Hi Adrian. Thanks for coming down last Sunday and tuning our cars. My wife is super pleased, if not a little surprised, with her Mini. Surprised because she thought it "went like the clappers" before!! And my Land Rover... well what can I say? As you said, it now performs as it as an angry V8 should!! Top work and thanks again.
Although well known for your Mini work, i guess not everyone who has a vehicle with an SU carburettor knows what you can do with it! I still remember how bizarre it seemed to have my old Lightweight Land rover on a rolling road after you had fettled the carb, designed a new intake to maximise torque and dialled it all in. Too be honest, your never going to have your neck muscles stretched by a 2 1/4 landy engine trying to haul its lard about - but it did pull up its skirts when you had finished with it! With reference to rolling road tuning - i guess i was fortunate enough to have you there using it. I wonder whether many rolling road engine tuners these days have enough exposure to SU's to really understand them. All the old fast Fords used Webbers and the like and all the new stuff gets set via a plug. As the draw down to change to EV's continues i guess that there will be an exemption for classic cars like the Mini but the expertise in making these magnificent beasts run at their best will become even more niche. Although not everyone wants to comment on your tuning to the camera, they all appreciate the improvement and extra fun it makes to drive. My Land Rover experience was the same. As i drove away from your tuning i could hear the crisp induction and feel the extra bit of urge. I also soon appreciated that i was getting a couple more mpg - something not to be sniffed at as anyone with a series tractor will know. Importantly though, as i drove home, i had a big smile on my face and continued to do so every time i hopped in the drivers seat. That perhaps was the best improvement. Mr Dodd doesn't just set your advance, gap your plugs and hone your needle - he secretly lifts the corners of your mouth, attaches a little giggle to the accelerator and - (like a mechanical Cupid) makes you fall in love with your motor again...
Ahh thanks for that David, your too right though, precious few rolling roads know how to tune these properly, by fear not, for I have been training another new mechanic today in the ways of the SU and the dizzy…..
@@ACDodd we discussed at the time the fitting of a nice fat 3.5 or 3.9 V8 but it was beyond my budget then. As it was, when i bought the Landy it cost about £60 to fill both 10 gallon tanks and sold it because it was just so damn juicy! Minis are a great proposition for a classic car though. When they were first sold they had a ridiculously good economy compared to other cars of the day. Today that makes them a reasonably affordable classic that you can drive regularly drive. That said, you need to get your tuning correct to fully enjoy and more importantly protect your engine. At the factory they would pump out the vehicles in an average state of correct tune, and even in the 60's and 70's not every garage (or even main dealer) would know or even care to get the customers car bang on. Adrian is perhaps a rare breed in that he can understand and sum up the different aspects of fuelling, timing and component tolerance and selection to give you a unique solution to your specific setup that makes it all run just like it should do. And this is just one of his 'superhero' powers (i have known his works for years). Given that this knowledge is rare and rapidly receding in our world, it makes sense that anyone who wants to take their personal skills to the next level and keep these skills alive for future generations undertake a training course if they can. This is not an advert or paid hype- i specialise in falling off motorcycles, and breaking ribs. I would take the Pepsi challenge with Ade with my stained glass making but where petrol interacts with metal to provide motion i bow my head to the miester!
Question, not SU related but anyway... Why would, on a stock standard carburettor, like a downdraft one on a crossflow engine, run very rich according to a wideband A/F gauge during cruise phase? No problem setting the idle mixture. Wide open throttle the a/f gauge reads ok but slightly rich. The main jet's size matches the size listed in my service manual. This carb has fixed size idle jets and air correction circuits. The size of those also matches the service manual. It's been cleaned out multiple times so there is nothing blocking the air correction jets. Float height perfect, fuel pressure perfect. New gaskets, needle, all that. Good compression. Valve clearances good. No vacuum leaks, I could go on, it drives great but my gauge tells me on slight throttle it reads like off the scale rich. I can set the idling mixture, adjusting the mixture screw does give a response. I hooked a vacuum gauge up to the manifold and it gives best vacuum of 19mm/hg at 0.90 lambda but idle quality really starts to suffer either side of that. The screw is only sort of 3/4 of a turn out. I have a HEI coil and distributor from a reputable company here in Australia, but it doesn't have a vacuum advance mechanism. Spark plugs are standard bp6es and after a drive the end of the threads are black and the ground strap is a coffee brown colour. I have a spare carburettor of this type and as far as I could tell they're both identical, the spare came off another engine of the same type and size, so it's not like I've got some oddity.
