Carburetor
The Weber 32/36
Because the Holley 2280 that came with my Super Six intake just never seemed to run well we decided to try a Weber 32/36 2-barrel carburetor. The 32/36 is known as a 'progressive' carburetor because the secondary (36mm) barrel doesn't start to open until the primary (32mm) barrel is half-way open.
With this setup, you can cruise on just the 32mm primary barrel, but when you really lay into the throttle (like for passing), the secondary will open and you will get much more air-fuel delivery to the engine.
I got very lucky and found a 32/36 from a family friend and he sold it to me for $50. Turns out this is particular one is a genuine Italian Weber made sometime in the mid-80s before Weber moved their manufacturing to Spain. We bought a rebuild kit and I rebuilt the carburetor.
Our next issue was adapting the carburetor to the Super Six carburetor bolt pattern. Luckily, Jeep enthusiasts have been using these Webers for years and their carbureted AMC/Chrysler straight 6 engines use the same 2-barrel bolt pattern as the Holley 2280. Therefore it wasn't much trouble to track down a commonly available two piece aluminum adapter plate setup. With this adapter bolted to the intake and the Weber bolted on top we plumbed for fuel and connected the throttle. The engine sprang to life, in fact, it never ran better!
The oval chrome (Mustang 'Cobra' style) air cleaner I picked up somewhere along the way and I used a Weber/RedLine 5-1/8in air cleaner adapter to add a nice accent the long straight six.
I'm currently working on learning to tune the Weber carburetor, it has issues with stumbling and dying once the engine is warm, but overall it's a vast improvement over the original Carter BBS 1-barrel.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These Weber carburetors do not like the incoming fuel pressure to exceed 3 psi, this is well documented online but I learned it the hard way. The stock mechanical fuel pump puts out around 7 psi and will force fuel past the needle valve of the Weber. Use an electric fuel pump and/or pressure regulator. You can read about my electric fuel pump conversion in another article.
With this setup, you can cruise on just the 32mm primary barrel, but when you really lay into the throttle (like for passing), the secondary will open and you will get much more air-fuel delivery to the engine.
I got very lucky and found a 32/36 from a family friend and he sold it to me for $50. Turns out this is particular one is a genuine Italian Weber made sometime in the mid-80s before Weber moved their manufacturing to Spain. We bought a rebuild kit and I rebuilt the carburetor.
Our next issue was adapting the carburetor to the Super Six carburetor bolt pattern. Luckily, Jeep enthusiasts have been using these Webers for years and their carbureted AMC/Chrysler straight 6 engines use the same 2-barrel bolt pattern as the Holley 2280. Therefore it wasn't much trouble to track down a commonly available two piece aluminum adapter plate setup. With this adapter bolted to the intake and the Weber bolted on top we plumbed for fuel and connected the throttle. The engine sprang to life, in fact, it never ran better!
The oval chrome (Mustang 'Cobra' style) air cleaner I picked up somewhere along the way and I used a Weber/RedLine 5-1/8in air cleaner adapter to add a nice accent the long straight six.
I'm currently working on learning to tune the Weber carburetor, it has issues with stumbling and dying once the engine is warm, but overall it's a vast improvement over the original Carter BBS 1-barrel.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These Weber carburetors do not like the incoming fuel pressure to exceed 3 psi, this is well documented online but I learned it the hard way. The stock mechanical fuel pump puts out around 7 psi and will force fuel past the needle valve of the Weber. Use an electric fuel pump and/or pressure regulator. You can read about my electric fuel pump conversion in another article.