What did you think that time when you first looked at a set of.....

[SOB/RFH]

........48 IDA:s and was going to buy them and put them on your motor of your dream......................to me they (allways seen at least in groups of two) looked like a half meter long carb, tall as a small pine, to me and it was never ever going to fit in to a engine bay of a V-dub.....But it works Amazing and

[jick]

i know exactly what you mean dude....i looked at those suckers for years at various shows, amazed at how fucking HUGE they looked on a flat 4.

i've had my pair for about 6 years now...still on a shelf in my house.....EVERY time i look at them i get a kick out of it.

can't wait to actually get the motor built...

[Zach Gomulka]

I remember being stoked to put on Kadrons... then I swapped to 44s and I thought those were huge (but the Kadons sounded meaner!), Ive got a pair of IDAs now, but I lent them to a good friend of mine. They are better being used then being bookends on my shelf! I cant wait to build a big motor and perch them atop my Race-Trim manifolds!!!

[Lee.C]

I can't wait to buy my first set - They still look HUGE every time I see them 

[Rick Meredith]

Well, I was used to see 4 of them on SBFs... then I was working at the largest distributor of Weber carbs in the US for 2 years before I bought my first set, I dunno, I never really freaked out on the size. I just knew they were cool and wanted a set.

[Roman]

I bought my first set in 91 and I thought they were big, but I got used to the size pretty quick. Bought a pair of Berg IDA:s two years ago and I still think they are HUGE!

[FUSENTASTEN]

Still remember me and SplitMan taking my 1950`s suitcase through the customs at an US airport.....first of all the customers hadn?`t seen such a suitcase....and then the content....2 sets of 48 IDAs...... and when examin the small fabriccloths in their explosive machine they found traces of "explosives"......me was put to rest in a chair guarded of a very big , tall black police officer...fully armed....
I tried to tell them that the 4 "binoculars" was carburators for a car......and I knew I had a hard time.....

I saw this anal-examination coming up by the big hairy man....SplitMan out in the hallway laughing.....
But after some time they belived me....but I think this question: "What did you think that time when you first looked at a set of 48IDAs" would appropriate for the crowd working at LAX.......

[too old for this]

i know exactly what you mean dude....i looked at those suckers for years at various shows, amazed at how fucking HUGE they looked on a flat 4.

i've had my pair for about 6 years now...still on a shelf in my house.....EVERY time i look at them i get a kick out of it.

can't wait to actually get the motor built...

filled the car up today and just drove and drove...crisp autumn sunshine and idas barking off the buildings,best music in the world,was thinking of injection,but f%$k that the ida,s are staying

[H67bug]

i know exactly what you mean dude....i looked at those suckers for years at various shows, amazed at how fucking HUGE they looked on a flat 4.

i've had my pair for about 6 years now...still on a shelf in my house.....EVERY time i look at them i get a kick out of it.

can't wait to actually get the motor built...

Jick .. six years for a motor!  :oYou are a patient man.

[Mangokid]

I bought the whole engine with them IDA's on it and it was a shattering experience. After some bargaining with the owner per e-mail i went back to my old photoalbums and drewled over it for hours and hours. I had known this engine since the day i wnt cal-look all the way. It not only did perform well, it sounded amazing, and it was the first straight-cut timing gears i've ever heard, and i've never heard'em louder on any other engine.

So, we borrowed a Land Rover from my friends dad, pulled out a few blankets and cushions to wrap the engine in, and went to do the deal. The engine was pulled from the car when we arrived and stood there in the middle of the room, complete with the carbs in place, and the look was perfect. No flashy shit, colours and stuff. Only black painted carbs on SkatTracks, Berg pulley, etc. etc.. The only thing missing was the rear cooling-tin. The feeling is out of proportion, considering what i was going to buy, and what i was going to spend. A day i most certainly never will forget. I guess my girfriend at the time won't forget it either. Perhaps the whole engine is the reason why she now is an x, and the carbs are still with me?

[Frank LUX]

I thought this...

  Frank

[quickkafer]

I remember seeing a set of 48 IDAs off of a motor and thinking to myself, "There's no freakin' way these things can fit on a VW engine!  They're bigger then the highest powered set of binoculours I've ever used!"  But then I saw a set on a few Drag Bugs and I was sold!  8 years later I bought a set for $600 (1998).  Unforunately, I never got use them.   I sold them as soon as I completed my 2 liter engine and moved to the across the country.

