Ystervark--that engine bay and truck is Awesome!
My Gawd that is a sanitary job you did there! I'd tell the Owner that if there is an online or other collector group for these trucks, he should join that group and post about it there, with pics! Jeepers, that is such a nice clean simple engine and engine bay! We here can only look on with fond nostalgia for one such as this. I bet Karl Britz will weep at the sight of this... Martin, you truly do awesome work, friend!
That air cleaner, duct and carb hat are very attractive on this engine, and super functional as well. I wanted to do something like this for my Weber on my Subie, but hood clearance is lacking. Congratulations on an outstanding looking job!!
Sounds like you hit another one outta the park! Loads of power, fat torque, great economy, and a clean smelling exhaust too...
I'm blushing with envy here.
Jetting- it sounds like it's already close. I mean with no cat. converter, and it smells clean. Is there moisture on your hand when cupped at the tailpipe at hot idle? IF it smells clean and it's moist, you are pretty spot on for idle. If you drive it on the road w/ the window down, and still never smell a stinky exhaust, even better. The reddish plug deposit, that might be a fuel related deposit. Were the plug tips clean when you cut and gapped them? My experience says to watch for white plug tips as a sign of lean ness. Especially to watch for tiny speckles of white/silver dots, that can be aluminum being burned off the piston tops. But, if it starts easy, never pings, has a smooth idle, and just wants to GO anytime you want. AND the exhaust always smells clean... I'd say you are There.
But, you can still try to play w/ the idle jetting some just to see. Maybe one step lean on Primary idle jet, minding Weber's recommendations for how many tuns out from closed for idler mix screw.. And Weber's recommendations for how many turns in after first contact for the idle speed screw. Webers are sensitive to the adjustments for idle speed and idle mixture screws. Now, I have no idea what jetting is all around for this Weber. As for my 32/36 DGEV, out of the box new, my Subie had incredible power, but it was pretty rich. Black plugs and smelly exhaust. I had to lean out virtually all the jetting. The other thing, is Weber strongly recommends one of their own fuel press. regulators, info here in USA says no more than 2-3 lbs/inch fuel press. As I said earlier, I used a generic cheap one from a parts store, but it eventually failed and leaked. I need to get a Weber one.
From what you say Martin, I think you are close. Careful tweaking, keeping record of each step, one thing at a time, and you can wring more economy from this sweet truck. You folks in SA may have better gas than we do here. I remember one brand of gas additive would cause reddish plug tips, don't remember which one it was, haven't used it in years anyhow. If it is a light brown/tan color, that is considered optimal here with a carburetor, but our gas is spiked w/ Ethanol, so plugs are usually close to white most times now. The fact that the test run results are so close on the original and the Weber, suggests the Weber may still be a little rich, but go slow with the jetting. Do you have a good source for jets there?
BTW, Martin, you have had at least 5 Groove Victories now, right?
I believe that makes you an Ace!
Tracy G