The All New, New "What have you done to your Bay today" thread.

RUDE! Good job I didn’t see this before I set off!!!

 

Fired him up and took him on a post-carb-installation shakedown run up to the big smoke of Londinium... and got to spectate on two grown men wrestling a front beam off (with a big hammer) and 'gently nursing' a new one back on (with not so much big hammer action this time)

On a positive note, having filled up when leaving home, and again on leaving London - we seem to have managed in the region of 25mpg. So I haven't lost any 'economy' changing from the single Solex to the twin Dells. Good news.
Also, for the first time ever I touched 70mph on the M3. Not something I'm likely to do frequently (or ever again possibly) but it was good to know it's possible now the engine is being better fuelled - and we can certainly cruise happily at 60-65mph rather than 50-55mph now.
Temperature-wise, the additional cooling measures of adding a velocity ring to the fan housing and also converting the dog house to contain a Type 4 oil cooler rather than the standard Type 1, means that where 120 C was the norm on a long run, we didn't get passed 100 C today. A 20 degree reduction in oil temp is a win I reckon.

On the less positive side of things, the exhaust is still popping and backfiring at idle when the engine is warm - and we get a decent backfire through the exhaust when I switch the engine off.
Any ideas on what this means, whether it is a problem in the short / long term, and how to set about curing it would be much appreciated.
We will be available for backfiring demonstrations at Techenders from Thursday, so please feel free to bring stuff that might help. Please!

 

Ah okay, that's something I hadn't considered.
In all seriousness, is it doing any harm to the engine in the short term?
I had hoped to avoid going down the malpassi fuel regulator route, and so was still using my stock standard mechanical fuel pump - is there a simple solution? A lower pressure mechanical pump? ...or is it really time to think about fuel regulators? Pros and cons? And does the use of a pressure regulator mean that I need to upgrade to an elecric pump?
(and Thanks, although I really can't take any credit for the successes )

 

Largely depending on if there's a curry run on the saturday night

 

Ah so that's why it happens at idle and (presumably) not whilst I'm driving? Makes sense.
I guess I could acquire a malpassi and fit it at TE?
As for the fuel filling the engine case whilst parked, I've got a fuel cut off solenoid, so I'd hope that would avoid the issue (plus not having Webbers, which I think tend to be the guilty parties)
I believe Alex was going to test the pressure output of mechanical fuel pump and make a decision whether I needed the regulator or not. So either he tested and decided it didn't - or he forgot to test.
I guess fitting one would eliminate that variable relatively simply.

 

Thanks Mike, hopefully you will make it to techenders. A fuel pressure check would be most welcome… I think I might get the malpassi petrol king anyway as I should probably have one, and they’re not as big as I thought! Need to check my fuel hose sizes and maybe get some extra.

 

I think the eurocarb and VWH ones come with a bracket, some of the cheapest ones don’t advertise it if they do. It’s going to depend where I can get one now before techenders…. Patience is something I do strangely possess…. but with a field and a load of help awaiting, it seems too good an opportunity to miss!
Where is yours fixed, Paul?