DGV OR DGAS CARB?

Q I’ve got a 2-litre Capri Laser to which I’ve fitted the cam, carb and manifold from a Mk2 RS2000.

It goes quite well, but I’ve managed to pick up a second-hand (but good) Kent Cams FR32 camshaft and I want to upgrade the carb at the same time.

I can’t afford twin 40 or 45 Webers or Dell’Ortos and the inlet manifold and linkages right now, so what about using the 38 DGAS carb from the 3-litre Capri?

Will this give me any more power than my existing carb once I’ve had it rejetted?

Ian James Email

A The 38DGAS used to be considered the best way to make a Pinto fly on the cheap, but we recently came across a interesting Pinto carb flow test in an old copy of Fast Car magazine, which Dave Walker of Emerald fame performed. As Fast Car is one of our sister mags, we’ll quote Dave directly from their feature: ‘The Weber DGV had a maximum flow of 79.29 cfm (at peak valve lift), while total flow on the 38DGAS was up to 80.14 cfm — a marginal increase at best. ‘The 38DGAS has two 27 mm chokes which give it a small increase in venturi area (over the 32/36DGV), but the body is a lot bigger which seems to slow down the air speed (87.2 mph compared to 91.5 from the DGV). ‘The 38DGAS would not give any more power than the stock 32/36 carb and would have poorer throttle response and fuel consumption into the bargain.’ So there you go — stick with the good-old DGV, get it rejetted or preferably properly set up by a decent rolling road tuner such as Northampton Motorsport or RRS Rolling Road Services, to suit the new cam profile, and start saving up for a pair of those pesky sidedraughts!