Scott Faivre

[alfie the monster]

filled the car up today and just drove and drove...crisp autumn sunshine and idas barking off the buildings,best music in the world,was thinking of injection,but f%$k that the ida,s are staying
[/quote]

Quite poetic, but your senility shows as it's technically spring 

Up until last year, mine were the best purchase i'd ever made... Next week they perch on top of their new home 

[stealth67vw]

I always thought they were for drag cars until I met Jim Ratto. In 1996 I bought a pair from Eric Ballard at ERCO when he sold used parts. I was amazed at how big they were holding them in my hands. I remember sitting on my porch waiting for UPS and they showed up in 2 BIG boxes.

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

OK Guys  When I Worked at Auto Haus 48 IDA's came in a Brown Corigated Weber Box and were $129.95 Each then When I went to Work At Barrett Ent.  They Were Buying Them From RedLine Price Was $169.95 Each  Boy What Happend to Prices Over the Years  Parts are Made Cheaper And Cost More But I Have To Tell you I Bought 10 Ida's When I Worked at Barrett and still have two pair Left after all these years  The Best way to Build an Old School Cal Look is With NOS Old School Parts.

[empicolector]

I have start to build a 2332 cc engine but carb kit is missing I dream of a 48 IDA kit did you think that the last generation made by empi are cool or not?

[Lee.C]

I can't wait to buy my first set - They still look HUGE every time I see them 

Well I got my first set about a month ago now and I LOVE THEM  they are sitting on top of the tv in my bedroom so I see them every night when I go to bed 

[autobarnhauler]

im looking to buy my first set soon, got a set of short ida manifolds laying around, one of them is now used as a tooth brush holder, in the bathroom! as,

[spennyp]

when i first spotted my 51.5's i was stoked

[Cheesepanzer]

I still get a kick out of people's reactions when they see my IDA's on my car.  I'll be at a local cruise night or car show and a couple of people will walk by, and stop to come back and check out the "cute little VW".  Then one of them will start to tell the other  some old story of how when they owned their VW they....., then "Oh my , look at... , what the... "

Usually they will turn and ask "what the heck do you have in this thing!"   

[Zach Gomulka]

I have start to build a 2332 cc engine but carb kit is missing I dream of a 48 IDA kit did you think that the last generation made by empi are cool or not?

Me thinks they speak Spanish

The color of the casting is off, they look obviously different to me. Other than that, Ive heard they are great carbs.

[SOB/RFH]

I have start to build a 2332 cc engine but carb kit is missing I dream of a 48 IDA kit did you think that the last generation made by empi are cool or not?

A new carb is a new carb....no ozide or dry gaskets.......they work as good as all the other generations of carbs...do some check out on them before mounting them, like checking the vents and the hight of the fuel level.....................then go out and have fun!!!

[empicolector]

thanks

[48ida]

Jick .. six years for a motor!  :oYou are a patient man.

Thats about standard lead time for a Serrano's motor I hear

[alfie the monster]

I still get a kick out of people's reactions when they see my IDA's on my car.  I'll be at a local cruise night or car show and a couple of people will walk by, and stop to come back and check out the "cute little VW".  Then one of them will start to tell the other  some old story of how when they owned their VW they....., then "Oh my , look at... , what the... "

Usually they will turn and ask "what the heck do you have in this thing!"   

That reminds me of the first time I took mine to work. A sunny Saturday morning and as I pulled in to park, all of the mechanices wandered out to see what the noise was. One of the guys asked 'if this was my 'quick' Beetle. I smiled and said yeah and opened the deck lid to put my carb covers on.... From over my shoulder I can hear

fuck me, how does all that fit in there 

[Dokke/DFL]

Wowww, it's huge !!! But I fell directly in love with those babies ...

And at that time in the Netherlands IDA's wasn't populair at all ( still not ), so everyone thinks that I'm crazy to use that kind of carbs for my small engine ( 1776 cc )
Everybody said that it wouldn't work, but it works really wel and I still enjoying every ride with my beetle without any problems.

[quickkafer]

I have start to build a 2332 cc engine but carb kit is missing I dream of a 48 IDA kit did you think that the last generation made by empi are cool or not?

Me thinks they speak Spanish

The color of the casting is off, they look obviously different to me. Other than that, Ive heard they are great carbs.

The carb tops are no longer secured with threaded studs and nuts.  Now they use machine screws.  I've heard good things about them too.  I don't know if EMPI is making these carbs.  They make their version of the IDF's (HPMX's) that lots of people aren't too happy with.  I know they are the main distributor of these IDA's though.  Since they're selling these to the V8 crowd too, I guess the quality has to be higher. 

Scott Faivre