please help! i need to know whether it's worth replacing the stock carbie with a new one or to just put a re-work kit i it. you see it likes to blow a black coloured smoke from the exaust.

Hey

In this club there are alot of people with alot of different engines in their 1200's.
Different guys have different views on what the best engine is, or wether to turbo or suprcharge their car...

But I think that almost everyone in the group would agree that the stock hitachi carb in the 1200 is a pile of crap.

Go have a look in the tech section on the site there are some ideas for you there.

I think that most people will go out and find a 32/36 Weber carb (Holley 5200) found on lots of vehicles.

Just an adapter plate and some jetting adjustments (plus a few other little things) and you are away.

Hope you have fun doing what your going to do,

Hey try updating your profile so we can all see where you are located, then different guys from different places can help you out.

Have fun

SLAM1024

Quote:Yes, if you like to rev it up a lot, fitting a Weber 32/36 is definitely worth it.

Quote:What do you mean? The Hitachi carb has traveled more miles in Datsun 1200s than any other. No weber carb is going to give you better fuel economy than a Hitachi that's in good shape (if for no other reason than it limits the top end). These carbs often last hundreds of thousands of miles.

Sure, a new carb (any kind) will be better than a worn-out carb. That doesn't mean the Hitachi is a bad carb design.

So if you decide to keep the Hitachi, find out what's wrong with it before you buy a kit or a new carb. Usually a kit will fix it right, for little money. But if the power valve is bad and the throttle shafts are warn, then buying a new one might be a better way to go.

SLAM1024. aren't you the one with a GM carb in your datsun pickup?

SLAM1024
The Hitachi carb is an excelent design & performs its intended task admirably. As long as the carb is in good servicable condition, without excessive wear, & there is no dirt or water fouling things up, it will provide easy starting, smooth running, ample power & dazzling economy when used in it's INTENDED APPLICATION.

It's simple, yet advanced, two barrel, staged operation design is streets ahead of all that went before it, yet without reservation or qualification, you denigrate it.

Perhaps you could suggest another simple, low cost, mass produced design that provides all of the features that the original designers of the car, & engine, required in this range of cars that were marketed strongly on their thrift in operation. I believe that you will be hard pressed to offer up a suitable alternative.
Quote:

Dodgeman, you and I might be the only two here that like the Hitachi

I do see one problem with the Hitachi 306 -- it's not the first choice for a performance carburetor. Even Nissan went with SU-type Hitachis (sidedrafts) for the A12 GX engine.

Demon88, take a look at these articles in our tech section. It might help you decide:

Carb adjustment, troubleshooting, rebuild and inspection
Weber 32/36 Carburetor
Which Carburetor?

Oh, and the best choice if you got the big bucks: Fuel Injection. You can have your four throttles and economy too. Can't beat that sound!

There is nothing wrong with the hitachi carb , I even did the first couple of races with my 1200 with the stock Hitachi carb. You are not going to have a 100 HP motor with the carb but this is about as reasonable as trying to down a F-16 with a Piper Cub and a pistol.

Tom

ddgonzal
Like i said in my post, it is a really good design when used in it's INTENDED APPLICATION. When used for an application for which it was not designed, the results will be dissapointing in the same way as the fitting of twin Webbers to your lawnmower.
Good carb[s], wrong application, = appalling performance.

Our much loved Datsuns were sold in the lowest price bracket in the market & ECONOMY of operation was a BIG selling point & everything was built down to a price. The beauty of our cars is that they were all greater than the sum of their parts in style, performance, economy, reliability & durability. Thats why we love them. The performance potential, & rebuildability is a bonus.

The much maligned little Hitachi was a major contributing ellement to all of this, but to denigrate it because it will not perform well in an application that it was not designed for, displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the design, & it's intended application. If you want more performance, & economy is lower down the list bof priorities, then there are a number of other carbs for this application.

The two SU / Hitachi's were a simpler, lower cost design that had a proven performance record, & appearance. Everyone knows that twin SU's means performance, so it was also good for sales

I wonder how two of the little downdraught Hitachi's would go.