[T3] T3 Weekend work (shocks and carbs - long)

["Petri O. Calderon Larjanko" <petri@unsw.edu.au>]

Hi,

Finally after a long time I was able to do some work on my notch.  I need to
renew registration on the car and needed to do something about changing the
shock absorbers that were shot.  I bought Monroe Gas shocks.

There was a thread not long ago about Monroes and the need to cut the metal
sleeves to make them fit.  It might be a difference of years because I did
not have to cut anything.  The shocks fit perfectly with no hassles.  The
only think I did notice was that the top screws for the rear go in at an
angle so if anybody is changing or adding shocks to a let model Type 3,
screw in the top screw first (for the rears) and then the bottom.

When I finished, I drove the car out of the garage to do the final torquing
of the wheels and bottom screws of the shocks, I noticed that the car could
not keep idle, it would just die.  After checking the usual stuff (i.e.
Making sure I did not pull a fuel hose or that none of the spark plug leads
was loose), I was at a loss.  I had not touched the motor, not even opened
the lid, when I was changing the shocks.

So, I proceeded to remove the air cleaner (oil bath) to make more room and
clean the carbs (original stock Solexes).  I turned the car on and realised
that the right (while facing the engine) carb was not splurting any petrol
(gas to most of you) to the venturi opening, whereas the left was.  I made
sure that the hoses were not clocked.  When I blew into the nozzle that goes
in to the carb to deliver petrol onto the holding chamber I realised that it
was blocked.  I opened the top of the carb and peered in: there was no
petrol in there, yet none could go in.  I then noticed a few small metal
pieces at the bottom of the chamber underneath the floater:
1. A thin metal rod about 2-3cm long
2. A small bearing
3. A cylindrical metal object that had a threaded hole in the inside (the
cylinder was about 5mm in diameter and about 7mm long).

I first thought that it was the shutoff valve that the floater presses to
stop the flow of petrol, but it wasn't that because the mechanism was intact
and attached to the top cover that I removed from the carb.

I looked in all the books and found no mention int he diagrams for these
parts.  So, I HAD to open the other carb.  It had none of the pieces except
for the metal rod (#1 above), just lying on the bottom of the chamber.

What I think happened:
- The last person to work on the carbs added some pieces to "change" the
volume, etc of the petrol in the chamber.
- When I was changing the shocks, the pieces moved and they landed under the
floater causing it to press against the cut off valve.

What did I do?:
I left the metal rod only, just as the other carb, and kept the other pieces
safe.

Did it work?:
Yes, it is now running as before, close to perfect considering that the
carbs need an overhaul.

Questions:
Are these parts from the carb?
If not, why would anyone add these pieces instead of controling the mixture
and idle? sounds stupid to me.

Regards,

-- 
Petri

'71 Notch

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