@@ACDodd yeah, the only way to do that would be to solder them and re-drill somehow, like I said the jets are fixed and set into the aluminium, some of the drillings are on an angle, I don't like my chances of modifying them without stuffing it up.
I thought that too - for years, BL/Austin-Rover tended to fit the 1098cc with either 1.25" or 1.5" SU(s), with the bigger 1.75"/HIF44 reserved for the 1275cc or larger engines. There is such a thing as over-carbing an engine, so no wonder they ran too rich...
Hi Adrian. Quick question - what would be your recommenfation to aim for the mixture with E10? I have only an old CO2 measuring device at hand, and right now I have something around 2-3% across the rev range.
@@ACDodd Thanks for the reply. Would that mean that with E10 nowadays the spark plug colour should be more white-ish (similar to too lean colour) then brown-ish colour? (I read it somewhere in the discussion that nowadays the fuels cause such colouring - but not sure if it's true?)
More smiling faces. Great to see.
Hi Adrian. Thanks for coming down last Sunday and tuning our cars. My wife is super pleased, if not a little surprised, with her Mini. Surprised because she thought it "went like the clappers" before!! And my Land Rover... well what can I say? As you said, it now performs as it as an angry V8 should!! Top work and thanks again.
Hehehehe love the comment ref your wife’s reaction, glad I was able to make such a positive change!
Loving the videos. I've sent a message via Facebook, really keen to have the AC Dodd treatment 👍
Replied
Ah that V8 sounded superb
To be fair the phone mic was useless at picking up the v8 rumble, next time I will get a sound clip from the tailpipe!!
Although well known for your Mini work, i guess not everyone who has a vehicle with an SU carburettor knows what you can do with it! I still remember how bizarre it seemed to have my old Lightweight Land rover on a rolling road after you had fettled the carb, designed a new intake to maximise torque and dialled it all in. Too be honest, your never going to have your neck muscles stretched by a 2 1/4 landy engine trying to haul its lard about - but it did pull up its skirts when you had finished with it! With reference to rolling road tuning - i guess i was fortunate enough to have you there using it. I wonder whether many rolling road engine tuners these days have enough exposure to SU's to really understand them. All the old fast Fords used Webbers and the like and all the new stuff gets set via a plug. As the draw down to change to EV's continues i guess that there will be an exemption for classic cars like the Mini but the expertise in making these magnificent beasts run at their best will become even more niche. Although not everyone wants to comment on your tuning to the camera, they all appreciate the improvement and extra fun it makes to drive. My Land Rover experience was the same. As i drove away from your tuning i could hear the crisp induction and feel the extra bit of urge. I also soon appreciated that i was getting a couple more mpg - something not to be sniffed at as anyone with a series tractor will know. Importantly though, as i drove home, i had a big smile on my face and continued to do so every time i hopped in the drivers seat. That perhaps was the best improvement. Mr Dodd doesn't just set your advance, gap your plugs and hone your needle - he secretly lifts the corners of your mouth, attaches a little giggle to the accelerator and - (like a mechanical Cupid) makes you fall in love with your motor again...
Ahh thanks for that David, your too right though, precious few rolling roads know how to tune these properly, by fear not, for I have been training another new mechanic today in the ways of the SU and the dizzy…..
