I have a 51 IDA Weber and I need to enlargen the fuel bowl area. I will be running E85 through it right now and down the road i will be running pure methanol (alcohol) through it. I am unsure how much I will need to add to the fuel bowl and what will the effects be of over enlargening it? Does this effect on how I set the float height? or anything else?



One other thing. I thought about swapping to the larger factory 55 dco (side draft) weber, but I am unsure of how to make that bowl larger. I don't really see how it could be done on a side draft Weber. Maybe adding a separate reservoir off the side of the block above the Webers and letting it gravity feed into the bowl with large fuel line?



Ant help here would be great!

If it is a 51 conversion of a 48, then the extra accelerator pump well probably has been cut open to add volume. So if that has not been done, drill through the well at the bottom and notch the top so it can not seal against the bowl cover. Then the grey area...........I have seen Holley bowls grafted onto Weber bowls using epoxy. Ran fine, didn't leak. The object is that Methanol has 30% fewer BTUs per pound than does gasoline. So, for any situation you will need about 30% more fuel flow to produce the same power. You know from mods used to flow more gasoline that delivery rates are already a problem for Webers mounted on rotaries. This is caused by the limited needle and seat sizes available. Check with Mazda Trix for Gross Jet or similar, and, or, swap what you have for a Berg about a 55MM should do. You do not need the extra airflow but the fuel flow. Not good for street driving, and tends to collect water from the air. But great octane ratings. Good for turbocharged and supercharged engines.

It also absorbs much more heat, so if inlet heat or general engine temps have been a problem, you should see a bit less heat.



Call Berg and Mazda Trix about this. They have the data. Or check the web sites.



Lynn E. Hanover

I was hoping you would chime in, thanks as always.



But what about added fuel bowl for a sidedraft Weber such as the 55 DCO? Weber makes a 55 DCO that I can buy new for half the price of the Gene Berg.Making the fuel bowl larger dosnt seem possible, but would adding a separate reservoir off the side of the block above the Webers and letting it gravity feed into the bowl with large fuel line work as I stated in my first post?

If your suggestion includes another needle and seat to control the fuel from the additional bowl, then it would probably work. The advantage of the Gross jet was that it could hold back high fuel pressure, and, when opened flow twice what the Weber needle and seat could flow. So if a higher delivery rate is all that is needed, then the Gross jet and more fuel pressure does it all with no more building. The tall narrow bowl of the IDA wins over the short wide bowl of the DCOE. Although when sized for the airflow the side draft does a fair job. Just less happy with latteral "G"

loads.



Lynn E. Hanover

this is probably not going to actually work, but the SU's on my Tr3 have an external float bowl, with its own needle and seat. it feeds the carb with a banjo, so you COULD feed the weber with it, but its uselessly small

I would love to use those 55 side drafts. But I am pretty sure, even on regular pump gas, the bowl isnt large enough for a large PP...



Well, I still have my 51ida's which are fun too.