New 48IDA's - are they worth the money and effort?

[peter - belgium]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning a 78,8 x 94 engine for my oval and I want 48IDA's on that engine (offcourse ).

I have been looking for a set of original 48IDA's, but these are either overpriced or too worn out to use

So, naturally I start thinking about buying a set of the new 48IDA's! But I have heard good and bad things about these... What is your opinion?

* Should I buy a set of the new ones?
* Are they reliable (I heard they are only good for 10.000km and then they are wasted?)
* 37, 40, 42mm venturis are available. I have the SCAT mini D-port heads, which venturis would you guys recommend?
* Is there a good adress to buy them from (I want the progression hole already drilled, ...)
* any other recommendations you can give / modifications that are needed?
Thanks!

Peter

http://slambulance.skynetblogs.be
http://oval57.skynetblogs.be

[Bruce]

* Are they reliable (I heard they are only good for 10.000km and then they are wasted?)

That's BS.

Good things about the new ones are:
They aren't worn out
You don't have to rebuild them
They have all their parts
They don't have any corrosion
 
I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use the new ones.

[louisb]

Check these out. The seller is a good guy. I been eyeing them myself but the money I was hoping to use from a real estate sale is taking too long to materialize. He can do any mods you may want too.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=488146

--louis

[Harry/FDK]

Or talk to Steve (Serrano's), He and his weber tech are gonna set up mine as close as possiible. Venturi size:  To my humle opinion 37 mm venturi's should be enough for mini D's, but i don't know about the rest of your heads, cam, exhaust etc.

[peter - belgium]

I was also thinking of buying at Serrano's if I would go for a new set. They seem to have good prices... 37mm venturis was also my choice as venturi. I want a driveable car (we do 5-6000km per year with our VW's) so I want to keep things simple and not tuned to the max!
My heads will be the mini D-ports, the cam I still need to decide (but want to go for a Webcam), exhaust is a Gene Berg merged, ...

FDK/Hurry, What exactly are Serrano's Weber tech guys doing on your set? Any suggestion I need to ask or have them done for my set??

Thanks!

Peter
http://slambulance.skynetblogs.be

[Frank LUX]

I was also thinking of buying at Serrano's if I would go for a new set. They seem to have good prices... 37mm venturis was also my choice as venturi. I want a driveable car (we do 5-6000km per year with our VW's) so I want to keep things simple and not tuned to the max!
My heads will be the mini D-ports, the cam I still need to decide (but want to go for a Webcam), exhaust is a Gene Berg merged, ...

FDK/Hurry, What exactly are Serrano's Weber tech guys doing on your set? Any suggestion I need to ask or have them done for my set??

Thanks!

Peter
http://slambulance.skynetblogs.be

Stay away from Serrano's,

He owns us Parts for over 1300 US Dollars, that have never been sent and he won't refund!!!

Frank

[nicolas]

hey, was the bus not fast enough on the british freeways when you headed to T3D? 

maybe i 48 idfs or 44 idfs work good enough on the engine... i think it was Jim who said he never had a better response on the trottle as with his 44's. and if you don't plan to have an engine that passes 6000 rpms, they are not much better in performance.

or if you want to be the quickest ambulance on the quartermile... than it is a different story i guess.

anyway see you at DDD

nicolas

[peter - belgium]

The Slambulance was indeed fast enough on our way to the T3D head quarters I'm glad we made it, it was a blast!!

The 48IDA's are for my (hopefully) soon to be Callook Oval beetle. I started the restoration/conversion of my oval at the moment I decided to strip out the 1776cc engine and use that engine in my Slambulance.
Now I'm planning a nice looking Cal Look beetle with a 2,2engine and 48IDA, true for the real cal look spirit!!

If you have some time, you can check the resto on  http://oval57.skynetblogs.be
The resto has been silent for the last several months since I had to finish my doublecab for the first European Bug IN (the miss BugIn chicks and the throphies had to be transported in style at the EBI meeting ). Now I'm working an a friends doca and when that is finished, I hope to pick up the ovals resto!! Just check the blog to see that happen!

Just stay tuned: http://slambulance.skynetblog.be  will keep you posted as well!!

See YA,

Peter
PBW - Peters Bus Werks

[lawrence]

hey, was the bus not fast enough on the british freeways when you headed to T3D? 

maybe i 48 idfs or 44 idfs work good enough on the engine... i think it was Jim who said he never had a better response on the trottle as with his 44's. and if you don't plan to have an engine that passes 6000 rpms, they are not much better in performance.

nicolas

Was that Mr. Ratto who said that. I have been thinking about selling my 48IDAs and getting some 44IDFs. I would like my engine to have more low end power and a better "transitions." BTW I have a 1914 with d-port heads, 40x35.5 valves and a 86b cam.

