I've got a 1983 GSL with a 12a without a carburetor. I am planning on starting to turn it into a rally car this summer. All it needs to get the car running is a carb and some wiring issues and I'm not too worried about that.

But since it is going to be reborn as a rally car, I'm not sure what a good carburetor for it would be. The 2wd classes don't have many power restrictions because traction is the biggest limitation, and it'll be sliding around sideways quite a bit and will be near redline a lot. Also, the car is registered where smogging it is not required and so emissions don't matter.

The biggest limiting factor for me is money . I'm a broke college student with a rather tight budget and am hoping to spend less than $250 on a carb. I know the carburetor most people swear by the Sterling Nikki, but it is out of my price range and I don't care at all about making any low-end power.

So I am looking for suggestions as to what carburetors bolt to the manifold and create power for a relatively low cost. I also have access to a manual mill and could create a rather simple adapter plate if need be.

If you have one laying around you would like to sell, you can pm me about it.
*I am fine buying used and can rebuild as long as all/most of the parts are with it and are easy and inexpensive to acquire*

Thanks,
Evan

 

I'm pretty sure the Nikki is tho only carb that will bolt to the stock mani an it'll probably work fine for rally. The being constantly sideways may be a problem for it but I'm not sure I would def give her a shot though plus you can buy one from a forum member for cheap.

 

There's really no bad choices if everything's tuned, built, and assembled properly.

But I highly recommend modding a factory Nikki.

 

When you say rally, what are we talking? SCCA Rallycross? NASA Rally Sport? Dirt? Gravel? Tarmac? Snow? Your choice of carb and how you tune it will vary depending on the specific purpose and the course.

I'm going to agree with Joe and say stick to a Nikki. They're relatively easy to score at the junkyard and can be rebuilt for under 50 bucks. Strip all emissions, remove the choke and any flow restrictions, and do the mechanical secondaries mod. When done right, it offers a really broad and practical range of power which is logical for rally.

Why wouldn't you be concerned with low end power? Low end grunt with careful feathering of the throttle is what's going to pull you out of those slippery hairpins, particularly with rallycross because the courses are small and twisty. If you're on tarmac or a long course through the woods then I could see it being less important but you'll still want a really broad powerband.

 

If you're limited on budget, just stick with a stripped Nikki for now and save some cash. Later on you can upgrade to a Weber 48 IDA.

 

Thanks everyone for the input.
LizardFC: You have more rally experience than me I'm guessing and your point on hairpins was something I hadn't considered.
I won't be doing much rallycross because there aren't any events held in my area that I'm aware of. But then again there aren't too many stage rallies either. For the time being it's a learning project where I can get used to sliding around sideways on logging roads, try out different setups, and be able to hold my own when I have the time and money to travel to events a state or 2 away in a few years. Most surfaces will be dirt, gravel, and snow. Though I will probably also autocross it.