Single carb or stick with two?

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Hi all
Im in the process of rebuilding my aq140a with twin solex side draft carbs. I was thinking of swaping em out for a single carb. The idea of balancing two carbs sounds finicky. Is this a worth wile idea or should I grow a pair and stick with what I have? Will a single carb cost me any horsepower?
Thanks for any input
Julian
 

diesel1960

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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

Yes ,will cost few HP but also you consume more fuel.
Adjusting two carburetors is not difficult , I have AQ 170 with three carbs. and still have adjusted with no problem.
 
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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

@bubba: I was thinking a carb and intake from
a aq125 or 120 since both motors share the same head. Im guessing that any four cylinder AQ series intake would fit. They pop up on CL and ebay every so often and they dont seem to be too expensive.
Once I get them adjusted, I shouldnt have to mess with them again, right?
 

diesel1960

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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

AQ125,AQ125,AQ140 are Volvo B21 ,AQ115 ,AQ130 , are Volvo B20.
Years ago, I had to upgrade from one to two carbs.
Why you wanna downgrade ?
 
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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

I never thought of it as a downgrade, but I guess it would be if I used too small of a carb. I was thinking more along the lines of the holly conversion that uses a single two barrel carb.
Are the singles that are on a AQ125 smaller?
 

diesel1960

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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

Those are VOLVO PENTA SOLEX 44PA1 CARBURETORS ,in use for many models of engines,whether single ,double or three ,it is same carburetor.
 

russ5348

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volvo 151 b engine

volvo 151 b engine

I have a 1987 Volvo 151b engine I tried going from dual solex carbs to a single. It did now work well. It created a loss of power and loss of wot of about 500 rpms.
I am going back to the duals. when I took the carbs off of the manifold the rear carb had a bracket that holds something called a fuel enhancement device, but this device is missing. This bracket fits between the carb and the manifold and has a small area of the opening blocked. It is unlikely that I can find the device and a new fuel line that has the nipple that takes a plastic tube from the device. My questions are
1.what does this fuel enhancement device do and is it available

2.Is the replacement fuel line available

3. should I just leave the bracket off and run the dual set up without the device.

Thanks
 

russ5348

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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

I did what you are thinking of doing. to try and cure the rough idle and cold temp start up problems

1. It did not cure any of the above.

2.my time to get on plane increased dramatically

3. my rpm at wot went down by 500 rpms.

4. I am currently going back to the duals as I could not find any way to upgrade to a more modern single dual barrel carb with out either getting a new manifold or getting an adaptor plate made to fit either a holly or Rochester carb

hope this helps
 
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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

Thanks for everyones input on this one. It seems like the overall consensus is it is possible, but not worth the time/ money/ loss of power and performance.
Bummer.
Time to order that uni sync and have some fun!
Thanks again
Julian
 

diesel1960

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Re: Single carb or stick with two?

russ5348 , never seen "fuel enhancement device " on dual Solex 44PA1 ,used dual carbs for years ,now have 6cyl with three carbs ,idling was very good ,you have to adjust them properly with uni sync and empty coffee container attachment.
When come to cold start , few squirts of fuel ,using throttle work just fine.
If you need fuel line for two carburetors,I have one and can sell with ebay.
 

malibu2300

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I have a single solex carbs and have figured out the issue with cold starting , I take masking tape and wrap it around the spark screen on the carb , they both start up right away now , after they have run for like 30 sec or longer depends how cold it is I remove the masking tape and let them warm up
 
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