Merak Tuning in So Cal

I think Larry Englehart at Ferrari Technologies in Orange also works on Maserati's. Great guy, has been working on my GT4 for almost 15 years now.

 

It's Webers so if it's not something else going on then any good Weber specialist can tune them.

 

Try Franco's european in Van Nuys. The've been around for a very long time.
I know they work on carbed Lambos, Ferraris.

About | Franco's European

 

Or contact Jerry-Hathaway at Sm world...

 

If jerry is the guy who is in between OC and San Diego out in the boonies, he would be the guy. Jay Leno goes to him too. I forgot his name. I Went out with a freind to buy DS from him a few years ago. He would be a Merak/SM gearbox specialist as well

 

Yes Jerry Hathaway. Is he still working though? He's no spring chicken but might have great guys in his shop?

 

Tuning the DCNFs is really simple once you understand how all the parts work. You can do the tuning all by yourself - No black magic needed.

This YouTube video should explain it all to you. You can tune these carbs - no problemo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBs7GzSLLCc

Ciao,
George

 

This was about 8 years ago. I think his shop was at his home? It was way out in the middle of the desert as I recalled.

 

Agree. Hard to go wrong with this type of tutorial, and it can be done at home with basic mechanical skills. You don't even have to know how it all works. A sense of accomplishment comes with buying the flow meter (and in my case I also bought a glass 'ColorTune' spark plug to set the mixture) and following along to tune the carbs.
- Art

 

I'll just add this. The last time I tuned DCNFs there was no alcohol in the gas. When I got my Espada (6 DCOEs) back in 2008? alcohol was here. I had to go through a lot of things to tune up that car and a rebuild of the carbs was complete including a bead blasting. I wasted so much time trying to tune those, a far much bigger job than 3 DCNFs of course but it turned out that I could not get it to run correctly with the stock jets. Other's had the same issues and once I made "some" adjustments to those the problem disappeared. It's when you run into that sort of situation that an expert who's familiar with how all of the parts of the circuits can be manipulated to fix a driveability problem becomes VERY valuable. So if you get stuck get better help than a book.

 

Right. True. There is definitely no sense in frustrating yourself when an expert can take care of the pain and make life enjoyable.
- Art

 

Obviously, there is more to complete tuning of the DCNFs than tuning the carburetor induction. Balancing & synchronizing is your baseline, otherwise nothing else will work properly.

Running non-ethanol 90 octane fuel is the best, but with all fuel lines replaced with either fuel injection hose or ethanol fuel compliant hose will eliminate fuel contamination to the carburetors and subsequent poor performance. Also, all fuel filters should be replaced annually with an additional fuel filter installed just below the Malpasi Fuel King. The Malpasi Fuel King should be adjusted to approx 2.0 psi -2.5 psi. This is done easily by adjusting the top screw of the Malpasi. The big problem with ethanol based fuels is water seprtation that corrodes fuel tanks [ unless they have been relined] and it corrupts standard fuel lines that in turn will get past fuel filters and gum up the carburetors. Don't ask how I know, I just do.

So that we are on the same page, the following is a link to all your DCNF carburetor parts list and exploded view that you can download as a reference.

Carburetors

Two very common fuel problems [video to be posted shortly] is the fuel drip that can occur either at #19 Pump Jet or #55 Auxiliary Venturi, while the engine is at idle greatly affecting the primary/idle circuit. Both of these conditions will express themselves with changing idle at all of the most inopportune times.

Eratic fuel drip from the Pump Jet is alleviated by making sure the Accelerator Pump Diaphragm [#26] is new and that the Pump Loading Spring [#27] is exerting good pressure on the Accelerator Pump Diaphragm. The Pump Jet is fueled by the Pump Valve #17. All three Pump Valves if they are original sould be replaced. Origianally the top was sealed with a lead plug that can leak and or rupture causing hydraulic lockup. Don't ask how I know, I just do. Also, the check ball should move freely inside the Pump Valve.

Eratic fuel drip from the Auxilary Venturi though much less common was corrected by switching the Emulsion Tube assemblies [#12, #16, & #20] between carburetors. Worked for me!

Removing the air horns and then idling the engine will confirm whether the fuel drip bug has entered the equation and then eradicated.

Given there are no vacuum leaks, adjusting the air/fuel mixture screws should be a straight forward task. Carburetor Setup And Best Idle can also be found at the above link.

Lastly, check your spark plugs, they tell the full story.

Have fun with your Merak DCNFs.

Ciao,
George