Disguised Weber

[Australian 86]

Hey guys, Basically I'm pretty keen to get a weber on my car. The only issue is, is that it's not technically 100% legal here.
There is a little bit of a grey area, so i would like to minimise the risk of having a cop pull me over, check under the bonnet
and send me off for some sort of more thorough testing...

Whats the best way to keep a Weber'ed car incognito???


Thanks!

[RAZR]

Hey guys, Basically I'm pretty keen to get a weber on my car. The only issue is, is that it's not technically 100% legal here.
There is a little bit of a grey area, so i would like to minimise the risk of having a cop pull me over, check under the bonnet
and send me off for some sort of more thorough testing...

Whats the best way to keep a Weber'ed car incognito???


Thanks!

Try to mod the original carb intake to fit over it?
or put a big ass air cleaner.

[Dr_Snooz]

Keeping the stock air cleaner box over it is key. That will hide it the best. If you remove any hoses, don't leave the empty bulbs out where they can be seen. Disguise or remove them. Ditto with any old wires. Avoid using engine bling wherever possible. Don't have a purple anodized (sorry Lostforawhile!) throttle cable going to it or a shiny chrome adapter plate or anything that will draw attention. Use old parts wherever possible in the retrofit. Use old vacuum lines. Don't buy pretty new ones that will lead the eye to the new carb when the cop opens the hood. You want it all to be stock looking, even if you are using aftermarket parts. Don't court undue legal attention for the first few thousand miles, until there is a good layer of dirt on anything new you had to buy. You don't want a nice shiny new carb poking out from underneath the air cleaner. You want it all evenly stock, evenly aged and evenly dirty. If you tune it right, you can even get it through the notorious California smog check.

Beyond that, don't worry too much about it. Unless the cop is a super 3g junky, he won't know the difference.

[Australian 86]

I shouldn't have to worry about the Californian smog test too much... i dont think any of the Californian cops would
be able to catch me... unless their cars can drive over water. :D

Yeah here in Australia the laws are just plain DUMB! Everything has a grey area, so i will depend from cop to cop whether
you get fined for anything or not...

Luckily if i have any problems keeping it on the road, i believe that i can register it here under our "historic club car
registration", which until recently was shit, but now they've allowed people to drive their cars up to 90 days in a year
(1/4th of a year). With this sort of registration... pretty much anything safe, goes!

I have found some of the genuine redline accord kits on ebay going for under $400 including postage, so i think I'll get
my hands on one of them soon, and install it over the holidays when i don't need to be driving to work.
Honda Accord 1986-1989 Weber Carburetor Conversion kit | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Honda-Accord-1986-1989-Weber-Carburetor-Conversion-kit-/271030961811?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AAccord&hash=item3f1ab44693)

[Australian 86]

Hmmm, i think i won't go ahead with this idea unfortunately. I think i am investing too much in a car that was really only ever supposed
to be a first car... I'm not sure i can justify spending $500 on a car that i will move on at some point soon anyway...
Luckily I am still going ahead with my full respray, so that should breath a new life into it, and who knows, maybe I'll grow too attached
to the car and down the track whack a Weber on it later...
Thanks for your help anyway guys. I was sooooo close to going ahead and buying this, but i was talked out of it and reminded that there
are other even nicer cars out there.
Then again who knows...

[ghettogeddy]

there might be newer nicer looking cars but you will never find another more reliable car then the 3rd gen accord.

[Australian 86]

There certainly is truth in that. From what I have seen from this motor, it's bloody unbreakable...
Would having a weber on it change it's reliability at all? All I'm concerned about really is it's resale
after a weber. I dont think I could (down the track) find anyone to buy it after a weber is installed...

[2oodoor]

Weber 32/36 has been making Asian vehicles of the 80's more reliable since the 80's that is no BS. That was the fix all replacement carb back then.
This carb was used as oem standard on many European and US 4 and6 cyl engines in that same era.
One thing for sure is Ive never had any of my webers run the engine at uncontrolable high rpms at idle like the many factory carbs have done for people here! I don't get gas dumped in the oil pan either, both of those will shorten the life of the motor ehh?
And last but not least when I put a 38 dgas on a stock A20a1 5speed, it totally changed the car's sound, torque was off the chain, I could pull off in 3rd if I wanted to with no clutch abuse, I could cruise at 45 in 5th and never bog down, even accelerate some without downshifting. Mindblowing difference without even beating on it at all, if anything it allowed me to drive it more conservatively.

[Australian 86]

Damn it sounds so good... I just am concerned about the whole resale dealio...
How difficult is it to put the original carb back on the car after a weber conversion?

[Dr_Snooz]

You might be overthinking this. (I can say this because I overthink everything LOL.) You're selling a 27 year old car. Most 27 year old cars have rusted out bodies, shredded interiors and large pieces of the engine altered, missing or otherwise jury rigged. If you're selling a 27 year old car that runs (and passes smog in California), nobody's going to ask questions. It's assumed that it will have lots of issues. Selling a 27 year old car that has had a new, reliable part put in professionally to replace an old, tired, bad part is only gravy for just about anyone. Most used car buyers appreciate when an owner has spent money to correct a problem that came from the factory. It saves them having to do it.

Now if you are worried about numbers matching collector value, then just keep all the old parts in a box and wait for the day that the value is high enough to justify fixing the carb.

Before deciding to ditch the 3g, just go drive a few newer cars. Yes, they'll be faster, but they won't handle for anything. They'll feel wooden and sluggish. Then do the math. Figure out how much your payment will be and the increase in insurance and license. Then compare the cost of a Weber against that. You'll know what to do.

[Australian 86]

I get what you're getting at Snooz (I ALWAYS over think things). But here in Australia the economy of second hand cars is a little different...
Every time a car changes hands here you have to get a roadworthy, now these checks aren't to be taken lightly... They can fail you for even
a tiny spec of rust in any body panel. I Can't even imagine what they'd do if they saw an aftermarket part. When i was getting a roadworthy
i had to get new tires so i thought, hell upgrade the rims at the same time to a bigger size (14" to 16") the mechanic said i couldn't, it wouldn't
pass. I did it and it did, but they are just so scared to pass anything that's not 99% working because they can loose their license so easily,
hence why fully working car are worth so much here. (Our cost of labour is crazy expensive here and Melbourne is the 4th most expensive city
to live in).

ANYWAY

That's what I'm looking at. The possibility of selling my car in a year for $2k with standard carb, or drop 500 bucks and then never be able to sell
it without changing it back (more work)...

One other concern i have is that those Webers work on LHD cars... how difficult will it be to convert it?

[ecogabriel]

A more simple question would be if you have ANY issues that relate to the OE carb.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Otherwise, disguise it - Snooz posting nails it - You want an engine bay that looks unmodified.

EDIT: I believe the carbs down there did not come with as much as the paraphernalia of emission control stuff that the US market ones came with, so that may explain why they may run better (and longer) than the ones over here

[Australian 86]

Woah! If you had more emissions stuff than us... bloody hell! i have all the black tubes of doom and charcoal canisters and etc etc...
pretty sure it would be the same... The reason i would be switching to a Weber would be for the power, i guess a little more efficiency
wouldn't hurt either...