Just got off the phone with A.J. Sims, "Mr. Kadron." I called to inquire about getting properly-sized jets for the Wonderbus's carbs. I've been getting poor mileage (14mpg mixed street and highway), the plugs have that tell-tale black sooty look, and even with the mixture screws all the way in, the engine will not lean misfire. According to a couple websites, (lowbuggit.com and aircooled.net) this can be due to improper jetting.
So I called A.J. -- sounds like a nice guy -- and he told me to first check the fuel pressure. "Kadrons do not like pressure," he said. Anything more than 2lbs. If it's more than that I'd be wasting my time jetting and adjusting; the first step is to get that pressure in the acceptable range.
So my questions to the group are:
- What's my cheap and easy way to check fuel pressure -- Bentleys tells us to install a "T" fitting after the pump and connect it to a pressure gauge. Is it easy to find a suitable pressure gauge that will be happy with this 1971-sized fuel line?
- I have a mechanical pump on my engine. A.J. said to add shims to the pump to lower the pressure. I'd like to make sure I understand the procedure. So students, pull out your Bentleys 68-79 Bus manual and refer to Section 3, Page 9, Figure 4-3. If I understand what A.J. is telling me, I would want to add more of Item 13 -- "Intermediate flange gasket" as needed to lower fuel pressure. Do I understand this correctly?