ok i just had the 34 pict on the roadster rebuilt and the carby guy said the air return tubes on the manifold must be blocked as the carby is really cold even at normal operating temp. now this is causing me dramas in tuning as tuned right the car runs great but in early morning driving in winter ie now the cold weather never allows the car to idle properly and as i drive to work at 6 in the morning it is a pita as it stalls any time at idle. the carby guy said i could do a mod where u wrap a wire around the manifold below the carby to heat the manifold. Can anyone out there give detailed instructions on how to do this ( a diagram would be helpful) please help please please am desperate to get car running smoothly

there is a devive you can buy that is a heater you wrap around the manifold that adds heat.
I have heard mixed reponses about hese. IMDU or something they are called.
As an electrician i cant really see how that much heat would do any thing.

You are better off getting a good 2nd hand manifold and cleaning out the tubes and replacing what you have.

Do you have a stock exhaust???
If you have an after market header it will never work properly as the heat riser take off are all wrong.
Really only works properly on a stock exhaust

I have done this and it works very well , but you need to make a housing * block for the * finger heater to fit *This I clamped to inlet manifold worked a treat.

I just wired it to a switch on the dash , turn it on when you wish to .

You need the block or the heater will just get too hot and shit its self , so I got real smart and fitted a simastat * the bit were you would ajust the heat seting* from an old oven .this was found on the side of the road .I made a box with the dial , so I could then ajust the heat .

the one I use is from a company called RS components ,it was around $50.00

you would be better off investing your money in a new mainfold.

Check out Rob and Daves VW pages for the procedure to clean the blocked manifold tube (also lots of other good stuff!!).

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Lane/1970/

Have you got the pipe that brings warm air into the air cleaner? That will also be a big help in cold weather.

My Son runs a Holley Bugspray with a different manifold and He has BIG problems during our -3C etc mornings and nights.
Sometimes the carby just freezes up altogether....

Where do You get these heaters from Neil ??

Where are RS components located??

Most used manifolds I see are either blocked or cut off ....

Lee --

um cheers guys i actually have a spare manifold lying about ,although it looks like it will require some serious cleaning and now i can see why this blockage would be a problem. cheers david

rs components are in all states , I get you the number if you like , neil

My poor little buggy was giving me trouble last winter one morning. I stopped to see if everything looked OK and found the botton inch of the carbie covered in ice.

Took off the manifold to clean it and guess what? Clean. Since I don't drive in winter much I put up with it and it only seems to effect the idle anyway so it's not a big problem.

I'm not sure that a heater below the carbie is a good idea though. How hot does it get when it's turned on?

It has to pretty darn hot to warm up the fuel before it freezes up the carby.... also the warm air from below the engine should be hooked to the air cleaner in the winter to feed it warm air...

Neil,
Yes, Let Me know where RS components are in NSW...
My Son needs one urgently... I'll have to make up a rheostat to adjust it.... or just use some resistance... if they don't last when connected all the time...

Lee

Lee I have found a 240 volt one in the shed , all you need is a very long extension lead !:thumb

Knowing My Son, He would probably run over the lead Neil ???
so that wouldn't work...

Lee

well, on the 'exit' side (the left?) you could use a gasket with a smaller hole in it to reduce the pressure on that side perhaps?