Carb setup A310 V6

Hi

I'm wondering if anyone has instructions (in English) on the correct process for setting up the standard Solex carbs on an '83 A310 V6? I've got a French maintenance manual, but that doesn't help my non-French speaking French car mechanic....

At present, when cold, the engine settles briefly at fast idle, then the revs drop and the engine dies. When warm, when I come to a stop, the revs drop to stalling speed, but a dab of throttle before it dies, and it will idle from that point on.

Thanks.


(A couple of recent photos of the sole A310 V6 down here):





(Wellington, NZ)

[johnb]

I'm wondering if anyone has instructions (in English) on the correct process for setting up the standard Solex carbs on an '83 A310 V6? I've got a French maintenance manual, but that doesn't help my non-French speaking French car mechanic....

If you haven't already come across this on the web you might find it useful.

http://philippe.boursin.perso.sfr.fr/pdgcarb2.htm

Regarding the engine stalling at idle you could try increasing the idle speed slightly by adjusting the throttle stop screw on the single choke carburetor. This is the screw, item 19, under the heading 'Getting engine temperature'.

Nice car, nice wheels, by the way.

[johnb]

That's not a lot of help. When you open the link it's still in French.
My copy is a Google translate version in English. Try this:-

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... rmd%3Divns

Thanks, that's useful.

I do consider from time to time swapping these out for either Webers or a Holley setup, but I'm not sure if it worth the cost and effort. Anyone got any feedback on either alternative?

BTW, the Gotti wheels were refurbished by a guy just up the road from me who does 3 piece race wheels. They looked pretty sad from the cars regular use on Dutch winter roads, with pitting and some corrosion. I had a couple of inner rims replaced, and the outers polished up. Smartening them up made the interior look shabby, so that got done last year.

Hi there John
I've got two GTAs (2.9 litre) that have both been fitted with Weber DGAS carbs, as fitted to the V6 Ford Capri and others.
They come with either electric or water/bimetallic strip chokes. Mine both have the latter.
They are really easy to set up. Once you get the idling jet sorted as per the weber set up instructions, it is all straight forward from there. If you get the idling jet wrong you end up with a big flat spot as the transition port is exposed to early or too late.
Mine simply has the small carb hole blanked off, and the main one re-drilled and tapped to suit.
I've also got the standard air cleaner fitted on mine, with an American V8 Hot rod insert.
Let me know if you decide to go down this route and I can send you the info on how to do the set up.

[johnb]

Hi there John
I've got two GTAs (2.9 litre) that have both been fitted with Weber DGAS carbs, as fitted to the V6 Ford Capri and others.................

Let me know if you decide to go down this route and I can send you the info on how to do the set up.

Thanks for the contribution.
I'm not thinking of changing the standard Solex carburetors on my car yet. The reason being that I only finished the restoration of the car last April and have only driven about 600 miles since then. Up to now the carburetors have operated without problem but I'd like to see how the car performs long term before making a judgement . The only thing I want to try and improve is the transition zone when the twin choke carburetor opens. This needs smoothing to make the transition more gradual.

Thanks, that's useful.

I do consider from time to time swapping these out for either Webers or a Holley setup, but I'm not sure if it worth the cost and effort. Anyone got any feedback on either alternative?

Maybe the Weber DGAS information from purches graeme could be of interest to you.
There's also information, on the forum, about the Holley conversion. JL Engineering (ragnotti drift) can supply the complete kit.

Are the A310 carbs on your car the same as the Atmo? Solex 34TBIA and 35CEEI?
If so I have a comprehensive set up from the GTA manual...but it needs lots of tools and I found quite intimating at first read.
Looks like you need lots of patience as it talks about waiting 6 hours here and 3 hours there during the set-up sequence.
The section is about 14 pages and, unfortunately, the manual I have is glue bound so is unlikely to scan or copy well.
The link above looks to have a simplified and less intimidating procedure, so let us know how you get one...

I hadn't thought about a single double choke carb...that may be the way for me to go if the new project gets that far...

lee

that may be the way for me to go if the new project gets that far...

What's the project, do tell Lee...

[johnb]

Are the A310 carbs on your car the same as the Atmo? Solex 34TBIA and 35CEEI?

lee

Lee, I'll assume that you're asking both exocet and myself. Yes, they are the same as on the GTA atmo.

That link I found is virtually a copy of the carburetor section in the official Alpine MDR for the A310. So I used it with occasional Google translations of sections of my copy of the A310 MDR. I agree it looks complicated initially and that special tools are needed but I managed with basic tools. The only adjustments I made in the end were to the 34TBIA throttle stop screw and the idle mixture screws on both carburetors.

At present, when cold, the engine settles briefly at fast idle, then the revs drop and the engine dies.

H there ...

This suggests to me that there is something sticking with the automatic choke mechanism.
I don't know if you have done this, but I would remove the air filter cover, and see if :-
1. When cold, the choke butterfly is closed ie:- as horizontal as possible.
2. When warm, the choke butterfly moves to vertical.
However, there would be no harm in applying some machine light oil to all the spindles and pivots in the choke mechanism and the choke butterfly itself, but do the above observations first.

When warm, when I come to a stop, the revs drop to stalling speed, but a dab of throttle before it dies, and it will idle from that point on.

If I interpret the last part of this quote correctly, what you are saying is that having dabbed the throttle before it dies, the engine will return to normal idle every time the 310 comes to a stop for the rest of your journey without you having to dab the throttle each time.
If this is the case, then it shows that the actual idle adjustment is correct .... so I would not tamper with it.
I would be looking at, as mentioned above, sticky choke mechanism, also, I would have a look at the fuel cut off solenoid to see if it is a bit loose. This can cause engine stalling when returning to idle when the car stops. This solenoid screws into the back of the idle jet, so I would remove the jet and check to see if it is slightly blocked ..... have a very close look at the jet to see if it is absolutely clean.
As these solenoids seem to be able to work loose by themselves, what I have done is once it is back in place and tight (be careful not to over tighten as it has a very small threaded part when you consider the size of the solenoid} ..... I have drawn a line along the top of the solenoid with a magic marker so I can see at a glance if it has worked loose any time I remove the Air filter casing.
Also, it might be worth checking that all the vacuum pipes have no splits in them and they are all in place and have not become detached.
Let us know how you get on.

Thanks John. I'll report back next week, after the car's back from its service and (six monthly!) warrant of fitness (MOT).

Thanks for the assistance.

This info, combined with the mechanic's general understanding of things mechanically French, the car is now running very nicely. Doesn't die hot or cold, and the progression from the first single carb to the twin is now smoother than ever.

He'd even co-incidentally arranged for a GTA Turbo (ex Singapore) owner to bring his car in for its WoF on the same day. Two Alpines under the one roof!