@@ACDodd we discussed at the time the fitting of a nice fat 3.5 or 3.9 V8 but it was beyond my budget then. As it was, when i bought the Landy it cost about £60 to fill both 10 gallon tanks and sold it because it was just so damn juicy! Minis are a great proposition for a classic car though. When they were first sold they had a ridiculously good economy compared to other cars of the day. Today that makes them a reasonably affordable classic that you can drive regularly drive. That said, you need to get your tuning correct to fully enjoy and more importantly protect your engine. At the factory they would pump out the vehicles in an average state of correct tune, and even in the 60's and 70's not every garage (or even main dealer) would know or even care to get the customers car bang on. Adrian is perhaps a rare breed in that he can understand and sum up the different aspects of fuelling, timing and component tolerance and selection to give you a unique solution to your specific setup that makes it all run just like it should do. And this is just one of his 'superhero' powers (i have known his works for years). Given that this knowledge is rare and rapidly receding in our world, it makes sense that anyone who wants to take their personal skills to the next level and keep these skills alive for future generations undertake a training course if they can. This is not an advert or paid hype- i specialise in falling off motorcycles, and breaking ribs. I would take the Pepsi challenge with Ade with my stained glass making but where petrol interacts with metal to provide motion i bow my head to the miester!
@@davidbrooks1971 thanks for the kind words David, training is key for the future of our beloved classic cars.
Question, not SU related but anyway...
Why would, on a stock standard carburettor, like a downdraft one on a crossflow engine, run very rich according to a wideband A/F gauge during cruise phase? No problem setting the idle mixture. Wide open throttle the a/f gauge reads ok but slightly rich. The main jet's size matches the size listed in my service manual. This carb has fixed size idle jets and air correction circuits. The size of those also matches the service manual. It's been cleaned out multiple times so there is nothing blocking the air correction jets. Float height perfect, fuel pressure perfect. New gaskets, needle, all that. Good compression.
Valve clearances good. No vacuum leaks, I could go on, it drives great but my gauge tells me on slight throttle it reads like off the scale rich. I can set the idling mixture, adjusting the mixture screw does give a response.
I hooked a vacuum gauge up to the manifold and it gives best vacuum of 19mm/hg at 0.90 lambda but idle quality really starts to suffer either side of that. The screw is only sort of 3/4 of a turn out.
I have a HEI coil and distributor from a reputable company here in Australia, but it doesn't have a vacuum advance mechanism. Spark plugs are standard bp6es and after a drive the end of the threads are black and the ground strap is a coffee brown colour. I have a spare carburettor of this type and as far as I could tell they're both identical, the spare came off another engine of the same type and size, so it's not like I've got some oddity.
Reduce the idle jet, fuel has changed over the years, the original jet sizes are unlikely to be correct
@@ACDodd yeah, the only way to do that would be to solder them and re-drill somehow, like I said the jets are fixed and set into the aluminium, some of the drillings are on an angle, I don't like my chances of modifying them without stuffing it up.
I was surprised to see the HIF44's on the 1100 and 1098. At what state of tune does a 1098/1100 warrant an HIF44 over an HIF38 or other 1.5" carb?
A stock 1098 can run with an HIF44, but best utilised when the 1098 has been worked out with a modified head and a little more camshaft.
I thought that too - for years, BL/Austin-Rover tended to fit the 1098cc with either 1.25" or 1.5" SU(s), with the bigger 1.75"/HIF44 reserved for the 1275cc or larger engines. There is such a thing as over-carbing an engine, so no wonder they ran too rich...
So my brother has an A35 saloon with a 1960's Buick 215 V8. 4bbl Carter. Thanks for the info. Honestly, he ain't right.
Nice combination
Hi Adrian. Quick question - what would be your recommenfation to aim for the mixture with E10? I have only an old CO2 measuring device at hand, and right now I have something around 2-3% across the rev range.
That’s a bit rich across the rev range more like 0.5 to 1.0 on light throttle.
@@ACDodd Thanks for the reply. Would that mean that with E10 nowadays the spark plug colour should be more white-ish (similar to too lean colour) then brown-ish colour? (I read it somewhere in the discussion that nowadays the fuels cause such colouring - but not sure if it's true?)
Great work Adrian enjoy your videos
@@michalchlup6758 yes