's a pic of something I did on a project of mine that was a similar space shortage situation and a SU carb. It works really well. I'm Pete, and that's my LPG/SU Barry sharn. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Thanks for the heads up on new SU carbies Nominal. Valiant, for some reason your SU conversion pic comes up all blurred ... or is it just my dodgy eyes. Am very keen to study that SU pic of yours if I can. Thanks for the extra info on LPG too. To All, I really appreciate the sharing nature of the oldschool fraternity. It means heaps to me that you are so generous with your time and knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Flash said: Keen to hear more about the carbie conversion you did on your 2Y. Did you retain the insulator spacer between the new carbie and inlet manifold ? I looked at my donor 4Y HiAce and there seem to be a million and one vacuum pipes going to the standard carbie. Can't imagine that running that many can be good. Jap import ones had the emissions spaghetti, all it takes is a split hose and it turns custard. Mine chugged all the time which funnily enough was a split vac hose. There are so many it is pointless to even start trying to find it. NZ new ones were just a plain old carb, I'm pretty sure I retained the spacer. They are getting rare now, I think I paid 70 for it from a wreckers. Was trivial to swap, but I did fudge the choke with a bicycle gear lever and cable screwed beside the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Ta for the extra info Pog. My donor van still has the spaghetti setup you speak of. The setup in the kiwi made vans sounds more sensible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 The weber downdraft conversion is pretty common here too, but way way more spendy than a $70 wrecker carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 19 minutes ago, ThePog said: The weber downdraft conversion is pretty common here too, but way way more spendy than a $70 wrecker carb. Yep over 10 times as spendy from the look of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.