Answer: Never. But I hope this will do the job for me... I am mating a couple of carbs off a Maserati/Citroen engine to a old Rochester Fuel Injection intake. I wasn't sure if I was going to Fab or Cast the adaptors, and then I found some chunks of Aluminum at the Scrapyard for $50. There is still a lot of work that has to be done, I still need to Repair the Intake, mount the Adaptors, mount the Carbs, finish cutting the ports ( and ports them ), build a linkage, synchronise and dial in the Carbs, etc... And I'll file off the sharp edges on the outside of the Adaptors to make them look a little better...
billet is cool for crankshafts. looks great...but do you want to admit you used SM parts in public...
Yeah! It's cool when you make it yourself... usually. At least in your case. round off those razor sharp edges and sandblast 'em.
those are nice, i would blast em to make em look right too.. i was all ready to answer ... "when youre laughing at it"... but thats looks NICE
Billet Aluminum makes great lowering blocks! Does this mean I cannot show my 54 Ford around here anymore? They were handmade!
BILLIT, OK, IF you carved it out your self on the mill and or lathe, which you did. NOT OK, If you cut it free from it's plastic wrapper. Just a machinist's opinion.
Thanks guys... I feel a little better now... Honestly, I'm more concerned about their shape on the inside than what they look like on the outside. But I know I won't be able to leave them looking like that. The nice thing about these DCNF Webers ( off a SM like FB said ), is that the bores are real close together. So that gives a pretty straight shot down the SBC ports. They are a little on the small side ( only 42mm ), so this should work nicely as a Street setup. Hopefully this will give good Torque and Milage on my 327. I had to cheat a little with the placement of the Right Rear carb. Its pushed foreward 3/8" to clear the Dist. That will hurt the flow of the RR ( #6) intake port a bit, but hopefully it wont be so bad it will give me tuning problems...
Billet is really only cool when it comes in the form of a New Engine Block and set of Hemi Heads from BAE.(Brad Anderson Enterprises) And only when they are installed in my Funny Car. Other than that,Keep it away from my Rod. www.donhudsonracing.com see its not so bad in this form....
Mr Shapes, Billet is cool when you call it pig. I personally think there is a difference between aluminum mechanical parts and billety googawes to try and dress one up. Mass produced parts are or where most often cast, its the cheapest or was the cheapest way. One off parts on the otherhand were most often carved out of a chunk of whatever was the lightest and or the most available. I like the pieces myself you made myself and love the look of a fine machine finish. Ever get close up and personal with a pair of crietz modular raceing wheels? Late 50s or early '60s I believe was when they were made. Hard to tell of the centers are cast or carved.
Doesn't that really work for ANY part on your car you bought instead of made from scratch? I dunno. I remember some cool billet stuff being made by L'il John for his own cars back in the early-mid '70s...
Thats GOOD billet, you made it. Be proud of it and don't disguise it. BAD billet is bought in a store shrink wrapped.
Nice work Alex. I like your integration of European products to make American stuff better. Now about that 928S drivetrain in a T roadster.
Round off edges dunk in muraitac acid bath .... then paint it then scrape off paint .... then add used axle grease and wipe off grease that is on outer areas.... file/grind off an area that could hold a serial no.? then use it find out it does not work so good ??? then sell on eway as Von Dutch made go on extended vacation...
I think billet is cool when it doesnt look like the sterotype of billet crap. FYI Those webers are used alot in aircooled VW's looks like you have a few but incase you need more or parts might be easier to find em through VW sources than say searching for maserati carbs probably alot cheaper too! FYI
A lot of the VW setups seem to use the 40mm version of this carb. ( to small...) I asked a couple of VW specialists here in town and they were less than helpfull. I seen a couple of sets on Ebay in the last year or so, but they went for a lot of money. And they came with Bug Manifolds and Linkages that I didn't need.... The first 3 ( one complete set off a SM ) were cheap. Cause I wasn't looking for them... The 4th one cost me almost the same amount. I got it from a Citroen specialist, and he was able to match it up to the same stamping #s as the three I already had... I just love the Intake Roar of an Engine on Webers. Can't wait to hear what my 327 will sound like. Should drive pretty nice too...
My vote too. I don't consider that to be billet. I consider that as resourceful. Very nice work and well thought.