4 Barrel Carburetor

I take it you're from the V8 world? Over the years, it's been done, but never really caught on (I'm guessing because of problems getting it to run well?); because of their layout, aircooled flat 4's seem to be better suited to dual carbs.  The long intake runners on a center mounted carburetor need preheat (to keep the fuel in suspension) in all conditions except very hot weather, and mileage and throttle response are better with the shorter intake distances with dual carburetor set-ups.

Dual carbs will take a little while to familiarize yourself with, but it you start with a set of one barrels it's not that difficult(40mm kadrons  http://kaddieshack.com/ would be perfect for a 1776 or 1915 with a mild cam and ported stock valve heads). I'm not trying to be rude, but maybe it's time to branch out and learn something new...Al

When starting a dual carbed VW aircooled in cold weather, pump the gas pedal 4 or 5 times, start with pedal part way down. It'll run a little rough for a couple of minutes, and then smooth out as it warms up.

You can buy a two barrel:

http://www.cip1.ca/ProductDeta...ductCode=C13-47-0628

......but there have been problems:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/for...highlight=empi++egas

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/for...highlight=empi++egas

Never done a 4-barrel carb - I would think that would be WAY too much carburetor for anything,less than a 3+ liter engine, BUT when I was doing dune buggys in the 1970's I did several with Holley 5200's on them (Holley built and licensed a Weber design which was very popular in Europe).  

Those are a two-staged (primary/secondary) carb which would need a common intake plenum/manifold for all four cylinders.  I used to get my intake manifolds from somewhere in Texas, and they had manifold pre-heater pipes just like a stock VW.  EMPI had something similar for a different carb with similar design.  Both had hot water chokes, but we used to convert them to electric chokes from a Motorcraft (Ford) 2500 carb off a Mustang.

So yes, you can run a single carb on these engines, and the performance is acceptable BUT you may have trouble finding a decent manifold that sits low enough to stuff the carb and air cleaner under the hood.  They tend to stick up pretty high.

On a tangential thought, don't Kadron carbs have chokes?  Maybe THAT might be your answer...

I'm with Gordo on this one. Four bbl might be way too much and just unnecessary.

I ran a Weber progressive 32/36 on my 1915 engine from Sacramento to Carlisle and it started and ran perfectly. I installed a 2.2 l. Soob and the same carb ran perfectly. Electric choke works fine in any temp. Not wanting to rebuild my old 32/36 with unknown hours on it, I recently bought a new 32/36 and it runs fine right out of the box. I was tempted to try a synched 38/38 but resisted the temptation. 39 US mpg on the highway. Easy starts and smooth pulling throughout all ranges. It's an easy carb to live with, no tweaking back and forth and they do fit under the hood. Select the shorter air cleaner. Set it and forget it....Google Webercarbsdirect.com $200. and yer done.

Thanks for the information. I'm forgetting the idea of a single carb.

Last Saturday I picked up a couple of Dellorto DRLA 40 carbs from a VW dude who works out of his garage. $100 for the pair. Two manifolds, air cleaners and linkage for an extra $50.

He also included a book and a couple of no-whistle gaskets, which he said was necessary. ???

A couple of burritos and beer for my new best friend brought the whole thing in under $200.

Now I'm going to try to get in touch with Art Thraen in Utah for a rebuild and adjustment for a 2110.

Yea for this site and all the guys who contribute...

Better hurry as I understand that Art is retiring. At least see where some of his help is that worked on Dells.

You absolutely stole those Dells.  A decent pair after rebuilding goes for $1,000-$1,200.  You're going to love them!

No whistle gaskets--I never heard of that.  Must be to stop the famous "Dellorto chirp" which I rather like.  At first I thought it was my engine pinging---glad it wasn't!

Kase - nice score on that carb set-up!

BTW - I dig your avatar! Many veterans of various eras on this site!

Also, if those Dellortos don't work out, try this set-up...

Art is retired from the ACVW business, but fear not-- his head mechanic (Justin McCallister) purchased the business along with his brother, Colton. They are operating in the same shop, using the same tools, with the same carb guy (Dave) as always. The name of the business is now Blackline Racing. If you call the old ACE phone number, you can get in touch with Colton, who will be happy to help.

ACE did the 2276 in the speedster, and Blackine did the 2110 in my bus-- but Jusint did the rebuilds on both of them. I just got another set of Dellortos from Blackline (45s-- and they were $900, complete. I was happy to pay it. You stole the 40s you found!), and the are as beautiful and perfect as ever.

I was really worried when Art told me he was getting out. I shouldn't have been-- the McCallister brothers are going at this with professionalism and the vigor of youth. Give 'em a call.

Thanks for the update, I'm calling Utah today, ship product Wednesday.

I also found two rebuild kits in the bottom of the box - surprise!

Not sure I stole the carbs, maybe the fella who sold them to me did - oh my... and I don't have a receipt. Except for the burrito!

The sunbathing alien on the back deck is too funny! Or is that the driver???

Jimmy - this notch was at the Cars & Coffee meet in our area (Socal, Irvine). At the VW Classic and the Bug-In I see plenty of VWs with this crazy carb set-up (at least 450cfm)! Wild, huh! 

Definitely! My first draw-through turbo setup ran a Holley 500 and that setup looks twice the size but being from alienville Roswell, I was overly impressed by the alien in the back window. He (or she) looks peaceful.