| The following is a an explanation of the functions a 
          the Weber Carburetor, the 34 DMTR.  I have made the description 
          to introduce principles  of the general functioning of Weber 
          carbs.  There are other functions not discussed here, but can be 
          found elsewhere.  I'd recommend the Haynes book.   | 
         
        
          | The DMTR is a compound progressive carburetor.  
          Compound because it has two barrels, progressive because the throttles 
          open progressively, not simultaneously.  It has three circuits:  
          Idle/low speed, primary and secondary.  These three circuits 
          correspond to the motor's operating range:  idle / low speed, 
          partial throttle, and full throttle. | 
         
        
          | Here's a scan of a photo of the deck of the 34DMTR.  
          The float bowl cover has been removed, so the float bowl is visible, 
          surrounding the round barrel on the right.  Labels for 
          3,4,5,6,7,& 8 are in the float  bowl. | 
         
        
          
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          |   This first diagram shows the carburetor in cross 
          section; looking from the right.   This is the same 
          orientation as the photo above. The screws on the left side of 
          the image are on the back.  It shows the idle / progression 
          circuits in action.  The full figure is at idle, the close-up at 
          the upper right is a low speed, the close up at lower right is at 
          part-throttle.  If you look at throttle plate in the left side 
          barrel, you will see that the plate is turning clockwise to open the 
          passage. 
          
            
           
             | 
         
        
          | Here's what happens when the engine is at idle, the 
          accelerator pedal at its stops.   At idle, the throttle 
          plate is almost, but not entirely closed.  There is a very small 
          gap between the throttle plate and the wall of the carb barrel.  
          This gap creates a venturi effect, an area of low pressure.   
           It's important to understand the venturi effect, since it is the 
          basis of the Weber's functioning.   Effectively, if you move 
          air through a tube, and suddenly that tube gets smaller, the air moves 
          faster through the smaller part, and the pressure drops.  It is 
          the drop in pressure that is important.  If you have a low 
          pressure area and a high pressure area, fluid (in this case gasoline) 
          moves from the high pressure area to the low pressure area.    
          The gasoline in the carburetor is stored in a bowl that is exposed to 
          atmospheric pressure, 14 pounds per square inch, or 1Bar.   
          The pressure at the small part of the venturi is less than 1 Bar.  
          So, the higher air pressure of 1Bar pushes the fuel towards the low 
          pressure area in the venturi. 
            
          Anyway, there is a little gap between the throttle plate and the 
          wall of the barrel.  So, the air moves a lot faster at this 
          point, and the pressure drops.   At 
          this gap Weber has located a small hole that is the end point of the 
          idle circuit  (# 39 in the drawing below, with the red arrow)  | 
         
        
          
            | 
         
        
           The hole at #39 receives a mixture of 
          fuel and 
          air.  Why the mixture of fuel and air?  Fuel by itself would 
          flow too quickly, and would be difficult to regulate.  Mixing the 
          fuel with air slows its passage through the circuit.  Weber calls 
          this fuel 'emulsified'.  Air enters 
          through a hole in the deck of the carburetor (#36 in the 
          drawing immediately above and #4 in the photo at the top ).  The mixture 
          is determined by the screw just to the left of hole #36. It is 
          labled in the top photo as #3.   At the 
          base of the screw is a "jet".
             The jet is a machined metal tube, 
          closed at one end with a single hole in the end or the side.  There are slots 
          or holes in the sides of the tube.  The hole is immersed in 
          gasoline, 
          and the gasoline is exposed to the air 
          through the slots in the tube.  This air is at atmospheric 
          pressure.  The fuel is at atmospheric pressure also, as the float 
          bowl is vented to the 
          atmosphere.  The pressure at the venturi is less than 
          atmospheric, so the mixture of fuel and air 
          is pushed through the circuit (37, 41, 
          45) to the hole in the barrel(#39 in the drawing, #1 in the photo).    The screw # 40 
          regulates the amount of emulsified fuel  that is fed to the engine.  
          This screw adjusts the idle speed.  | 
         
        
          
            | 
         
        
          |  Here's a closer view of the throttle plate 
          area as the accelerator starts opening.  Push on the accelerator, the throttle plate opens a 
          little, and the venturi effect at the lowest hole diminishes.  
          The area of low pressure moves up in the barrel to the spot of minimum 
          gap between the plate and the barrel wall.  
             
