engine and drivetrain 1600 Owners - Question About Carb (Solex vs. Weber)

[jwcurry]

I have a question for any 1600/1602 owners out there.

Just picked up a pretty stock 1969 1600 with the long-neck diff, etc...

I'm thinking through my carb options. I'm a pretty big fan actually of the stock 1 bbl Solex. There's been some threads on the FAQ board with many of us expressing our appreciation for the original equipment. Works, works well and not bad acceleration.

However, while I think about the Solex I'm also pondering a 32/36 Weber.

I suppose my question is: would the Weber carbs sort of over dominate, supply too much fuel, shorten the lifespan, not work well etc... with the smaller engine?

Just tapping into the collective at this point in time....

Many thanks in advance,

Jerry

[bmw_jeff]

Jerry, just get the Solex "rebuilt" by a carb shop ($159 incl. the kit for me here in Cali, less for you I'd guess). Once I did that, the thing runs great and I could actually set my idle down around 850 and it still idles smooth. Before I could not go below 1000 without the engine being rough. The Solex works well and is set and forget basically, once it starts with a clean slate.

[rogerspeed]

the one barrel solex works well, the one-barrel weber seems to be problematic under high-load conditions, been told the float chamber simply isn't big enough. Had a 1600 with an adapted 32/36 (original one barrel manifold) ran very strong. Currently installing a 32/36 with a "peanut" manifold on a completely rebuilt 1600 motor with TI pistons (ex-Elftman) I'll report when done, expecting a great combination

[malagalaga]

Good to hear that there is some support of the Solex. My 1600 still has its original Solex (and motor), has about 150k on it, though I don't know when/if it has been rebuilt (assuming it has at some point).

My car idles too rough for me below 1,000 rpm (indicated... are tachs typically accurate on these?). I might look into a professional rebuild.

[ole1.6]

My '67 1600 came with a Weber strapped on and the solex carb and manifold in the trunk. I had to run the stock for the one and only time it needed to be smog checked. My opinion was the stock Solex was smoother and had nice power on the low end. I prefer the Weber for the lively response, full range, but especially between 60 and 80 mph.

[bmw_jeff]

Your motor may not have been rebuilt, it depends on how the prior owner(s) drove it. My PO shifted at 3k all the time and the block is still original with 165k on it, and no oil consumption or smoke. The head did get a rebuild/valve job around 125k though.

The tach on mine reads too low and I need to get it repaired, so yours may be off at that milage as well. I use my multimeter to check the RPM at the dizzy which is what you need to do to confirm the true RPM. I've had 3 1600's and none of them has been able to idle smoothly below 1000rpm unitl I had the carb rebuilt professionally on the 67, which got it down to 850 and smooth idle.

[Arshloch]

Single solex's all right as long the throttle shaft bushings are in good shape.

And yes, I noticed it does feel very torqy at lower rpm., great for driving around the city.

[golf73]

Jeff what shop did you send your carb to for rebuild?

[bmw_jeff]

Jeff what shop did you send your carb to for rebuild?

A local place here in Santa Clara, really nice guys. They located a rebuild kit (not easy, its NLA from BMW) and hot tanked/blasted it clean, plus bench flowed it etc. For $159 total. This is their site:

http://www.acefuelsystems.com/

[Slavs]

Go with original Solex. You loose much needed low end with the 32/36. Mileage also suffers with the 32/36. I get a consistent 22mpg with Solex while the 32/36 yields only 17-18mpg. Forget about the smaller 34ICH sigle barrel Weber since it is too small for these engines and power suffers severly.

Slavs