RyanT67

As I understand it, the Holley regulator regulates by cutting off flow, and in doing so you lose volume. Your pump might be blasting out a healthy 60 gallons per hour, but after the regulator you might be getting only 30 GPH actually reaching the carbs. I'm making up these numbers mind you... But losing a good portion of flow isn't ideal all the same. I'm planning to switch to a bypass regulator next Spring. Ideal route will be: Fuel tank - Filter - Fuel pump - Filter - Carb - Carb - Carb - Fuel Pressure Gauge - Bypass Regulator - Tank This way the flow and pressure will remain absolutely constant at the carbs, and any excess pressure beyond 3.5psi will bleed off back into the tank. Seems like a more sensible solution. As to whether or not this is your issue though, couldn't say... Are you running one of those LOUD fuel pumps? If so, can you hear it well enough to discern whether or not it's running consistently? If it is cutting out intermittently - overheating or wiring issues - that could explain your problem. If you can't hear it well enough over your exhaust, you can maybe try recording it with your phone or something while driving.

That's awful news I made quite a few purchases of jets and rebuild kits from Todd over the past couple of years. I always enjoyed his gruff, old school style, "you're wasting my time with these stupid questions, kid" type responses to my questions, but he did always give me the help I needed. Great guy! Condolences to his family. Rest in peace, Todd.

Looks like you got some pretty great results! I am looking at buying the same thing for blasting my carbs and a few other parts - I was thinking about using baking soda instead of glass bead though. I'll probably try to build some sort of makeshift cabinet with cheap wood and sheets of plastic - keep things at least a little tidy

Have you tired calling? Some of these businesses aren't too big on the emails things, they are old school and too busy to bother with them. A phone call is harder to ignore. Whether the communication is lacking or not, their product quality is superb and well worth the effort. It took about a month for me to receive my door seals, but once installed they worked as they should, my doors closed properly and there is no slamming required.

Roger that, no point in cutting corners. I wonder what sort of difference an engine like that would see between carbs and stock injection - it being an 80's engine and BMW, I would imagine it's all pretty well engineered, so the carb set up would probably prove detrimental. Still, it certainly is simpler to just bolt on some carbs and go. If you change your mind, I plan on getting out to a few OZC events this summer, so it's not a problem to bring the pieces out with me. I think the guy I got my Mikunis from was running them on an old M3 he was racing. No idea what drove him to use such a setup. The jetting in the carbs was pretty much the exact same as what I run on my 3.0 L28.

Interesting project. If you went to carbs, would you need some form of intake manifold for them? I just so happen to have this laying around from a set of Mikuni 44's I bought off ebay. Not sure if it's correct for the specific engine you have though...

I know it sounds counter-intuitive to regulate after the carbs, it took me a little while to wrap my head around it when I first read up on it. As I understand it, it's about flow. Most fuel pressure regulators work by adjusting a screw that opens/closes flow through a valve. This works great for adjusting the fuel pressure, but it greatly restricts the flow of fuel. Now, I'm making up these numbers as an example, but if your pump is putting out 97 GPH at 7psi, then after a regulator set to 3.5 psi there might only be 40 GPH getting through. This backs fuel up and puts strain on the pump, and it means that there might not be enough flow to properly supply the carbs at WOT. By placing a bypass regulator after the carbs, the carbs will get the full 97 GPH flow of fuel, and any pressure beyond 3.5 psi will go off into the return line. You still get your fuel pressure regulated, but there will be more flow, and more fresh fuel, with less chance of pressure dropping at high throttle when you have your foot down. Regulate before or after, both ways work, but after works more effectively.

Still plugging away with this. Latest: Pilot: 60 (1.5 turns) Main air: 200 Main fuel: 140 Outer venturi: 34 Idle: 13.2 afr 3000rpm in 2nd (30mph): 13.4 afr WOT in 2nd: 11.5 afr Going to check my valvetrain tomorrow, and confirm a few other things while I am at it. Surprised I am still a little rich with 140's for main fuel. I have a set of 37 outer venturis I could use. What effect will switching to them have? Presumably more air, which might help with the richness issue?

Tank -> Fuel filter -> Fuel pump -> Fuel filter -> Carb -> Carb -> Carb -> Fuel pressure regulator -> Tank

Lots of people deadhead their fuel line at the carbs, no return line. The issue with doing so is that it means the carbs won't be getting cool fuel fresh from the tank, but instead fuel that has sat in the fuel line, backed up and warmed up. Also, most electric fuel pumps aren't happy with a dead headed system, as they will be overworking themselves trying to push fuel where it can't go. This could lead to premature pump failure, and will definitely lead to a noisy fuel pump. My Holley Red fuel pump makes a hellish noise, a very loud buzz that never goes away when driving - it wouldn't do so with a return line. Do it once, and do it right. When I eventually redo my fuel lines, I will plumb in a return and I will put in a bypass regulator after the carbs. This essentially means that the carbs will get constant pressure to them with no drops, and any excess will bleed off into the return line after the carbs. Much better way to do things.

The fit of that interior vinyl leaves a lot to be desired, and at $65k asking, wow! Beautiful car, and almost all of it looks perfect, but I don't think we're at $65k for these cars yet... maybe in another 10 years after the drift kids have thinned out the numbers a bit more.

Provided my car isn't being difficult, I hope to be able to make it down for at least the 17th and 18th. It's just shy of a 2000km drive, so about 18 hours of road time for the old girl, eclipsing my previous longest journey in her by 1700km. Must be said though, I am very thankful that gas prices have dropped as much as they have, hopefully it lasts through the summer!

Agree completely. I own the AEM unit, and have had it in the car since April without any issues. It's reliable, and it works. Worth paying the $25 more for a product of known quality.

Pretty cheap price at least. Maybe worth grabbing it and using a smart phone translator app like "word lens" with it.

Ah, didn't pay enough attention to notice that. I actually thought he was doing quite well to get that much for it though... Must be one of those sellers that genuinely thinks every dollar spent on the car adds up to the value it's worth.