[nicolas]

Was that Mr. Ratto who said that. I have been thinking about selling my 48IDAs and getting some 44IDFs. I would like my engine to have more low end power and a better "transitions." BTW I have a 1914 with d-port heads, 40x35.5 valves and a 86b cam.
[/quote]

yes it was. he can elaborate on the subject himself as he ran both carbs. maybe 48 idf's are the golden ticket as far as a comprimise is 'golden'. in a couple of months i hope to be able to let you guys know how well 48 dells run, but i have no reference as i never had 48 IDA's.

but in the dyno special that was done last year i remember an engine running very good numbers and it had 48 dells. most of it has to do with the parts you choose, the heads of course and the work you put in the assembling of the engine.

i know 48's run on smaller engines, but i see no real benefit in running 48's with 36 vents,when you can run 40 idf's with 36 vents as well. and most likely the heads or cam will not be able to flow the amount of air and fuel needed to get all out performance.

[peter - belgium]

I know that performance wise, I would be better off with smaller carbs... there is no use in having 48mm throtle bodys if you narrow that down with a 36mm venturi.

But I'm more looking for ideal looks, over ideal preformance   I do want reliablity though, so I hope I can get that with the 48's on my 2,2engine??

Thanks!

[John Rayburn]

Alot of people have run the IDA choked down with great success..The big advantage, besides looks, are that they're the simplest carbs in the world, you can take them apart and reassemble them blindfolded. And you have a carb that can grow with your needs as time goes by. I would personally stick to the old Italian carbs, the quality side by side is very telling. When it comes to performance of 48 Dells, I ran them for years making over 200 horse in my street car. The reason I switched to IDA's eventually was because of the Dellorto parts drying up.. Here's the interesting comparison. The IDA sits on a taller manifold than the Dell, meaning more bottom end, however I had no loss in top end with the IDA . in other words , the Dell power band on my combo came on at 4500 to 8200 rpm ... The IDA's come on at 3600 and still takes me to 8200. More useable power. I run no third progression hole and it's as smooth as injection. So don't drill any holes until you try it with your combination. You can tune most flat spots out through altering the idle jet holder. Buy the 100's and some small drill bits and a pin vice. You can buy the bits in a metric progression and slowly enlarge the holes until the tune is correct. My size turned out to be 113 on the idle air correction and it's a treat to drive , even with my 42 venturies. So don't drill the carb bodies un necassrily. Good luck with your project!

[henk]

hey peter

i have the same probleme i love those IDA but i know that i don't really need them on my 1776 so i don't know yet if i gonna buy them orif i gonna tke some 44 IDF

[deano]

The Weber IDA is not exactly a bolt-on carburetor. Just about everyone has to fiddle with these guys one way or the other to make them work on your particular engine. Used ones usually need a clean up and to check the float level. New ones really need a once over to make sure they are right (including checking the floar level). Unless you get them from a guy like Art, expect a certain amount of work to dial-in the jetting, linkage, fuel pressure, and idle balance.

When working with older IDAs, you need to keep in mind that on some linkage setups, the positive stop is on the opposite side of the throttle shaft. And when you do this, there is a possibility to bend/twist/tweak the shaft. What you need to check is that the gap on both butterflies are exactly the same, using a feeler gauge to measure the gap(s). I have seen this problem with IDAs that were setup using the old DDS/Race Trim linkages, and similar push-pull styles, when the setup allows for more rotation in the thottle position than what the carburetor needs. Berg caught this early on and made linkage arms with stops built in. Un-even idle and odd mixture settings can all point to a twisted shaft. Just something to remember when you buy older/abused IDAs.

[peter - belgium]

When working with older IDAs, you need to keep in mind that on some linkage setups, the positive stop is on the opposite side of the throttle shaft. And when you do this, there is a possibility to bend/twist/tweak the shaft. What you need to check is that the gap on both butterflies are exactly the same, using a feeler gauge to measure the gap(s). I have seen this problem with IDAs that were setup using the old DDS/Race Trim linkages, and similar push-pull styles, when the setup allows for more rotation in the thottle position than what the carburetor needs. Berg caught this early on and made linkage arms with stops built in. Un-even idle and odd mixture settings can all point to a twisted shaft. Just something to remember when you buy older/abused IDAs.

Thanks! That is a very good tip!
I always check this before I install a set of carbs. I also set-up the left and right carb at the same feeler gauge gap and I start screwing in the idle set screw as of that point. It is better then relying an "closed butterflies" and start adjusting as of there I think... (correct me if I'm worng!)

[Harry/FDK]

Hi Pete, i'm still going for Serrano's. Had a long talk with Steve, and his Weber supplier is going to set up the carbs (wich are in stock) as close as possible to my wantings and engine specs. AFTER i know what they have done, i will order...
Good Luck !

(To both of us )