ian1006

I will be upgrading my 1983 Honda Civic 1500 S with a Weber carb and ordering it this week from RedlineWeber.com. They have recommended to me to purchase the 38 rather than the 32/36 conversion kit as well as add a manual choke kit, linkage kit, and jet kit. They say to go with the bigger carb because of the ability to grow with the mods done to the car.
Questions are does anyone have experience with this site or heard anything about them?
What is your recommendation for the size of carb? 32/36 vs 38 in your opinion and why?
Thanks for the help and hope to get this ordered and slapped on soon!

badboyr66

I have seen guys use both... but depends on what you are doing with it. But the 32/36 DGAV is the most common used

ian1006

Plan on competing for a complete novice season in Solo Auto X. Nothing too major for this year other than good tires, shocks, stripped interior from front seats back and the Weber. Hope to do a custom cam, exhaust, and other minor things maybe at the end of the first season. Nothing too major...

2ndGenGuy

Get the 38. It's WAY better than the 32/36. I upgraded on my Accord from the 32/36, and the car just had such better throttle response and overall top end as well. Can't hurt to go with the manual choke kit, it lets you control when you need choke and when you don't. The electric chokes are pretty nice since you don't ever screw with them, but sometimes they can be finicky unless you know how to really set them up right.

You might want to talk to someone about how to set that carb up for autocross. I've never been able to get mine to quit bucking in some of the really tight hairpin turns on the track. Generally what happens is all the fuel sloshes over to one side of the float bowl and the carb starves for fuel. I believe there is a way to correct it, as my stock carb never had this problem, and the floats are pretty similar in construction. But I think if you buy the kit and throw it on there, you'll get really frustrated with it at autocross. Just thought you should know before hand.

It might be correctable by raising the float level up a bit, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I also heard that if the float level is too high, the fuel will slosh out the float bowl when cornering the other way.

There's a great OpelGT forum that these guys seem to know everything about Webers. Might go search around in there a bit to see if anybody over there autocrosses with Weber carbs. It's pretty rare these days. I think the last event I went to, I was the only carb'd car there!

batac_boy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ian1006 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I will be upgrading my 1983 Honda Civic 1500 S with a Weber carb and ordering it this week from RedlineWeber.com. They have recommended to me to purchase the 38 rather than the 32/36 conversion kit as well as add a manual choke kit, linkage kit, and jet kit. They say to go with the bigger carb because of the ability to grow with the mods done to the car.
Questions are does anyone have experience with this site or heard anything about them?
What is your recommendation for the size of carb? 32/36 vs 38 in your opinion and why?
Thanks for the help and hope to get this ordered and slapped on soon!
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Let me know how much can you get the weber? because I can get you the Redline Kit K624 brand new. message me yur email then we'll talk.

ian1006

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2ndGenGuy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get the 38. It's WAY better than the 32/36. I upgraded on my Accord from the 32/36, and the car just had such better throttle response and overall top end as well. Can't hurt to go with the manual choke kit, it lets you control when you need choke and when you don't. The electric chokes are pretty nice since you don't ever screw with them, but sometimes they can be finicky unless you know how to really set them up right.

You might want to talk to someone about how to set that carb up for autocross. I've never been able to get mine to quit bucking in some of the really tight hairpin turns on the track. Generally what happens is all the fuel sloshes over to one side of the float bowl and the carb starves for fuel. I believe there is a way to correct it, as my stock carb never had this problem, and the floats are pretty similar in construction. But I think if you buy the kit and throw it on there, you'll get really frustrated with it at autocross. Just thought you should know before hand.

It might be correctable by raising the float level up a bit, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I also heard that if the float level is too high, the fuel will slosh out the float bowl when cornering the other way.

