Rebuilding SU's

[dburgessc]

Got a quick question for anyone who has rebuilt SU carbs. Does anyone sell the bushings for the throttle rod that runs through these carbs and is notorious for leaking air into the carb affecting mixture? I know ZTherapy replaces these bushings with a sealed roller bearing when they rebuild a SU but I was hoping that maybe someone has replaced these stock replacement bushings and could provide me with a little insight. Thanks, Don.

[AWC]

I just sent my roadster carb bodies off to Keith Williams in Las Vegas. He machines the throttle shafts down a little bit and adds new, brass bushings and plastic o-rings to fit in the gap. His price is very reasonable. It takes some fine machining which is why most people don't do it themselves. I'm doing the rest of the carburetor rebuild myself.

I was under the impression that this feature of the SUs had been fixed when they started making the Z-cars.

[dogma420]

it was 'fixed'...they are plated with chrome (after being plated with Brass) while the British Sus are plated with Brass.

But after 30 years of movement, they are bound to wear out. nothing in that position would last forever. The coating just wears away...

check out http://www.ztherapy.com/ they explain it very well.

[Ed]

Got a quick question for anyone who has rebuilt SU carbs. Does anyone sell the bushings for the throttle rod that runs through these carbs and is notorious for leaking air into the carb affecting mixture? I know ZTherapy replaces these bushings with a sealed roller bearing when they rebuild a SU but I was hoping that maybe someone has replaced these stock replacement bushings and could provide me with a little insight. Thanks, Don.

Don, I was in the same boat several years ago when I was rebuilding my SU's. I couldn't find replacement bushings or the shaft. I got a lot of they don't make those anymore. So I went to a couple of machine shops to see about having larger bushings made and machining the shaft. Think about it. In 20 years you will be doing it again because it would wear out again. So I thought about using some bearings. Try finding those. At the end of my quest I ended up going with the rebuilt bodies from Ztherapy. Sealed bearings & stainless shaft you can't beat it. Everything else I rebuilt myself.

Ed