190SL-solex PHH vs. Weber carburetors with Pierre Hedary

[@silverstarrestorations1633]

The cost to rebuild a pair of Solex carbs correctly new throttle shaft and bushings etc. is more like $ 5000.00 So for a daily driver 190 SL not a concourse car it makes sense to install a set of Webber's and put the Solex's in a box to stay with the car, it will be more reliable . We do this on most 190 SL "s you will have to re jet them but they work great . Think about it Ferrari ,Lamborghini ,Maserati Porsche and many others used Webbers's on street cars Now i know new ones are made in Spain not Italy but they work . Great Chanel Pierre keep up the good work ,lots of great info for old benz owners .

[@hu3rcgtx]

Pierre, thanks for yet another well-deserved scolding. Years ago I had a Porsche Speedster with a 356 normal engine with Solex carbs and they were a B#$%% to tune, alway leaky and smelly. Most mechanics at that time recommended replacement with Webers. Anyway, sold the car and next owner, a cousin, had them properly rebuilt (900$ in 1988). What a difference. I went through the same discussion with my 1974 Volvo which SU carbs - took years but finally found the right guy to rebuild them (then again, much simpler than Solex) instead of replacing with Webers,

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

that's great! I have had the same experience with these solexes- amateur rebuilds never went well but when you find someone who knows their stuff you get a fantastic result

[@atatexan]

My local MB tech also works with a guy restoring 190SL’s and 300SL’s. These guys also serve as a backstop for the MB Classic Center. I spent some glorious time last week in their shop looking at a 300SL and several 190 SL’s - and saw some Weber carbs ready for installation on a client’s car. My tech commented Weber’s of all stripes are now made in Spain and are uniformly rubbish requiring extensive and costly work just to make them operate! He agrees with you about the Solexes.

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

Webers are basically for 190Sl trailer queens...

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

I wonder if he knows anyone who is selling a decent driver-level gullwing (not a roadster)...I have a customer who is trying to find one

[@atatexan]

They do not know of any for sale. Do YOU have any customers interested in a one owner San Antonio-based 1985 300D? Silver with blue. Lady who bought it continued to have my father-in-law work on it after the warranty ran out. The dealership let him moonlight. Lady GAVE it to him!

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

tell me more...what are the miles, and the current cosmetic condition

[@atatexan]

I will send some pics and additional info to you by email.

[@charlesrockwell3923]

I used to run a chassis dyno business and had the world's most complete selection of Weber tuning bits. You are right in stating that the Solex carbs on the 190 SL are superior to the Webers. The Solex carbs are quite fussy to clean and rebuild which is a major reason to send them to somebody with a good track record for rebuilding and advice. You will unlikely be successful if you try it yourself as many of the passages need to be cleaned by drilling them out and then resealing the carburetor and that takes some practice and special chemicals. The rubber bits, washers, and braces used on the Soles installation are all necessary to prevent vibration from effecting the fuel mixture and keep the carbs in synch, so you want to keep all that original. The reason a set of new Weber carbs will not work as good as the Solex's is that many of these vibration/synch parts are discarded with the Weber kits. Another tragic flaw of any Weber DCOE installation is that the gasohol we use today attacks the zinc in the carb body producing white flakes of zinc oxide. These flakes get trapped in the long passageway to the idle jet and restricts the fuel flow while idling. You cannot remove these flakes simply with compressed air. You have to drill out the passageway and not drill it oversize. After you are done drilling, the problem will return quickly. The idle mixture will change unpredictably while driving and it is very frustrating to tune a car one day and have it come back needing the idle readjusted the next day. Good luck if you own a Lamborghini 350 GT with six of them. I have given up on the idea of using Weber DCOE's on street cars when I can avoid it for this reason.

[@JoePastorgomez]

To those that do not rebuild Solex's correctly " You are what the French call Les Incompetent "

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

So I am here in paris for retromobile this week...and i met up with the 190SL club of france....and yes....they do refer to them as such...I got a kick out of this after hearing it come from a french person.

[@jerrygomezjr601]

Hey joe Gomez are we related 🤣😂😂 jkjk

[@LilyoftheValeyrising]

When you said Solex, my mind went to James Bond films. Lol

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

wow....you know, it did not cross my mind until you mentioned it....shows how far under a rock I live

[@LilyoftheValeyrising]

Mercedes Classic with Pierre Hedary Yeah me too sometimes. I try to remember life is best lived in balance.

[@Franzino01]

What about an EFI and programmable ignition conversion? Seems like it would solve a lot of these problems you’re all discussing.

[@kenknight5003]

On my 76 280s someone put a Holley 450 cam, idled way too high then would die and drop the rpm too low when it warmed up... I spent two years trying to get it adjusted... it didn’t work, I tried to find a nice soles 4a1 which came stock on the 2.8 l m110 that is in my car.... it was failed, I couldn’t locate one, the ones I could find... were trashed.... I found a jam engineering conversion carb that was designed for this engine... what are your thoughts on jam engineering carbs for this engine?

[@rakeshwilliams7641]

your so right a weber can not meet a mikune is #1

[@nickolkz]

Do you know anyone in south of France can tune solex on 190sl?

[@nosoupforyou425]

Great vid

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

thank you

[@LilyoftheValeyrising]

I was wondering how the engine parts got their gold color. Is that a spray paint or brass parts? I’ve seen pictures of very beautiful restorations on classic Mercedes and I was wondering how they achieved that.

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

it's yellow zinc plating...no special machine needed but the ferrous parts are dipped in a zinc-ion rich bath, charged with very low voltage, and then voila- plating occurs. www.caswellplating.com/

[@LilyoftheValeyrising]

Mercedes Classic with Pierre Hedary Thank you. I’ve seen a few videos of that process on KZbin. I realized my question didn’t reflect that.

[@alexanderescarsega3016]

EPC is a life saver

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

too bad they just changed it..buy a hard copy on ebay

[@LilyoftheValeyrising]

Hi Pierre. I was researching K-jet stuff, specifically the handbook (which I did find) to go with a video on K-jet and I found this article on the Solex. I speed read a little of it, it mentions D-jet and K. I hope it’s not redundant or too modern. www.clubvw.org.au/oldart017

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

no, not at all. I think its a good article.

[@chrisgosselin6399]

You said put a chevy engine in a mercedes. I however am here because I'm putting an m180 in a chevy s10 soon to be badged 220s-10 lol.

[@reidwelch8419]

The world's worst design. My first car. a 1955 190SL serial numbered 727. Solexes. Missing the support strut. Both carbs were warped and had cracked across the throttle bodies. Not repairable. That was 1973. The dealership wanted $1,400 ea. for new carb bodies. I "repaired" them with epoxy. I had the shop manual and some brains. I did not at 19 have any money and eventually after investing about two grand in the car for new parts and I had paid $1,400 for the heap, I bailed out of it for $1800. Kids should avoid MB cars. Can you imagine? In 1974 you could buy a new old stock steering wheel for the car for about $100 from the MB dealer. You could get any part for the car. But the sucky Solex bodies were $1,400 ea.

[@shoulderthelion-film9895]

Do a comparison of Solex 4a1 to Weber then i'll have a lot to say (positives and negatives for both...).

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

i should a video on m110 carb conversions...great idea...

[@justinclark8523]

The 4a1 is a great carby when its running right .

[@kevinc917]

I've got 4a1 that leak when smoke tested and still run decent. The leaks are in the shafts. How do you correct this?

[@kevinc917]

Please do videos that show how to correct the problem. Not just send off to someone else

[@justinclark8523]

Heat warping is the enemy of the 4a1.