|
The West Bend/ Chrysler/ US Marine/ US Motor Power 510,580,700 series engines can all be easily hopped up
with the installation of a factory engineered V-Power Manifold Kit, part number 3191-1. It increasing engine breathing at all speeds for more power and acceleration by
utilizing a V-4 reed cage and stuffer manifold. Additionally, it moves the carb forward so that the high and low speed needles are more accessible for adjustment. This kit can
be installed with the engine on or off the kart in under about an hour. The improvement in performance is noticeable and well worth the cost and effort.
To install the kit, first gather up the parts(kit) and tools, and your favorite gasket sealer. Some lacquer thinner works well to soften up the old gaskets before
scraping them off. You'll need a 7/16" end wrench and socket, 3/8" drive ratchet, a flat blade screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and single edge razor blade, some rags,
and good lighting.
Once you have the kit, study and read the instructions (if they are not rotten) but I will cover the important steps anyway.
Begin by removing the four bolts that hold on the intake manifold, I found a wobble drive 3/8" extension handy for clearing the carb on the lower two bolts, as
shown in the photo. Next, remove the carb from the old manifold. Now remove the gasket from the case and carb, and if the gasket sticks, use lacquer thinner to soften it
before scraping it off with a razor blade as shown.
Be sure the reed cage and manifold gasket sealing areas are free of any burrs around the holes and
remove any casting flash. If you need to, remove it with razor blade, de-burring tool, and/or a fine file. I had to clean up both the reed cage and manifold.
Apply a thin coat of gasket sealer to the reed cage gasket, carb gasket, and manifold gasket. Place the reed cage gasket on the reed cage such that the notches clear the
reed screws( it only goes on one way) and insert the reed cage into the manifold. The next step is easy, but tricky, so be careful.
Pay attention to which
way you are going to mount the carb and be sure the small hole in the carb-to-reed cage gasket lines up with the corresponding holes in the carb and reed cage, this is
important! If you get it wrong, the carb won't get crankcase pressure to pump fuel. It is suggested that the manifold is mounted with the reeds towards the top of the
case, and the carb upside down, this makes the needles, choke and carb linkage set up easy. Additionally, the manifold has additional webs to support the carb in this
orientation. The photos show the orientation of the gaskets, carb, and manifold.
Once you have the carb mounted to the manifold, and the two nuts torqued,
place the crankcase gasket on the manifold and mount it on the engine case. Secure it with the four bolts and torque in three stages using a crisscross pattern, don't over do
it! The 7/16" end wrench is handy for the top two manifold screws as a socket won't fit.
Secure your throttle linkage and adjust it accordingly, I used
a screwdriver and pliers for this operation. Now it' time to fire it up, yeah baby!
I found I needed to open the low and high speed needles about 1/2 turn
each and tweaked them in from there once the engine was warm. I first set the low speed needle by turning it in until the engine slowed, then backed off 1/4 turn. Next I
did a high speed run and opened the high speed needle until it 4-cycled, and then slowly closed it until it just broke into a clean 2-cycle. After that, there was a slight low
speed flat spot which require an additional 1/8th turn opening of the low speed needle. you will wind up with both needles still very close to 1/4 to 1/2 turn more open,
as the engine is breathing more. Your exhaust and air filter combo will affect the setting slightly. I have a standard West Bend stamped steel muffler with the internal baffle
bent over to increase flow, an Azusa stack, and a Uni Filter.
|
|
