Jenvy ITBs on a Ford Kent 1700 Xflow

[IamScotticus]

If you really want to spend the money:

https://www.emeraldm3d.com/throttle-body-air-horns/heritage-twin-throttle-body-40-48mm-pair.html

 

[speedwagon]

I have looked at my ford 5.8 throttle bodies and glanced at my 48 weber side draft and it is easy to decide which to use. (bigger, cheaper, and readily available TPS.   My experience with webbers isn't all that good That the "look" is valuable.   john

[GLBaxter]

Well All, I pulled the trigger, contacted DanST and bought a set of bike carbs for my Westfield.  Along with the carbs, I got a 3D ignition setup and the necessary trigger wheel, 36:2.  I haven't mounted the Nodiz ignition yet, my next project, but I have the carbs installed, working and rarin' to go.  OK, so it was not all that smooth as the first set of carbs didn't have the throttle position sensor (TPS for short), so I returned them and DanST sent me sent me pro gratis a different set of Mikuni's.  FYI, DanST has been great to work with as was Emerald3D with the trigger wheel items.  Do NOT use Brand's Hatch Performance.  I sent them over $300 in early Feb which they gladly accepted but have yet to respond to any of my subsequent emails.  That issue is going to PayPal for an ultimate resolution.  MOST disappointed in those shysters.

 

As you can see from the images, the carb installation was fairly straight forward and once I sorted out the fuel, coolant and throttle connections, the carbs worked right out of the box.  Most happy with the carbs other than having to cut up my hood (bonnet, whatever?). The Xflow is actually a fairly torquey engine and with the new / refurbished carbs, the throttle response is quite good with no stumbling, lagging or air flow starvation.  My Westy (Rufus, for those who need to know how I refer to the little SOB) did leave me stranded.  I went to my local gas station and as I was getting ready to pull in, a coolant hose let loose and sprayed me and the car with anti-freeze.  Not only that, but there was a semi that was blocking the entrance.  He finally moved allowing me to fill Rufus up and then pull into a spare parking space.  My go-to buddy showed up about 30 minutes later and I got a tow home, tail safely tucked between my legs.  I pulled into my garage, sorted out the coolant issue and ran a good half hour with the temperature nailed to 80 degrees C.  Most satisfied with the temp, the drive and (finally!) the weather.  All in all, a good day!

 

I've uploaded three files.  The w/out Weber's shows the engine compartment with the Webers removed.  I taped off the inlets as this was done after receiving the wrong set of bike carbs while awaiting the new set.  Getting items sent from across the pond can be (and usually is!) time consuming.  

The Rufus with the Mikunis shows the carbs installed.  A most pleasurable image that still gets my heart racing!  A truly gratifying image.

The Rufus "hole in the hood" shows the inevitable side effect of having four smallish carbs pointing up and out at an approximate 45 deg angle.  It was a bummer to have to hack up my nice, clean hood, but they would not have fit any other way.  If anyone has any suggestion to the contrary, I'm happy to entertain suggestions.  At any rate, it's a done deal and the only question remaining is the treatment of the hood itself.  I'm considering a scoop over the carbs but have not decided on the configuration yet so I'm open to any ideas.

 

Regards,  Greg

[slowdude]

Dave walker does a free remote session to help you get the car running. I highly recommend using him. There's a contact on the emerald website. Looking forward to this.

 

 

[MV8]

Like you said, what's done is done. You could remove the sausage filter assy and horns, then have a log air box made with a snorkel filter behind the head where there is more room or the oil filter moved. An integral hood scoop big enough for engine rocking clearance will seem huge, but a rigid, stainless screened cap over the sausage could be more durable/abrasion resistant with minimal restriction.

 

Ideally, bike carbs with horizontal throats/level bowls would be used, with machined spacers between them to match port spacing so the runner length can be straight and minimal (shorter than webers), so the sausage and horns would fit within the bonnet.

 

I noticed the radiator fins are bent blocking much airflow through the core. They can be straightened with tedious application of a small screw driver. Fwiw, not saying that is what happened, but never point a pressure washer at a radiator core.

Edited Thursday at 11:46 PM by MV8

[GLBaxter]

After I cut the opening in the hood, I kept the fiberglass pieces in case I wanted to replace them, but I discovered that there was only less than 1 inch between the original hood and the provided inlet horns which would have been very restrictive in any case, so it appears that the opening is in fact needed.  My plan is (I'm pretty good with fiberglass) is to make a hood bulge with the opening facing backwards and use the same "Pipercross" foam filter.  True, this is not an ideal situation, but I could not see another way to use the same carbs / inlet horns and the original hood.  I still have the original opening to glass over anyway, so I still have a lot of glassing to do regardless.  I'm fairly confident that once I've done all the glassing and fitted everything up, it will look fairly good.  One concern I do have is matching the required paint to the original gelcoat and the inevitable aging of the respray.  More pictures to follow.

W.R.T. the radiator fins, true, they need straightening which I can easily do with the radiator comb.  I have no idea how they got hammered, but that's an easy fix.

Thanks for the feedback.

[MV8]

I suggest covering the filter with a trash bag, tape rigid foam strips that will provide clearance for engine movement to prevent filter damage, hot glue the strips together and to the bonnet,  then use oil base clay to build up the edges and smooth the surface for the final surface, then wax and pull a mold overlapping the bonnet by a couple inches.

 

Pull the mold, then wax the inside to release. Add some gel coat (can be brushed, doesn't need to be sprayed) then lay in the glass using carefully measured, minimal mek for max working time. I use veterinary CC syringes for the mek and waxed painter mixing cups for the poly resin.

 

Trim the cured panel to glass it on. This is more work than just building it up on the car but the end result will have little to no filler and be much lighter.

[GLBaxter]

Actually MV8, I’ve taken a good hard second look at that whole airbox mechanism. I can make a different base plate, slide it down about an inch, basically remake the base plate and then squash the foam element, and I think it will all fit under the existing hood.

 As I said, I’m pretty good at fiberglass so I can restore the hood basically follow the same steps that you suggested above. Net result is the car will have proper filtration, and the hood will be restored to where it was originally plus it already had a hole due to the old Webber so that will get filled in as well.

I’m starting this next week and when I’m done, I promise I will send photos out for everybody’s comments, including yours.

Regards, Greg