Ideas to fix a carb plate ( Solex Mercedes carb )

[Nacho-RT74]

Tipically ( at least down here ) you can find bent Solex 4A1 carb top plates. Local mechs uses to give A BIT OF MUCH torque to these

do you think is posible to get it straight back ?



if you do... how would you do it ?

My idea... get it pressed SOFTLY and step by step on an hidraulic press bench, somehow... maybe get it a bit heated to make it safer since cold could be cracked ?

[Nacho-RT74]

maybe not COMPLETELLY straight but better. Gasket there is thick and can get still some curvature

then some bushings on nuts/studs holes of top plate to get the torque againts the bushing and middle/bottom bodies all together. These bushing leaving out a bit down the top plate allmost the gasket thickness.

[b5blue]

Potmetal cracks so easy, I would sand it flat carefully.

[Nacho-RT74]

the plate gets venturies and lot of casted ducts and stuff... just like a TQ. Hard to mill or sand it ( aside the edges to seat over the gasket )

[Nacho-RT74]

Potmetal cracks so easy

that's why I said maybe getting some heat over it ?

[b5blue]

Wow maybe big flat file to remove arc? I don't think bending back is a option. 

[FJMG]

I personally have not had much luck in bending castings like that but if I were to try.....
It looks to me like most of the curvature is at the corners where the bolts were?
Maybe... if you could find a pipe to fit the top where the air filter adapter would sit and cut it as short as possible to clear everything and then cut some plywood (maybe 3/4" thick would be enough) large enough so you could drill a bolt hole pattern that matches the carb.
Then bolt the plate in reverse so that you are squeezing the pipe between the carb top and the plywood.
This would allow you to apply pressure very slowly, you can even place the entire thing in the oven to try heat if you wanted to.
Best of luck

[Nacho-RT74]

It looks to me like most of the curvature is at the corners where the bolts were?

that's exactly what happened... and is a very tipical failure on these carbs at least locally

it seem get bent at the yellow lines.

the red circled areas maybe meets the bowl on bottom and that's why the outer areas where it bolts begings to bent by excess of torque by mechs... all what gasket is able to get

Maybe... if you could find a pipe to fit the top where the air filter adapter would sit and cut it as short as possible to clear everything and then cut some plywood (maybe 3/4” thick would be enough) large enough so you could drill a bolt hole pattern that matches the carb.
Then bolt the plate in reverse so that you are squeezing the pipe between the carb top and the plywood.
This would allow you to apply pressure very slowly, you can even place the entire thing in the oven to try heat if you wanted to.
Best of luck

yes! I'm thinking on something like that, being helped with some heat. But not using a plywood, using a sheetmetal piece ( 3 mm thikness maybe ), plasma cut to meet the carb pattern. On top I thought on a pipe, but a sheet metal piece similar to the used on bottom.

using metal instead plywood will help to heat everything together and help a bit on the straightening process

THEN I thought on some bushings on bolt holes, to install the carb and torque the nuts against the bushings... these bushing leaving a bit the top plate on bottom, allmost the gasket thicknes to stop the nut againts the bowl body

[RiverRaider]

I have had some success doing something like FJMG describes on aluminum cover plates.
tighten the fixture heat for a few hours in an oven and repeat.  Not sure if heat or the time under
pressure helped the most.  Never tried it on carb parts before.

[Nacho-RT74]

oook that sounds quite better and logic! tight then heat instead heat then tight!!! just on te way it got bent!, getting heat on engine bay after being tightened