Weber carbs - how much should I pay?

[stephenpolhill]

HI, as the title says... A colleague of mine has offered me a Weber carb that fits straight onto the A-Series. He said I could have it, fit it and give him a sensible offer if it works ok.
Could anyone tell me how much I should offer him?
Many thanks,
Stephen

[PSL184]

50p. It will be rubbish....

[bmcecosse]

Nothing - it's not going to be suitable for your otherwise standard engine.

[RobThomas]

Buying them is quite cheap but the cost of making it work is high. Expect to spend maybe £40 on a rebuild kit and at least the same again to get the tuning in the right general direction. Next you'll need a new distributor without a vac unit to get, again, in the right area. Now it needs to be properly tuned.
Great on a tuned-up preformance engine but not much use on a standard motor.

Otherwise, I'd say max £50 if it is a DCOE and has all of the parts on with a manifold, too.

[stephenpolhill]

Oh.....bugger.
So its not as easy as fit it and get it tuned (I do know someone with a rolling road).?

[MarkyB]

I do know someone with a rolling road

<jealous> There isn't anything you can bolt straight onto an A series engine that will make a big difference to the performance long term ( Thinks Nitrous = short term)
Get the "good book" ( Vizard ). Once you've read it you will have a good idea of the things that can be done to improve your engine.
If your mate has a milling machine and a knowledge of Mini tuning you are a very lucky b b b person.

Bear in mind that you don't actually want the maximum power from the engine, you want something that you can actually use every day.

[simmitc]

The best carb for a standard road use Minor is the SU that the factory fitted.

[DAVE LOVELL]

There are a number of different Webers..............if it's a downdraught type complete with manifold or adapter plate,it might work as there were a number of kits available to replace rubbish carbs from other manufacturers..the seventies Ford carb in particular which had the jets drilled straight into the alloy...........worn out after 10,000 miles.Strombergs and the V.W. carbs were also often replaced.
The sidedraught Weber carbs were for performance,and were originally on racing engines and Italian go-faster stuff.
Were you to fit a 40 or 45 DCOE you'd gain nowt.You'd need to fit a whole lot of other stuff.As suggested above,read David Vizard's 'Bible',or Keith Calver's 'How to keep your Mini on the road'.Both are excellent.
So..............don't bother.
Sorry to disappoint...........