<VV> Re: carb adjustment

[GYoungwolf@aol.com]

Your adjustments could well be correct for both carbs. Sadly, whomever is 
making the new shafts for these apparently has some pretty loose specs. I have 
found a few shafts where you couldn't bend the tang on the lever far enough to 
get the proper clearance, and have found others that were so far off the other 
way that the throttle plates would not seat all the way in the bore. The slots 
for the throttle plates are cut at slightly different angles. Additionally, 
the factory manual settings are for new stock carbs. Once you change shafts and 
parts, you might have to do it by simply looking and measuring. The key is to 
ensure that the ported vacuum (horizontal) slot (inside) near the base of the 
carb outlet is covered completely by the throttle plate with the step cam 
disengaged and slightly visible from the bottom of the carb with the throttle 
lever on the second step of the cam. The manual setting you mention will ensure 
this if the shaft and cam are within specifications (and the new ones mostly 
are not). Also, the initial setting of 1.5 turns on the mixture needle is only a 
swag. You can do better on the initial setting by comparing your two mixture 
needles (there are at least 4 different designs with different lengths and 
tapers) to ensure they are still sharp. Then adjust the needles by looking at 
their penetration into the exit hole for the fuel. This will give you the least 
amount of adjusting once they are installed. This setting is only for a smooth 
idle, BTW. 

Just a final note - check to be sure that you don't have the throttle plates 
in upside down. They are tapered to fit, and normally are correct when the 
writing on them is visible from the bottom with the small cut out aligned with 
the verticle slot in the base.

Hope this helps.
Grant Young
The Carbmeister
When I put the first carb back together,
I followed the procedure described in the Tech Guide (and in the shop manual)
for adjusting the fast idle cam.  The procedure calls for a 0.078 in. gap
between the idle speed screw and the throttle lever (with the idle screw in
1&1/2 turns and the fast idle tang on the second highest step of the cam).  My
gap was somewhat less than 0.010 in. so I attempted to bend the throttle lever
tang to increase the gap to 0.078 in.  This resulted in a quite "distorted"
tang that appeared abnormal.  When I put the second carb together, I carefully
measured the gap without any bending.  It was 0.007 in.  When I checked an old
carb (with a normal-looking U-shaped tang), the gap was approx. 0.040 in.
Have I missed something or should the tang really be bent enough to increase
the gap distance to 0.078 in.?