Carb Idle Question

[billiard13]

I just bought a 69 Opel GT with a Weber carb on it. The car, when in park, idles at nearly 1500 rpms. When put into gear (auto-transmission) it drops considerably to around 1000 rpms.

My question is this...is it normal for one of these weber 32/36 carbs to idle so high? If I adjust the idle down while in park, it dies when in gear. The previous owner tells me the carb was rebuilt not 200 miles before I purchased the car.

Thanks for any help.

[mjewell]

i would check for a vacuum leak. that's what it sounds like to me. check by placing your hand over the throat of the carb (with the filter off) and see if it revs up some. don't get your hand too close, because the suction will pull your hand down on the carb and kill the engine. if it does rev up as you put your hand closer, that is a sign that there may be a vacuum leak. it may also mean that it is too rich.

another way to check for a vacuum leak is to spray carb cleaner or wd-40 around the base of the carb, as well as where the top and bottom mate (gaskets could be leaking). it will pick up 2 or 300 rpm if there is a leak.

could be a timing issue as well as rocker arms that need adjustment. i recommend a thorough tune up, including point and dwell adjustment, timing, valve lash, etc. if the problem persists, the carb may need another overhaul.

mike

[billiard13]

Thanks Mike, i'll check it out first thing tomorrow morning.

[tekenaar]

Originally posted by billiard13 I just bought a 69 Opel GT with a Weber carb on it. The car, when in park, idles at nearly 1500 rpms. When put into gear (auto-transmission) it drops considerably to around 1000 rpms. My question is this...is it normal for one of these weber 32/36 carbs to idle so high? If I adjust the idle down while in park, it dies when in gear. The previous owner tells me the carb was rebuilt not 200 miles before I purchased the car. Thanks for any help.

My '69 Kadett LS with 1.9 and A/T, identical mechanically to your GT, idles at 900 in Park/Neutral and at 650 in gear when warmed up. It now uses the original Solex setup, but I had it running at about the same RPMs with the 32/36 before. There is no reason why you shouldn't be able to get yours to idle there as well through a combination of throttle-stop, idle air and idle mixture adjustments.