1960 lark w/Webber 5200...how's it working?

[Jeff T.]

I began my spring cleaning last week and found some pages that I printed off a couple years ago. The author of the post mentioned the price of a gallon of gas, $1.82, I guess that can be used as a dating tool.

I wish I would have written down the authors name but he was adapting a Webber 5200 carb to his 1960 Lark six and it read like he was having good results with the experiment. I thought I would post a note to see how the Lark is running with at least three years into the project.

I have a 62 Lark with a six and have had carb problems since I revived the Lark in the late 1980s and since my V8 build is going really slow I might as well get more use out of the six.

Jeff T.


"I'm getting nowhere as fast as I can"
The Replacements.

[Tom Bredehoft]

That sounds like something I would have written. I put a Webber 5200 on my Lark Six in the summer of 2004. Before I put the carb on, the car had been getting 18.7 mpg, in a 500 mile test it achieved 23.9 with the Webber carb. There were a couple of problems, though. The car seemed to be week, probably running too lean, and the coolant activated choke developed a leak. If it hadn't have been for the leak, I would have put some larger jets in, but couldn't solve the leak problem so I removed the carb. Subsequent to this experiment, I replaced the 3 spd transmission with an OD transmission. The mileage average then was 23.2, with one run on the interstate system at 70 or so at 29.25. The car has since been sold to another Studebaker affectionado.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Bothcars4.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe
'55 President State Sedan
(Under Construction) 134 hrs.
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[DEEPNHOCK]

Google: Weber 5200 conversion
Lot's of good info there...
I built an adapter to put on on a 232 V8 a while back for a guy in Ohio (iirc), but I never heard back from him on it's performance..
Jeff[8D]
http://rides.webshots.com/album/239758997Eavalq

quote:Originally posted by Jeff T.

I began my spring cleaning last week and found some pages that I printed off a couple years ago. The author of the post mentioned the price of a gallon of gas, $1.82, I guess that can be used as a dating tool.

I wish I would have written down the authors name but he was adapting a Webber 5200 carb to his 1960 Lark six and it read like he was having good results with the experiment. I thought I would post a note to see how the Lark is running with at least three years into the project.

I have a 62 Lark with a six and have had carb problems since I revived the Lark in the late 1980s and since my V8 build is going really slow I might as well get more use out of the six.

Jeff T.


"I'm getting nowhere as fast as I can"
The Replacements.

[Tom Bredehoft]

That was me, Jeff, There was no room between the adapter and the hood, and I was not about to cut a hole in the hood for a filter. Good job on the adapter, not on my application.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Bothcars4.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe
'55 President State Sedan
(Under Construction) 134 hrs.
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[Jeff T.]

Another odd thought on this topic, if I recall from my copy of the post the first 5200 sent with the kit was off of a Ford 2300/140 cid four cylinder. Why wasn't the kit supplied with the 5200 from the ford V6 of the same era with a cid close to the Lark's 170 cid? If that would make a difference on the running lean.

Jeff T.

"I'm getting nowhere as fast as I can"
The Replacements.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Have you ever thought of bolting that adapter to a late model Stude 2bbl intake. It's a lot lower, and the hood clearance issue might work your way.
Just thinking out loud...
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by Tom B

That was me, Jeff, There was no room between the adapter and the hood, and I was not about to cut a hole in the hood for a filter. Good job on the adapter, not on my application.

[Tom Bredehoft]

The 53 in my signature is the only one I have that's running. the only other one, the 55 President has a WCFB on it, and is nowhere near running. I dont' have a late model 2 bbl just sitting around. If someone wants the adapter, It's cheap.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Bothcars4.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe
'55 President State Sedan
(Under Construction) 134 hrs.
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[shifter4]

The AMC/Jeep with the 199/232/258 inline Six boys have been doing Weber conversions for a long time. There are complete Kits available . Mostly good results , but as usual there are some negative ones as well.
Perversely , I drove an AMC 258 with a Stude Stromberg WW for 14 yrs and had great results.

[rusty nut garage]

Like the Holley carb, you'll find people that praise it and another group that hate it. The weber is a great carb very tunable. Finding experts on the weber is harder then on the holley. If your wanting a carb that you can bolt on and not play with don't do it. However if you like to play under the hood and want to learn, my experince is that you'll find some performance and economy with the weber.

quote:Originally posted by shifter4

The AMC/Jeep with the 199/232/258 inline Six boys have been doing Weber conversions for a long time. There are complete Kits available . Mostly good results , but as usual there are some negative ones as well.
Perversely , I drove an AMC 258 with a Stude Stromberg WW for 14 yrs and had great results.

Russ Shop Foreman "Rusty Nut Garage"
57 SH (project)
60 Lark VIII 2dr sd (driver)