Well one of the jobs almost ticked off during lock-down is fitting a pair of 45 DHLA Dellortos to my 1600HF.
A bit of background. I restored my 1600HF in 2006 in time to go to Turin for the centeneary. My engine is non-standard, with a big valve ported head, Holbay cams, CPS 11.1 CR Pistons, and group 4 exhaust manifold. I also run an oil cooler and luminition ignition. As some may know I am a fan of the Solex 42's when properly set up, and these match the engine quite well.
As this is our "fun" Lancia I always thought a larger set of carbs would be an interesting experiment. I had acquired a pair of 45 DHLA's some 10 years ago off ebay ostensibly previously fitted to 2000 Pinto Ford. I cleaned them, noted the jetting etc and put them on the list of jobs for this car.
Just before lockdown I was lucky enough to find (at a cost) an unused works manifold for these carbs, so finally I could get round to the project to fit them.
First was to get the carbs in the right ball park re jetting etc. Asking around I ended up with:
Chokes 38, Main Jets 158, Idle jet 60, Emulsion tube 7772.6, Air correction jet 170, 10g floats set at 17mm from top of float lid (inc gasket), viton tipped needle valves
I would be very interested in anyone with 45 DHLA's fitted to their 1600 Fulvia who can share the specification and experiencesI got these parts from
https://carburatori-italia.it/en/The manifold actually turned out not to be plug and play needing all the engine side mounting holes relieved to allow nuts to go on with a minimal spanner clearance (1/12turn at a time), and even then I had to resort to using 12AF/M8 nuts on the underside as there was no room for 13 mm. I also had to port match on the engine side as my cylinder head had been ported. On the carb side everything lined up - unlike some of the manifolds out there. Next was to create clearance for the throttle lever and also the distributor, and re-route the servo vacuum pipe.
I intended to use "Misab" carb joints and "cosworth" and Thakwray flexi washers so need to make up a carb support plate and strap (to one of the engine mount bolts).
One of the biggest challenges was the alternator. I wanted to retain the OEM Ducellier if at all possible. I filed the slot deeper on the adjuster bracket and found after a bit of trial and error a 740x10 v belt gave me the ability to set the alternator below the front carb (a 735 belt was too short and 750 belt loo long).
I needed to reroute the fuel pipes and make a fuel return from an old solex part, set the fuel pressure to 3psi, and move the radiator as far forward as it would go (which entailed making a shorter top strap). The throttle/balance connection was another story as I could only deduce I had to make something as standard parts were made for an Alfa throttle system not a Fulvia.
On first switch on (no cranking) the fuel pump (silver top FACET with Filter King regulator filter) continued to pump fuel and this poured out of all 4 carb venturi. A bit of a panic..... and a bit of head scratching. I had originally set the float level to 14mm on advice of of the Italian Carb company. I did know the 10 gm floats are supposed to be et at 17mm from online sources so I whipped off the floats and reset their heights to 17mm and this time no fuel poured out.
Amazingly (without choke - still to be fitted if I need too) the engine fired and soon I was able to get a smooth idle of c900rpm. I have yet to drive it and there may be a flat spot on initial wide open throttle due to the large choke sizes, but it was always going to be compromises.
Oh I should say this manifold gives me c 7mm clearance from the top of the brass carb choke nut and the bonnet underside,
Any yes this pic is before I fit ram socks for road use.
