Race Engine Forum UK

Hello Guy, I'm going to go with your suggestion of replacing my 32 ADFA carb' with a 'PINTO' 32/36DGV with a manual choke on my 1977 Fiat 124 Spider (Californian Spec'). My current carb' has the water choke bypassed with no electric or manual choke control fitted, so wonder I'm having problems getting it started!

My questions are firstly, is the 32/36DGV a simple replacement that can use the existing linkages, pipes and spacer plate? And secondly, in your opinion is the manual choke any better than the electric choke?

Regards, Phil

P.S. I finally found your place on Saturday as I was going to say hello but I guess you were enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend!

Poor Phil,

so sorry, ignored on my site, turned up at GCRE to ask me a few things and ran straight into GC fine-tuning the Nix TC Lada and got no useful information there either!

Sorry PG but if I understand correctly you are not changing from the std carb for a while anyway..?

G

Hello Guy, well it was great to see the awesome TC Lada and get a ride too!

If I can't easily overcome the current choke problem then I will get a DGV soon, although if it's a simple swap that may influence my decision too. But having spoken to Webcon I believe it may not be that straightforward. Can you advise?

Maybe I can help because I know those both carb types well and I have seen and work with both types in Fiat TC engines in the past.

If we compare the differences between carbs:

- ADF series has a linkage wich pulls to the RIGHT while DGV pulls to the LEFT, just opposite. So your OE linkage is not going to work. Some DIY work is needed.

- ADF has a thicker baseplate than DGV and the lingage sits higher, if memory serves me right, it's vital to have some thick insulation spacer under the DGV carb in Fiat TC engine. Otherwise the DGV sits bit loo low and the linkage will foul the inlet manifold.

- Manual choke part is an easy task and so are the water lines, just block'em off.

- Fuel lines are also easy, and if you have a return line in ADF carb, you can block with DGV carb.

- DGV has a different top when compared to ADF so new air cleaner assembly is needed.

So definitely not a direct fit, but very doable.

-T

Many thanks Urbancamo, that's most useful. I may just go for the conversion now.
thank you, PumaPhil

I've finally fitted the 32/36 DGV. I had to get a deeper base plate because the studs were longer than required for this card and the unthreaded section of the studs were clear of the carb base. I could have used different studs but the deeper base was a simple solution and seems to work fine, plus it has the added bonus of providing greater thermal insulation.

I also used a linkage adaptor kit to cope with the requirement for a left pull. This has the advantage me being able to remove the ungainly throttle linkage from the cam covers.

Finally I fitted a manual choke which was very straightforward.

Many thanks Urbancamo, it turned out to be a relatively simple job thanks to your advice.

Good report Phil,

yes, thanks Tommi the Finn! I think I have to appoint him as my 'co-pilot' here!

G

I'm glad it turned out to be a simple project. Weber DGV is the most versatile carburettor there really is and maybe that's why it's the world's most popular replacement carburettor.

Any pics from the conversion?

T

Hello Urbancamo,

Apologies for my tardy reply but I ended up re-fitting the ADFA as I was having starting issues and I was trying to eliminate all possible causes. It turns out that somebody had fitted a new but incorrect distributor cap so the centre contact was almost 1 cm clear of the rotor arm! So once I got the correct cap I refitted the 32/36 DGV and it works as expected.
I've also finally gotten around to creating a post about my efforts to date on restoring my 124 here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3172

Thanks again Urbancamo for your sound advice on this issue.

Phil

Oh it must felt a very different car after distributor cap change...quess why I know that!

Thanks for your comment. Im glad you are happy with your DGV install. It seems to be very neat and simplistic install to Spider engine bay too.
In my opinion and based on my experience, Weber DGV is simply the best replacement carburettor there is.

T