There's a great OpelGT forum that these guys seem to know everything about Webers. Might go search around in there a bit to see if anybody over there autocrosses with Weber carbs. It's pretty rare these days. I think the last event I went to, I was the only carb'd car there! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well the guy I have been talking to over at Redline has been talking me through my decisions and I will be going with the 38. They are putting together a package for me with manual choke kit, a jet kit, adapter, air filter, gaskets, as well as a linkage kit that is supposed to smooth the throttle during acceleration.

I may get frustrated with the carb for the first season but then again it is only a novice season for both me and my dad, who will be the second driver. We have been putting our heads together to plan the car out and want to go pretty basic for the first year. We will see how it all turns out but we are DONE messing with the stock carb.

I have found basically zero resources for Auto Xing the Civic. The coilovers will probably be custom for us and the shock options are non-existant, looks like it will be KYB for us. Look forward to being a unique car out there as we dont expect to see many carb'd Hondas out there haha

batac_boy

some pictures of the weber K624





can you give the part# of the 38 weber kit?

ian1006

They are giving me a big discount on the kit since we will be competing in the SCCA. I dont know the kit number, I think they are doing a completely custom kit for me. PM some prices and shipping charges
Edit: I see in one of your pics the WorldPac logo, they are the main company I will be ordering from.


Modified by ian1006 at 5:55 PM 11/4/2008

batac_boy

I know somebody that works in Newark, Ca. branch DC WorldPac. Let me know how much discount they give you.

saint60

hi. just joined today. found this thread through a search. i am really interested in a weber swap as well. did a weber swap on my toyota pickup and it cut a bunch of the emissions stuff out. i am lost under the hood of my 89 accord with all the vacuum hoses. i just use this car for commuting, but want to get rid of chasing vacuum leaks. is the weber a good candidate for this?

ian1006

Well I ended up getting the Weber carb conversion with the 38 carb and adapter plate, filter, and all the goodies. Cost me only 300 bucks total and the it will be installed in the next week. Ill post pics of the kit and the installed pics when I get back into the country.

2ndGenGuy

Wow that's a great price! Do let us know how it works at the autocross and if you come into the starvation / flooding problem, and if you manage to get around it!!! :D

ian1006

Yeah well my dad was looking at the kit and noticed they didnt include the throttle adapter kit for my car...its cheap to order and they get it shipped to us the same day we order, or I might steal some parts off the stock carb when I get home.
I will be doing a lot of things to it in the coming weeks as I am planning on taking the car from Arkansas to Canada, through the US to Mexico and back in a month or so...we shall see if it goes as planned
Pics will be up when I get back into the country!

2ndGenGuy

Wow sounds like a sweet road trip. Go easy on the car, as those gear ratios aren't very highway friendly! My 81 Accord, I find going 65mph @ 3300RPM. I'm actually in Phoenix right now, drove it 1900 miles so far from Olympia, WA. I usually keep it just under 70mph as it's screaming about 3500RPM. Pretty high for hours on end with a 6000RPM engine.

ian1006

Well it looks like the road trip wont be happening after all. My speedometer doesnt even work haha. I can pull the cable out by hand, at least the tach works. Looked at the kit today and it is going to be a challenge to get the throttle to work unless I buy the kit. I am sick though so I dont think Ill be working on it for a couple of days.

batac_boy

Can you make a DIY. when you put the weber carb.

ian1006

Yeah I can see about doing a DIY, but the thing is since I dont have the correct throttle cable bracket and they didnt include a throttle lever either I had to ghetto rig it. I am stuck on exactly which wire is the electric choke one, I have the option of a solid red one, or a white'ish with blue striped one...anyone have an idea? I hope to buy a new fuel filter and fuel lines tomorrow and it should be running.
Ill probably do the DIY after I finalize the throttle linkage ghettoness then take it all off and show step by step pics since its so simple compared to the stock carb. Seriously, one port for the distributor, one fuel line to connect, throttle cable, brake booster line to adapter place. It has cleaned up the bay so much. Ill probably put the DIY and more updated stuff on my build thread that seems so old now haha, Ill link it if I do.