          Sure enough, Weber put a hole there too, to provide a smooth 
          transition in fuel flow as the throttle is opened.   Screw # 
          44 regulates this amount of emulsified fuel to the motor.   | 
         
        
          | When the throttle is opened further,  the 
          venturi effect at the primary barrel wall diminishes.  There is 
          no more pressure differential at the edge of the primary throttle to 
          pull emulsified fuel into the barrel.  There is enough air moving 
          through the primary barrel to bring fuel through the main venturi 
          (more on this later)   At a certain point, usually when the 
          primary throttle is about 2/3 open, the throttle on the second barrel 
          (#  6 in the photo)  starts to open.  The same procedure happens here as happened on 
          the primary throttle.  A venturi is created at the edge of the 
          throttle plate, and this venturi pulls emulsified fuel through a 
          strategically located hole in the second barrel wall.  This 
          follows passage 48 & 50 in the numbered diagram above.  In 
          the drawing, #39 points to the air supply.  In the photo, #8 
          points to the jet for this circuit and #9 points to the hole that 
          supplies air to this circuit.  These are analogous to #3 and #4 
          for the primary circuit | 
         
        
          
            | 
         
        
          | Here's another cross section of the carburetor. I 
          flipped the image to make it less confusing.   Primary 
          barrel on the left and secondary barrel on the right.  It shows the carb 
          at full throttle. | 
         
        
          
            | 
         
        
          | The red is the fuel, the 
          blue is air at atmospheric 
          pressure, purple is emulsified fuel.    Note first that 
          the level of the fuel is even with the top of the venturi (#12 in the 
          drawing).  
          This is important.  If the venturi were higher, the pressure 
          differential between the venturi and the fuel would be too great.  
          The fuel would have to be pulled up against gravity.  If the venturi were too 
          low, then fuel would spill out into the intake manifold.   
          Fuel is mixed with air in a sleeve /  cylindrical chamber #16. 
          This chamber is connected directly to the venturi #12.   A 
          Main Jet (18)
                
           is 
          immersed in fuel.  It has a hole bored through it to allow a 
          certain amount of fuel to pass. The corona of the main jet blocks fuel 
          from passing into the sleeve.  Fuel can pass only through the 
          hole.    The jet is attached to the end of an Emulsion 
          Tube      
          .   The emulsion tube is hollow,  with holes machined 
          into the sides.   The machined holes allow a certain amount 
          of fuel/air mixture to pass from the inside outwards to be carried out 
          to the venturi.  At the top of the tube is 
          another removable fitting, the Air Jet 
           .  In the top 
          photo, the air jet for the primary circuit is #5, the air jet for the 
          secondary circuit is #7.     The special machining 
          of this hole  
          allows a fixed amount of air to pass.    Fuel comes up 
          into the bottom of the emulsion tube, air comes in from the top of the 
          emulsion tube, the two are mixed inside the tube, and pass through the 
          holes in the side to the venturi.
            
             The venturi 
          is a tube inside a metal ring.  The metal ring fits inside the 
          carb barrel.  You can see the venturis suspended in the center of 
          the carb barrels in the top photo.  The tube is suspended on a crossbar.  One of 
          the arms of the crossbar is hollow, and is connected to the sleeve 
          holding the emulsion tube.   The emulsified fuel exits the 
          tube through the holes in the side, into the sleeve, and then on out 
          to the crosspiece of the venturi.  The cylinder in the center of 
          the venturi is a low-pressure zone.  This low pressure pulls the 
          emulsified fuel through the passages.  The venturi is designed so 
          that the low-pressure zone exists only when a lot of air is moving 
          through.  At lower air volumes, such as at idle, there is no 
          vacuum differential.  | 
         
        
          |   | 
         
        
          | I mentioned earlier that I admired the elegance of 
          the  Weber carburetors.   This is a system that 
          provides properly metered fuel at idle, low throttle, part throttle, 
          and full throttle.  The only moving part is the shaft of the 
          throttle plates, and these are moving parts already on the motor.  
          All the metering and mixing is done by differences in air pressure.  
          No additional moving parts are necessary to accomplish this task.    
          Another very nice thing about the Weber design is the range of 
          potential calibrations available.    All the jets, 
          emulsion tubes, air bleeds, and venturis come in various calibrations.  
          The jets and tubes can be accessed from the top of the carb, and 
          removed with a screwdriver.  Note in the top photo, items 
          #3,5,7 & 8 are cut to accommodate a screwdriver. The carb need not be 
          disassembled to change these parts.    So, the motor 
          can be tuned for a wide range of operating conditions, all with the 
          same carburetor. The main criticism of Weber carbs is their 
          vulnerability to clogging.  Having dealt with this personally 
          several times, I can understand the critique.  The clogging 
          usually occurs on the primary air jet, (#5 in the photo & #11 in the 
          drawing immediately above)    The primary emulsion tube 
          gets filled with junk, and air & fuel cannot mix and pass to the 
          venturi.  This usually happens with before any clogging of the 
          low-speed/idle circuit.  So, the car idles OK and runs fine at 
          low speeds, but stumbles and dies on acceleration.  It's on 
          acceleration that the primary circuit becomes active.  Engine 
          speed increases, the throttle lets more air in, but the primary 
          circuit is not allowing the proper amount of fuel to pass.  So 
          now, there is not enough fuel to burn the air, and the motor stumbles 
          and stalls.   Delightful in city driving. 
          Here's how I try to resolve the problem.     | 
         
        
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