Just home from Jake Raby's

I wanted to post about my time at Jake Raby's earlier this week.

Jake had invited me to Cleveland, GA if I was ever in the area to gather some data on my engine after the break-in period. It was well-broken in too with the Morro Bay, CA and Carlisle, PA trips plus a lot of local day trips too. I was more than happy to do this and while I ws there Jake recommended that he swap out the EMPI carbs for a set of Dellorto that he Had Art Thaen blueprint for Jake's personal car. He is well aware that I am challenged mechanically and knew that the Dells would be simpler for me to maintain. Plus he wanted to see if he could make a great engine better---he has a thing about doing such things! Of course I immediately agreed and he made the switch on the spot.

The engine dynoe'd even better than when new with the EMPI Webber-type carbs. With the Dells though, it was even stronger!

I left Jakes and drove to Birmingham and stayed overnight with a cousin then finished the drive yeaterday. The car ran better than ever and was so smooth that it felt like it had fuel injection. I ran mostly 75 getting a bit over 24 MPG so I was happy with that. Jake hooked me up with a wideband AFR sender and meter so I will be able to dial it in perfectly anytime it needs it.

I will add that if anyone is considering a new engine for their car,
do yourself a favor and consider a Raby Type IV. The finest engine and a builder who will treat you much more than fairly. I never told anyone this but before the Moro Bay event Jake insisted coming to Hot Springs to tweak the tuning ---at his cost--but the way it was running I just didn't think I needed that level of after the sale service and as it turned out no weaking was needed for that 3950 mile trip.

Great service and product deserves spreading the word! Thanks, Jake!

Jack, do you have any dyno numbers?

Ron--the only dyno numbers I have are the original ones---I didn't take a new set. The torque is still huge as I remember and just about flat. I can tell you that when you step on it at 70, it will be at 85 and still pulling in a flash if you don't watch it.

I was in a huge hurry facing such a long drive home and wanted to get going asap. Maybe Jake will read this and post the dyno graphs.

Good for you Jack. I guess the Empi carbs are a far cry from the Spanish Webers I have.

Most of you know that Jake built me a helluva nice type1 motor that idles smooth, has tons of torque, revs freely, and has been known to pull like a freight train. I still can't get over the combination that Jake specified and how well it all works together. 19000 miles and rolling along. Yeah, you pay your money, but damn it works well!

BTW, managed to spank quite a few REAL Porsches last weekend, sucks to be them..........

Danno: I would have loved to be riding co-pilot on that ride watching the look on the other drivers faces.

~WB

Until someone experiences Dells they can't compare them to ANY Weber, not even those made in Bologna Italy... I've had them all on most every engine imaginable from 1300-3,100ccs and nothing performs like a set of Dells...The multiple progression port arrangement provides transitional throttle response thats predictable and smooth time and time again.

I want to make it VERY CLEAR that Jack's HPMX carbs had nothing wrong with them, he actually traded them back to me and I'll be using them on another one of my cars, a '73 Super in the coming weeks. After the necessary changes are made to the HPMX carbs we find they are just as well applied to our engines as a set of Spanish genuine Webers and in direct comparisons they have even made more power.

The reason why I swapped Jack to Dellortos is due to the characteristics of the Dell being more compliant to elevation and atmospheric changes than any Weber/ HPMX carb. This year Jack drove 8,000 miles in less than 5 months with the engine that I built for him and went coast to coast and from below sea level to across the Rockies in the same day. He drove this car away from my facility in January on a 20 degree day and he also drove it in 90+ degree temps as well. I know from my cross country travels that a Dellorto carb is more suited for these dramatic differences better than anything else. The carbs require less in the way of jetting changes and when changes are necessary they are more predictable.

Jack is typical for one of my clients, he can maintain his car fine but needs an engine that doesn't need manipulation. I know from my experience with this exact pair of carburetors that they will provide what will benefit his driving style and maintenance levels. I have made two cross country trips with this same pair of carbs and have owned them since before 1997. I had them on my old sandrail and on no less than two dozen other engines.. I sent them to Art Thraen to be totally gone through and I had planned on using them again, but I decided to Turbo the engine they were destined for and fuel inject it...

Jack was perfectly happy with the HPMX carbs, he never even asked me to change them, it was my offer to him because I appreciate how far he drives and the feedback he can give me.. He is also one hell of a nice guy and a fellow Marine.

That said, Jack's engine made 105.77 RWHP on my Dynojet chassis dyno with the Dellortos with 121 lb/ft of torque. This is up from 105 RWHP and 112 lb/ft of torque with the HPMX carbs. This equates to 130 HP and 144 lb/ft of torque at the flywheel. When I engine dynoed this engine back in December it made 127 HP/ 138 TQ... Its stronger today with 8K miles and the Dellortos and is much smoother.

I built this engine expressly for torque and efficiency. The power comes on from idle and the engine makes peak power by 5,000 RPM, due to this the HP numbers are not as impressive as most would think on paper, but generally those people don't appreciate drive-ability. The engine I designed for Jack makes peak torque by 3,300 RPM and remains flat clear to 4,500 RPM. I did this knowing what gearing I had set Jack up with and where he wanted his cruise speeds for the long distance journeys. Jack didn't buy HP from me, he bought torque and drive-ability, I knew the Dells would further capitalize on this! If Art had been done with this set of Dells when Jack's car was here in January I would have installed them then....

I emailed the Dyno graph to Jack to post, its not working out for me too well.