1981GSL

iTrader: (3)

Need some help here guys. Bought an '81 GSL, everything appearing stock, but had been in storage for 5+ years. I was told when I bought it it had a mystery fuel problem. Turned out to be bad fuel which i drained and flushed out and installed a new filter. I had to de flood it, which made a whole lot of thick smoke, but it ran ok.

Here's my current problem. I just put in a new sidedraft manifold and weber dcoe 45 and now it is really hard to start (had to pump gas pedal 20+ times to start it) and will run up to about 2,500 rpm and slowly die. If I touch the gas after the engine starts it instantly dies. I checked all my connections and they seem good. The one time I got it to start it was blowing smoke, which I assumed to be some residue from de-flooding it. Doesn't seem to be consuming coolant or oil, so I'm guessing the smoke was from spillage when I put the new manifold in. Spark plugs look ok, front two were slightly moist and had a gasoline smell, rear two looked perfectly normal.

Anyone have any suggestions on where I should start looking for problems? Sadly this is only the 2nd carbureted car I have owned, so I don't know much about the inner workings of a carb.

cshaw07

iTrader: (14)

what is the carb jetted for? what car did it come off of or where did you buy it? the car ran fine before you swapped carbs? Did you miss a vac cap or something? may have a vac leak.

1981GSL

iTrader: (3)

I honestly have no idea what the carb was jetted for. How do I look to find out? It ran like hell before the swap, but it did idle. Like I said in the original post I had to do the de-flood trick (oil down the carb), so it was running, but a bit on the smoky side. I'll double check the vacuum hoses, but I think I removed all of them except the dizzy advance.

cshaw07

iTrader: (14)

take your carb off and put the stock one back on until you find out what its jetted for. that carb could of came from a 12a, a 13b, or even a piston engine of some kind.

Edit:

I dont know how to find out what it was jetted for, use the search button and type in "webber 45dcoe" (use the "") and read. then read more, then more. I am not fimilar with side drafts, but wrong jetting is bad.

1981GSL

iTrader: (3)

Never thought about the jets. Only worked on EFI or mechanical fuel injection my whole life. Thanks!

I found an old archive on one of the forums for setting up and jetting for the 12A, so I'm going to try that, but if anyone else has some ideas or past experiences that would help I'd appreciate it!

cshaw07

iTrader: (14)

if i was you, since you say you dont know much about carbs, id put the stock carb back on. Delete the emissions, mod the ap, and make the secondaries mechaincal and you'll enjoy your carb for awhile. Alot cheaper and alot quicker than you will with your sidedraft. This way, you'll also learn more about carburetors. Check out www.sterlingmetalworks.com and read read read. There is all the info you'll ever need about the nikki carb and carb mods. While you're having fun playing with the stock carb you can be reading about your webber. You can get the jetting and chokes correct if they arent already and then have even more fun. Get a header and good exhaust too, without that you aren't doing much good. Have fun

1981GSL

iTrader: (3)

Ok, so here's what I'm running:

'81 GSL with stock 12A, approx 140,000 mi
Weber DCOE45 w/ Racing Beat intake
OEM Ignition with MSD Blaster 2 Coils
Fresh Cap/Rotor/Plugs/Wires

Main Jet - 180
Idle - 65F9
Accelerator - 45
Emulsion Tube - F11
Air Corrector - 160

I can get it running with the choke out (about 3,000 rpm), and sounds pretty good. Choke in, it will start but almost immediately die. Once it warms up I can bump the throttle, but anything more than a light touch kills it. When I can manage to hit the throttle, it won't rev over 4,500. Engine's been de-smogged, and the only vacuum line hooked up is the dizzy advance. I'm getting really tired of dicking with this setup, but others have managed to run this same setup, so I'm determined to make this work. Anyone have any ideas on what I should look at first? I'm not putting the stock stuff back on.

lastphaseofthis

iTrader: (8)

fuel pressure test?

1981GSL

iTrader: (3)

About 3 psi. Running holley fpr with stock pump. By the way when I hit the gas it dies as if i turned the key off. very abrupt.

boostedHULK

iTrader: (1)

what is your timing looking like? i had similar problems after swapping a 13b in that had a weber. i added a holley pump and a reg. timing being out will do this everytime to mine. my jetting is wrong also which makes the problem worse, or maybe causes the problem and the timing makes it worse. sorry to hi jack but i would love to see what a street port 13b should be set up like. its a 48 idf and these jets...

idle jet 60
air corrector 220
emulsion tube f2
main jet 205

the idle adjustments are also out too far, and poor throttle response with that same type "face plant" with a snap of throttle. this is worse when cold. could someone explain this setup to me? the main circuit screams and has much better throttle response. i can get it to idle all the way down to 900 rpm if its warm, but cold it does the face plant. i hope you can use this to compare and when i get this lower end straight i will let you know