The JPS Machine

I had mine out today for a drive on mountain roads in the Cascades....that 1776 ran like a Rolex and with temps in the mid 80's and a 12 mile climb with 8-10% grades  ran as cool as a cucumber...best wishes to John on his new location and a new marketing strategy ...bart

It would be good business to show existing customers cars getting finished up?

Coupes, Subarus... yes? 

Nice. Explain to me how JPS Classics (owned by Patrick Crane and John Steele) only opened this past December, and 5 months later the first car is ready for sale? My wife and I ordered ours 13 months ago from JPS Motorsports (owned by John Steele). It never got finished and he won't refund our approx. $21k deposit. 

4banger, because they are buying pre-made cars made from our left over and abandoned tooling in S America, and rebadging them as JPS.

MaxMartens posted:

It would be good business to show existing customers cars getting finished up?

Coupes, Subarus... yes? 

Absolutely....first things first....when I was overwhelmed at work, I would stop everything .....no new starts.....and take one project and complete it and get it out the door....and then another.....took me a long time to learn to do that and to quit multitasking myself into  utter chaos with nothing accomplished....

The " Pick things up once " approach....takes concentration.. 

chines1 posted:

4banger, because they are buying pre-made cars made from our left over and abandoned tooling in S America, and rebadging them as JPS.

The name is appropriate then, but the spelling is wrong: Steal

Not sure what to say.  I wish 'em luck.  Only way to rebrand the image is to perform.  One must change more than just the name.  Guess it does not matter how they do it.  Hope it happens

It's like Groundhog Day around here. I guess it is reassuring nothing has changed in 10 years. https://www.speedsterowners.co...ppy-customers-advice 

When I bought my first speedster in 2012, I must have read every thread on each vendor. I came away with a very short list.. buy a used one from Troy or Dr. Clock, find an Intermecnanica and go visit Carey. Well I took the drive to Bremen and the rest is history. How does this keep happening to people, and how in the world do you  write a check without a simple google search on the builder. The data is out there... 

Full disclosure: I have an '07 JPS Speedster.  Built to spec in more or less the agreed to time period.  It is a beautiful car, and when the carburetors are functioning properly, it is a blast to drive. Weber carbs: That's another story altogether. There were many issues early on as the car was delivered essentially untested, and certainly un-sorted.  These trials are documented in these pages somewhere, many years ago at this point.  Coast to Coast sorting out was a struggle; most issues handled and resolved to satisfaction if not without some angst.  JPS provided parts, I did the wrenching, because, basically, that's what I do. In the end, Mr. JPS and I, having enjoyed friendly and more or less civilized relations for a couple of years, parted on disagreeable terms.  All that said, I repeat: I wish them well in the new incarnation, and that the operation enjoys a renewed dedication to customer service and the fruits of the success that such will bring.

Why don't you dump those Chinese Webers and get a set of Italian Dellortos.  You can find them and say bye bye to the problems that have plagued you for years.

Also I'd have to say that if there was an award at Carlisle for best paint you would probably win it!

I want to be in the running for “Best Horn Button”.

Jus’ sayin’........

Echo that on El Frazoo gorgeous merlot paint job.  

Jack, I believe Kelly has Italian or Spanish Webers, but I'm not absolutely certain. Even the new Empi repops are OK these days. The initial couple years of Chinese Webers were questionable at best. The carbs themselves are usually not the problem from my experience. I know you and a few others (Cory, Gordon, Wild Bill, Stan) all worship at the throne of Dellorto.

I've rebuilt a few sets of Dells but have much more experience with Webers. And most of that is in all youse guys Speedsters. I can't count the number of Speedsters I've worked on. Honestly, I have less experience with my own carbs, I simply don't need to muck about with them. Mostly, the ones I see aren't properly synched, the mixture adjustments aren't even close, and to top it off the linkage being used is junk. Holding synchronization is impossible with crap linkage.

The biggest problems I see are dirty fuel and air, not storing properly(which ends up with white goo in the bowl!) and inexperience of the tuning procedure. Add in crappy distributors and questionable Perlux........

Danny, you are so right about the linkage---as well as the rest. I just installed a new linkage on mine and had two new stainess steel "tabs" cut and drilled at a machine shop to hold the linkage rather than the old aluminum ones that were getting deformed after 11 years.  These babies are stout!

Looking forward to seeing you at Carlisle next week!

As carbs go, Webers and Dells are pretty much the same in performance.

The differences show up in the details;

Jets are on the outsides (left/right) of the carb body and a little hard to get to on Webers in a Speedster, but placed up on top of the Dells inside of the air cleaners where they're easy to get at.  

The Webers seem to be more prone to clogged idle jets (although I wonder about that), whereas Dells seem more tolerant, especially if they've been converted to horizontal discharge tubes.  I think a lot of the problem with clogged idle jets is the owner not properly sealing the mating surfaces of the air cleaner elements against the air cleaner bases and covers.  Let dirt in there and you'll eventually get clogs.  Seal them with a bead of grease and no dirt.  That applies to both Webers and Dells.  We might hear about more clogged jets on Webers simply because there are more Webers out there in the first place.

