International Lancia Forums

Happy New Year everyone,
I have a 72 Fulvia 1600 with Solex carbs which are in need of refurbishment. I have been thinking of getting Dellorto DHLA 35mm which will fit on my original manifold. Anybody any experiance of the 35`s I am wondering if it may feel different as the Solex`s are 42mm. On another subject the original Corrello headlamp reflectors are getting a bit rust can they be re-plated or are the seled units.
Any help greatly appreciated
Adrian

The traditional reason for fitting DHLB 35s to 1600s was to make the car more "civilised" in town use.

This is based on a fallacy - there is nothing wrong with a 1600 on Solex 42s in town, provided that the engine is well-maintained and in proper tune. The 35s will detract from the performance. I have run 1600s in London traffic for 18 years without any such problems.

The problem is the poor quality of the Solex carburettors: very quickly they develop spindle wear which plays havoc with the idle , and in severe cases with pick-up too (the Solex relies on the idle jet to provide fuel for pickup). The spindles run in plain brass bushes, unlike Weber and Dell'Ortos which have small ball races.

Another problem with the 42s is that sometimes the spindles can become twisted making it practically impossible to balance a pair.

It is possible to correct these problems however, reasonably economically.

Best wishes

Paul

Hi Adrian,

If you do go for Dellortos could you let me know how you get on - I've read P de R Leclercq's reply to you posting and he's described exactly the sort of problems I've been wresting with on my brother's Fulvia for years - those Solexes are a real pain!

Many thanks,

Jim