38HK carburettor

[davidwheeler]

Does anyone know of a substitute float for the 38HK Zenith standard on later lambdas?  Mine has started to develop a series of tiny holes.  I can solder them up but more appear as time goes on!
David

[inthedark]

Have a word with Eurocarb in London they are del'orto specialist but keep parts for lots of carbs.
tel:  01189431180 I speak to Robert.
regards
Geoff 'the colonel'

[JohnMillham]

Sorry, can't help with a replacement float, but if you're not too fussy about originality, a 1¾ inch S.U. with a No. 6 needle in a 0.090 inch jet might make the car go better! I have never driven my car with a Zenith Triple Diffuser, but the S.U. is better all round than the Zenith which was on the car when I bought it, fitted by Geoffrey Robson years ago. Regards, John

[Russell Meehan]

Would the SU HD float that is a replacement for the cork float in the Exhauster do the job?  It is 48mm wide by 30mm high with a 7mm hole in the centre.  Not quite as wide or as high, so less volume than the original, but it might work. 

[davidwheeler]

I have just fitted an SU HD float.  The top is chamfered rather than flat as the original which means that the fingers bear on the sloping side rather than the flat top of the float.  This does not seem to matter, I merely re-adjusted the needle height and it seems to work fine.

[davidwheeler]

Occasionally the carb would flood.  I think this is due to the much bigger hole in the SU float that allows it off centre so that the fingers fall off the edges of the sloping sides.  I slid a short length of windscreen washer tubing over the needle to take up the slack and so far all seems well.

[chugga boom]

if you have any spare screenwasher tube just try it in a jar of petrol as alot of rubber will disintergrate in modern petrol, worth checking incase it goes through your carb

[davidwheeler]

I did, its plastic and OK in fact it has entirely solved the problem

[davidwheeler]

I have to report less than total satisfaction.  There is still a tendency to flood occasionally, emptying the Le Nivex tank whilst parked (embarrassing!).  I am going to go back to the original float, coated with petrol resistant dope in the hope that it will not leak again so readily.

[davidwheeler]

Petrol resistant dope isn't but the old float, soldered up is proving (so far) reliable.  The problem of a fragile and ancient float is, therefore, not solved.  The SU float does not work properly because it has sloping shoulders on which the fingers bear.  A flat top is needed and I am speculating about a thin rigid (?plastic) disc that could be fixed to the top of the float.

[Sebastien]

10 days ago in Turin I have seen a beautiful original float for a 38 HK. Trouble was, it was inside an equally beautiful Zenith 38 carb.
And the seller will only sell the complete carb. Price seemed reasonable, if you need the carb. For the float still a bit expensive, at 1.000 EUR!!

[davidwheeler]

Nice idea but I do not have a spare 1000 euro.    I have carefully mended the old float and re-installed it and so far all is well.