2ndGenGuy

You can use any wire that has 12v when the ignition is on. Just get out the 'ol multimeter and give them a test.

ian1006

Thanks for the info on the 12v source! With the holidays its being a bit tricky finding time and money to finish :s

ian1006

So I have the carb installed and went to tune it for best lean idle or whatever its called according to the instructions that came with the Weber.
Now heres my dilemma...the timing is way off on the car and I cant set the timing correctly unless the car can idle where its supposed to. So the timing cant be set because I cant set the idle on the carb and I cant set the carb to idle best unless the cars timing is right. So both of these things keep me from setting the idle correctly. Now the car runs but idles around 1200-1500. My Haynes isnt helping me either on correctly setting the timing since my distributor looks totally different than both of the ones they picture! So if anyone has any tricks that would be great!

1grex

Don't let Mr. Haynes cloud ya mayne. Let it run for 10 minutes then hook up that timing light to the long wire and see how off you are, then tweak it..Then set the idle as best you can, check timing again, check idle again, take it around the block..

ian1006

Yeah this car seriously has been such a learning experience for me. Very challenging yet also a lot of fun trying to fix the numerous problems it has.
So the whole detailed description of the state the car as it is tonight...
My fans dont turn on, either a bad relay or fuse. Somewhere a long the line the fans arent kicking on which means I have to hotwire the bad boy once the thermostat opens up to fiddle with the idle yet not overheat.
New huge Weber 38 that is tricky to get to idle, not to mention this is the first carbed car I have ever even worked on. Learning, learning and some learning. Also working on hot to get the thing to idle when the instructions say it might sound like a tractor when you start it. :s
The timing is off, by I dont even know how much. The pictures of the dizzy in my Haynes show marks on the distributor and how to insert it when you install it, tricky thing is that the dizzy turns when you install it and the teeth meet up with the cam. Also again the first time I have ever timed a car but I have a nice shiney gun. Not to mention my dizzy looks nothing likes the Haynes book.
Not to mention before I went to Costa Rica I replaced the tie rods and oil pan gasket...looked under the car today after getting it warmed up and saw a huge puddle of oil...a corner of the oil pan gasket was sticking out, fixed that today as well and no more puddles.
Sounds like a mess and it kind of is, but I love my 600 dollar jumble. I will keep this updated after I work on it tomorrow.

ian1006

Well I finally got the car back after dropping it off reluctantly to fix the timing and carb tuning issue. The carb is now tuned and the timing is right on the money but a clogged primary fuel filter kept me from driving it home. This morning though I went and bought a new filter and it starts up and runs but now it sounds like its knocking in the bottom end. Hopefully its not a bad bearing otherwise I may just strip the car down and sell it all off. I have spent too much money already on a 600 dollar car I may just count my losses and cut her into whatever pieces people on here or somewhere else might need. If anyone has any suggestions I am open so please let me here them!

2ndGenGuy

Man that blows about the bottom end. It sounds like you were just getting things squared away... It's quite the challenge you took on. When I did my first Weber swap, timing wasn't and issue because I had it squared away from the get go, and I got to learn to just mess with the carb as my only variable. I hope your noise goes away, and that it's nothing major. When do you hear the noise? Is it all the time?

ian1006

Yeah I really hope I dont end up having to part the thing out...especially the brand new carb I have been so pumped about. There is a slight rattle at higher RPMs and when its idling it is a faint knock. So this car is looking like it wont see an autox course anytime in its future...the plugs are shot though so tomorrow I will hopefully have a new set to go with the new filter and give her a drive around and see how bad the knock is. The guy who adjusted the carb (for only 30 bucks!) said it has low vacuum as well as a possible leaking valve seal or something which probably means the whole thing probably needs a rebuild.
When I bought it, there was supposedly only a bad headgasket and the more I have dove into it the more is wrong with it. It has been good fun though, learned a lot, worked with my dad which was cool, and all in all I probably wouldnt have done anything different We will see tomorrow what my decision is on whether to part it out or something else.