Finding out the heads were loose on the engine and that it needed some attention, was not the best news, but sometimes, unexpected ‘bad news’ can be seen as an opportunity and turned to your advantage. There were some things I was already thinking about doing in the back of my mind with the engine a little further down the line, but maybe this was an ideal chance to get some of these changes sorted now a bit ahead of time?
I’ve now found out that the bus came with a 1641cc engine and was fitted with a slightly more sporty performance orientated Weber 32/36 progressive carb. Apparently these feature a double barrel system. A primary barrel for use solely at low to half throttle operation, then a second barrel that opens up when you increase your throttle, allowing for increased air and fuel delivery at wide open throttle. This provides better low throttle economy with the option for increase performance on demand.
It’s a bit like having a single and a twin carb option combined. However, I was not overly fussed about the extra features of the Weber progressive carb, and had intended to put it back to an original simplicity of fitting a stock VW 34 pict 3 carb.
Fortunately I managed to source a decent condition used carb that could be refurbished ready for use again, so this seems like a good opportunity to swap the carbs over whilst the engine was out and the heads were getting fixed.