Jet Doctors for Webers seem make a lot of sense - people who've installed them seem happy with the results.  AFAIK I'm about the only person who has upgraded Dells to horizontal discharge tubes - they make more power, but make the carbs a bit more finicky to tune, IMO.

Sloppy linkage makes ANY carbs less effective.  Make it precise and you'll notice the difference.  Personally, I'm surprised that CB Performance hasn't upgraded their hex linkage to heim joint ends - makes a lot of sense.

That's all I've got.

I agree, there are simply WAY more Webers out there in service. 

And idle jets are a piece of cake to get to on a Spyder, and would be too in any Speedster equipped with two things: a 911 fan shroud and CB Performance space-saver manifolds. These manifolds reverse the carbs putting all adjustment screws and idle jets on the inside where they're easy to get to. Don't bother trying this with a regular shroud, it won't work out for you.

IMHO, in a Spyder, Webers are a better choice. You can pull and clean an idle jet without even taking the air cleaners off. Which by the way is probably the way most dirt gets into Webers anyway.

Lenny has the horizontal discharge tubes on his Dells, and likes them. He did go through a few sets of jets using a wideband to dial them in.

The horizontal discharges work for top end power, doesn't really change anything as far as clogged idle jets. The jets are what get the dirt wedged in them, and they remain the same with the conversion.

On the air filter element sealing, I have a trick:  I get a cheap meat marinade syringe (a "Cajun Injector" is great and I got it at our local supermarket or Walmart).  I use a Dremel to cut off the needle point, leaving the 1/8" ID tube intact.  Then I fill the syringe 1/4 - 1/2 with an automotive grease(I have to use a screwdriver to get the grease into the syringe), insert the plunger and just squeeze a nice, even bead all around the top and base of the filter element where it mates with the air cleaner base and cover.  Takes a minute and seals it up like factory.

I have another, smaller syringe that I got at CVS, intended to irrigate root canals with a saline wash.  It has a slightly curved tip about 1" - 2" long.  It is too small for regular automotive grease (regular grease is too thick to push through), but white lithium grease works well and I use it for precise, spot lubing of lots of stuff - it's great for packing open bearings, like on my old road bike.  Just ask at the prescription counter for a Root Canal Syringe.  I can post a photo if it helps.

Great tips, Gordon! 

Back in the day, I used to pack those open bearings in the palm of my hand, for bicycles and car wheel bearings. Today I do the same thing, but use nitrile gloves. Much cleaner.

If you don't take the air filter tops off and on all the time, you don't plug jets. It really is that simple......

It's been a while since I did VW's but we had an off road rail racing club and the most reliable (and powerful) carb setup was a single Rochester. Having an intake manifold that was twisted so the gas rolled down was critical but once set up, it was just about using a good inline filter. Never much maintenance or adjustments ever needed under some extreme conditions. Maybe such a setup wouldn't have enough clearance in a car. But syncing any two-carb setup was not much fun. Sometimes less is more.

Knowledge is power. An individual runner setup is always going to make more power than a single point carb. Knowing your setup is worth the time it takes to get the knowledge. I synch my carbs once a year, it takes 10-20 minutes. Honestly I just check them now, never have to change anything.

Its now my belief the new JPS Classics tries not to associate with the old JPS Motorsports.

The new wants to stay away from the old. Looks like the new is turning out cars and claims no connection to the old. Even though in the same building. Hmmm

Not sure what the old is doing, as its the s.o.s.

The current website operator makes it look like all is well & fluffy in JPS land. ...Plenty of media and not much else. 

#Sourtaste 

Time will tell, but I'm not holding my breath.

Max. As you put it in your first post, what happened to me with John Steele and JPS is exactly what was happening to you. I was just ahead of you. For me, no car and no money. Approaching one year late from contract due date.

jPS Classics (corporation) and JPS Motorsports (sole proprietorship) are one and the same as far as you are concerned. Let me explain. The common denominator is John Steele. He owns part or all of both and that is where any assets he may have are. You are interested in his assets. Never mind the other distractions about company names, partners, 356 models etc. When/if you get to that point, go for the assets.

Go talk to a local Cop Shop Detective and win him over, then pay a visit to John Boy...Also, there must be a local TV station
investigator reporter ( we have " On Your Side" weekly " hang the shyty crook"  segments here) one that likes to straighten things out for the consumer..they usually have quick access to records, police Attorney General etc ...A Good attorney would help. Steal is a worthless actor ( nice word but insert what you want)  who, sticks to most everyone that is not within a few hundred miles of his shop. Sadly I've witness this time after time as he blatantly disregards customers. but manages to count .....their money. .......... BTW I the past I did full air-cooled builds at my home shop in 16 -20 weeks :~(