Restoration of 1951 Vincent Rapide - Part 22 - Amal Pre-Monobloc Carburetors (Part 2)

[@RCASSIN]

My jet block was in there so tight I cracked the carb body getting it out. Excellent videos!

[@54macdog]

Loved the hairdryer moment! Modern mechanics are such softies.

[@TheMightyGarage]

54macdog haha! Yes, I had to steal one from my daughter :-)

[@54macdog]

Back in the day you'd have used a dirty rag, have had a ciggy in your mouth and a girlie calendar on the wall. Standards have slipped.

[@TheMightyGarage]

haha!!

[@tadpoles10]

All good stuff Mike 50/50 with the reassembly, easy or not ... Just enjoying a cup of tea & 'Hot Cross Bun' just training for next weekend .... atvb t ..

[@sc8487]

Do you have a video showing the float chamber assembly? How far down the pin should the float go. First attempt at helping my elderly dad get is Matchless G3 running. He took the carb apart but couldn't remember how to re-assemble!

[@TheMightyGarage]

Hi, the general rule of thumb is the middle groove/slot for the needle clip. And then if the bike is running too lean or too rich, you can adjust the needle.I hope this helps

[@sc8487]

@@TheMightyGarage Thank you, I'll give it a shot. I'd left it high, which meant fuel spouting out the ticker hole

[@Cobra427Veight]

Hi , i am new to Amal carbs ( pre-monoblock) , and mine was missing the air valve , i have since obtained one , my question is , the air valve and its spring, is it sprung on (down) all the time and the air lever via the cable pulls it up ( off) ? keeps it off . ? also are these cabs marked with their part number i:e 89B/1AK Cheers .

[@TheMightyGarage]

Hi, thanks for your note. You might start by screwing the air screw (with the spring around it) all the way into the carb until it just stops. I'd recommend turning the screw nice and carefully until you just feel it stop/hit. Then, turn the air screw out by 1 1/2 screws. I usually check where the screw slot is positioned when it's fully in and then unscrew it a 1/2 turn at a time. It's easy to keep track of where you are doing it this way. The 1.5 turns out is then typical setup and a good starting point for fine-tuning the carbs next. Yes, the carburetor, float bowls and all the jets should be stamped, so that you can check against the factory settings and then make fine-tuning adjustments from there. Best wishes, Mike

[@453421abcdefg12345]

You will probably need to bore them both out to the same bore, an easy thing to do on your lathe if you make a simple holding devise, I think the jet sizes now are completely different due to the fuel that is now available, I think it requires a few sizes up from what we think as "standard". Are these straight out of your ultrasonic cleaner, or did you bead blast them ?

[@swooshdave]

Englishman French Aren’t they both the same bore now?

[@TheMightyGarage]

Hi Chris & Dave, yes they are both the same thankfully. They are 1/8" larger than the standard Rapide (1-1/16) but at least they are the same. Chris, thanks for your point about jet sizes. I will look into that. It would be easy to change them both if needed. I carefully buffed the parts up a little after they came out of the ultrasonic cleaner. I wouldn't blast these with anything except the ultrasonic cleaner or just wash them. Cheers, Mike

[@453421abcdefg12345]

One thing you might consider is painting them as they were originally, the paint used on radio controlled model aeroplanes is the paint to use as it is Ethanol proof, I assume you have to buy the awful ethanol fuel where you live. This will keep the carbs from further corrosion.

[@TheMightyGarage]

Englishman French Thanks Chris. I may consider painting the carbs later on. Yes you can get non-ethanol gas/petrol here! There are quite a few gas stations locally that sell it. .