38/38 Surprise

[Dick R]

At the risk of being roundly flamed, I’m here to confess my sin.

 

I was considering replacing my 32/36 Weber with a 38/38.  The 32/36 was working fine and I was quite happy with it.  Certainly a big improvement over the single-barrel Solex.  I sought guidance from past FAQ postings but found that there was not much of a consensus on the topic.  Strongly held opinions, both pro and con were what I found.  I wanted to try it on my otherwise stock 71, but I didn’t want to fork over $400+ for an experiment that might only last an hour before concluding that it was not the way to go.  So, I went on Amazon and quickly discovered 38/38 clones made of pure chinesium for a fraction of what a genuine Weber costs.  I bought the cheapest one - which turned out to cost all of $78.   Yup, seventy-eight bucks.  Free delivery in about 12 hours.  This was my kind of experimental investment. 

 

Upon receiving the item, I was immediately impressed.  It was expertly packaged, looked very well made, and included all the hardware needed to work on 2002 or probably other vehicles as well.  I took it out of the box and quickly installed it without any difficulties. Plug and play. I didn’t mess with the jets, but just tried it as received.  The damn thing started right up first kick.  It needed a little mixture and idle adjustment, but that’s all before I hit the road. 

 

The result was shockingly good.  It did everything better than my old genuine Weber.  Started quicker hot or cold, idled smoother, more power, more responsive, revved willingly higher.  The only thing I found needing improvement was a slight hesitation when punched off closed throttle at higher RPM.  I easily remedied that with a couple of bigger Weber idle jets that I had lying around (which fit perfectly).  That eliminated that singular example of hesitation. 

 

So, what’s not to like here for a $78 investment?  No way I’m going back to the 32/36 and no way do I think that a genuine Weber 38/38 would be any better.   

 

One more point – since I only gave this a 50-50 chance of succeeding, I didn’t open up the intake manifold to fit the 38/38 better.  It’s still the same as it always was and runs just fine without any interference with the throttle plate.  I will most likely do that job sometime in the future, but for now I’m having too much fun with my $78 carb. 

[Blue-2002]

Well I for one commend you for trying this experiment! Do you happen to have pics and possibly a link for this magic chinesium 38/38? I have an old 32/36 with the old school coolant choke style system on my completely stock engine and reading your experiment makes me wanna try this on my ride just to see if I can squeeze a tiny bit more power out of my car.

[Dick R]

Amazon.com

WWW.AMAZON.COM

 

Here's the one I got.  You have to click on the 10% off coupon to get the right price.  When I got it, it was $88 with $10 off.  Still about the same.

 

[Dick R]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09QQ5SM51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I'm trying that link.  Didn't seem to work the first time.

[Son of Marty]

The problem with both the Spanish and Chinese Webers or clones is while you'll get some fine carbs there's no guaranty that the next one will work, while I've missed using the Chinese ones I've come across  some Spanish Webers  the seem to have skipped one or two steps in the manufacturing like having passages not drilled or not drilled through and have heard the same for Chinese ones. I'm glad yours worked out.  

['76mintgrün'02]

Now you can spend the money you saved on an AFR gauge! 

(I like the dial style, as opposed to flashing digits).

 

Or, I suppose you can save that money for ga$oline.   

[7502]

47 minutes ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

Or, I suppose you can save that money for ga$oline.

Tom beat me to my thought. Let us know your gas mileage if you can. 

Nice experiment. 

 

[kbmb02]

11 hours ago, Dick R said:

The result was shockingly good.  It did everything better than my old genuine Weber.  Started quicker hot or cold, idled smoother, more power, more responsive, revved willingly higher. 

 

11 hours ago, Dick R said:

No way I’m going back to the 32/36 and no way do I think that a genuine Weber 38/38 would be any better.   

 

I'm not sure I understand that conclusion; based on what? Reliability? Longevity? (And, comparing an old 32/36 to a new 38/38 is like comparing an old, worn, 12V 1/4" impact wrench to a new 20V 3/8" unit ... not exactly apples-to-apples.)

 

That said, I'm glad you had a good experience -> me, I'm a fan of the 38/38. -KB

 

Image below of knock-off carb - can you spot the manufacturing defect?

 

 

['76mintgrün'02]

46 minutes ago, kbmb02 said:

That said, I'm glad you had a good experience -> me, I'm a fan of the 38/38. -KB

 

Image below of knock-off carb - can you spot the manufacturing defect?

 

 

I assume you're referring to the main jet on the "primary side," but the auxiliary venturi on the "secondary side" doesn't look like a good fit either.  Do you call them primary and secondary on a synchronous carb?

 

 

[tech71]

No flamage from me but I'm a URO fanboy so what do I know.

14 hours ago, Dick R said:

At the risk of being roundly flamed

 

[Dick R]

A couple of answers to a couple of questions:

 

1.      Regarding gas mileage - I have no clue.  Never measured it during the 7+ years I’ve had the car and don’t really care about it either.  I usually only drive to local car events with maybe a once-a-year 200-mile round trip to the Woodley Park event near LA.   My opinion is that the MPG has likely degraded for two reasons – two larger synchronized barrels and one more active right foot. 

 

2.     As far as my stated opinion that I didn’t think a genuine Weber would be any better – it was intended to be nothing more than an expression of my opinion.  I value the many opinions expressed on FAQ for all kinds of topics.  Sometimes those opinions are 180 apart.  Even so, I have found them to be extremely helpful.  The knowledge generosity of FAQ participants is unbelievable.  All I was trying to do in this case was to report my experience and my opinions.  Especially because it was a big surprise to me.    

 

I’m happy to answer any questions if I can. 

[visionaut]

2 hours ago, kbmb02 said:

Image below of knock-off carb - can you spot the manufacturing defect?

Kinda missed the center big-time…

 

And there’s two missing brass bits here…

['76mintgrün'02]

1 hour ago, visionaut said:

there’s two missing brass bits here

 

They don't need those brass bits because that side isn't drilled for the accelerator pump.  It'd be a cool looking carb with pumps on both sides though.  I had a DFEV carb that had the pump on that side and I was tempted to tap the mounting holes and install it on my 32-36, but I sold the carb to a VW guy.  I did warn him about the insufficiently heated intake manifold, but he said his mechanic thought it'd be a good carb.  I didn't argue.

 

EDIT -- the second pump would have been just-for-show, not a working pump.

Edited September 15, 2023 by '76mintgrün'02

[TobyB]

Yeah, I have to admit to surfing the AllyExpress for all sorts of shiny induction stuffs.

 

I agree with Ken- it's a crapshoot.  Will you get crap?  Only one way to find out!

 

And it sounds like you did just fine.  Don't throw out the 32/36, but have fun with the 38/38!

 

t

 

[jimk]

1 hour ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

They don't need those brass bits because that side isn't drilled for the accelerator pump.

In my past life before EFI, the 38/38 that pump squirted into both barrels.  The 32/36 I had didn't.