Cores & Rebuild Kits
Core definition, evaluation, restoration process, and rebuild kit reference.
Cores: Definition And Evaluation
Cores: definition and evaluation
the prices quoted reflect the cost of a basic restoration only, whether we are talking about carburetors or distributors. This is not the price to buy the device, but restoration, including a certain number of parts and a certain amount of labor and service.
For the Solex 40PII-4 core charge, contact us for current pricing single barrel carbs will vary
Originals of these devices are no longer being produced, so we rely on the cores for the parts to either restore client carbs, or to replace "swapped" cores. If cores are not supplied, we have to buy those carburetors for the restoration.
There are certain pieces that we are either having made, or make in house, like shafts, pump links, pump rods, aluminum washers, springs, certain nuts, etc.. Everything else has to come from the core carburetors, sometimes requiring repair, like worn throttle levers or thread repair on bodies. We of course purchase kit parts and needle valves.
And that is why we ask for matching cores. Your cores let us make a set of carbs for someone else. We reserve the right to refuse a set of cores for restoration depending on their condition - we've seen some awful carburetors that have been burnt to a crisp that the client swore were "complete".
When we evaluate your carburetors for restoration, we look at all aspects of the carburetor. In what condition are your throttle levers. Are all the lockwashers there. Are all the top screws correct - do some have to be supplied, replaced, and do we need to do thread repair on the body so it will hold the replacement correct screw. Are the emulsion tubes there. What condition are the jets and what sizes are they. any plugs missing or loose. what is the condition of the top, has the air filter worn through. what about the fuel inlet threads. what is the overall condition of the casting itself. There are over 200 individual pieces with each set of carburetors and they all have to be evaluated.
It may seem like we're nit-picking, but when you get your carbs back they will be complete. And if we have had to supply lock washers, do body repairs, re-place incorrect jets, repair a damaged pump link, all this takes time, and the parts have to be supplied from somewhere!
Our price is based on the cost for restoration and does not include the basic core carburetors and its assorted hardware / parts.
What is included in your restoration is the complete disassembly of your carburetors, along with this evaluation. As much as it is done to give you quote for the work, it is so we know what parts we need to supply, what repairs we need to make. The carburetors and all the related hardware are cleaned. Brass is cleaned chemically. Steel hardware is media blasted to remove rust, dirt, and old plating and will be sent out for replating. Pot metal is cleaned chemically as well as media blasted to remove stains. All the interior channels are cleared. Top and bottom mating surfaces are flattened. screw heads and jets are ground to remove screw driver splinters, threads are chased, jets are sized to be sure all the openings are evenly matched, on Solex we add new throttle bushings, rebore throats, cut new butterflies (assembled with new pump cam, and new shafts), and all is installed and assembled with new kits. then injection, float levels are set, and air flow is synchronized.
With the split shaft conversion we are also including the new bushings, shaft, pump cam and spring, pump rod, springs, nuts.
We no longer restore Zenith carburetors ourselves; for Zenith 32 NDIX work we refer clients to Nick Warriner of 356 Racing.
As always, please call us with any questions or concerns
Thank you for letting 356 Carburetor Rescue help you make your car run better!
Rebuild Kits
356 Carburetor Rescue Rebuild Kits
An often neglected practice, rebuilds of your carburetors should be considered as much of a necessary maintenance chore as oil changes. While gaskets are good, and will last many years, they dry out and lose their effectiveness if your car is off the road for a length of time. The little o-rings on your pump jets or around the jet cover of your Zenith have the same problem.
Keeping your carburetors clean and the gaskets refreshed will help you identify problems before they become major. Fuel leaks are especially dangerous as they equal FIRE!
BY THE WAY, when that jet cover starts to leak DO NOT just tighten it down a bit more. This serves to pull out the bolt threads, an expensive repair, and ultimately bends the jet cover causing it to leak even more.
We are offering our own Rebuild kits specific for Porsches. While the Walker kits and the Royze kits have been the only choice for many years, they are generic kits, designed to cover ALL Solex and Zenith carburetor useages.
Using the same products we use in our Restoration work, our rebuild kits will be specific for Porsches only. They will include good European made needle valves. Gaskets are both European and American made.
Some specific notes in reference to our kits:
With the exception of the banjo bolts, we do not use fiber washers. We find them to prone to disintegration with modern fuels, and/or cracking as they dry out. Depending on where and how they have been used, we've seen parts end up in the fuel system. So we use copper or aluminum. Some of our aluminum gaskets are custom made for our purpose. If you prefer a fiber gasket for a specific part, please let us know, we may have them.
accelerator pumps in Zenith. The leather skirt on these pumps needs to swell, as it absorbs gasoline, so it sits in the pump well properly. The new pumps use a different leather than the original, and it is made in a different way. Sometimes there is a bit of a lip on the skirt that might need to be sanded off. This is a trial and error process, one we do with our own restorations.
Volume control screws for Solex. These are made on a special swiss screw machine (solid shaft). The phenolic ones are now NLA, the ones we have made are brass. Split shaft have different screws than solids. So none are in the rebuild kits. If you need replacements, we do have them available.
Questions about cores or rebuild kits?
Contact us for availability, pricing, and core evaluation.