TeamSwift

Anyone heard of a factory installed Mikuni carb on a Chev Sprint? I had been looking for a Hitachi carb, and have afriend that frequents the pick-aparts reqularly. Awhile back, he called me to say he found a Sprint with the carb intact, so I told him to grab it for me. When he brought it over, it looked very different from my Hitachi carb, and was, in fact, a Mikuni. It didn't seem to have any of the ECM controlls on it, including the MCS solenoid. So I am guessing I wasted 55$ on this thing. I thought the only carbs that came on 85 to 88 sprints were either Hitachi or Aisin, ECM controlled types.

why not rebuild the Hitachi that you have?

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Mike
Valley Grande, AL
1986 Sprint plus

Do you maintain a personal fleet like I do?
Why do we do it?
Because it's what we enjoy and because we CAN.
2011 camaro, 2005 Vibe, 2004 camry, 97 Moutaineer, 87 porsche 911, 86 Sprint plus, 73 gmc 4x4, 69 camaro, 99 Gl1500 Goldwing, 94 Honda PC800, 2012 Kubota L3200, and we wont even go into the small stuff.

I bought this carb as a spare(back-up) carb, for when/if the MCS on my current carb dies. I bought a rebuild kit(also for back-up) but it had no MCS solenoid included, just gaskets,needle/seat, etc. Called a few parts houses, rebuilders, etc....they don't know what a MCS solenoid is. I did find some rebuilt carbs, but for 450$+..... is more than the whole car cost me.
this Mikuni I got doesn't have a MCS either..... useless to me. So I will just keep looking for a spare Hitachi, or try to rebuild my MCS or other sensors/actuators, if/when they quit.

Ive bought tons of carburetor rebuild kits in my day, quite a few for the Hitachi carbs. To date I have never seen a rebuild kit, for any vehicle, that ever did come with anything but the simple hardware and gaskets. Never any electrical parts, solenoids or an MCS. Solenoids and MCS's have always been extra parts.

If you have ever 100% fully rebuilt one of these carbs, you can understand why they cost so much. Just parts alone to rebuild and guarantee one is in the hundreds. Of course the fact that carbs in general are getting more and more scarce also adds to the rising costs.

Parts such as the MCS (rebuilt), are available right here in this forum from Phil n Ed. There are also several online sources for them. My most recetn check even showed Autozone to carry them. Are they cheap? NO.

As for paying more for the parts than the car...heck that is something near anyone out there restoring anything period has had to do..that is IF they want it done right and to be reliable....that or be satisfied with the fact it "might or might not" get you where you want to go. The other option one has is to go buy one of those new 50 mpg cars that to this day still dont exist!

_________________
Mike
Valley Grande, AL
1986 Sprint plus

Do you maintain a personal fleet like I do?
Why do we do it?
Because it's what we enjoy and because we CAN.
2011 camaro, 2005 Vibe, 2004 camry, 97 Moutaineer, 87 porsche 911, 86 Sprint plus, 73 gmc 4x4, 69 camaro, 99 Gl1500 Goldwing, 94 Honda PC800, 2012 Kubota L3200, and we wont even go into the small stuff.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know parts to restore a car generally out-cost the car, but not usually for a single small part. I know how great these carbs are...probably the biggest reason I went with this make/model power train for my project; Hoping for 70 mpg or better.
The MCS was working fine when I picked up the donor car, It ran perfectly on the way home, but I know that isn't likely to last. I can't get a price from P&E on here, and have not found them anywhere else yet. I figure I can probably take one apart and fix it, if he can do it, but not when I break down on the road, halfway to my place in Panama, so I would like to get a spare, even a broken one, that I can re-furb and cary as a spare....better yet a whole carb, that I can quickly swap out on the road, if necessary. Do you have any links to those on-line sources? I already checked Autozone and found nothing, maybe I'm not typing in the right words.
Still would like confirmation on whether the Mikuni carb was standard on the 87s, or whether I just found a car that was modified by a previous owner who couldn't fix his Hitachi.

I am sure if you PM Phil, he will be happy to accomodate your need, if you are serious about buying one. The problem is so many contact him, want information, then criticize his reply as they dont want to spend that much on a $400 car. I'd be the same way if someone contacted me for something that I happen to have access to, then complain about what I have to offer.

On the other hand....Just a quick 2 minute search on the net finds these sources. I have never obtained any of these, though did contact the first one some time ago and they asked for my rebuildable core. Note: all of these are remanufactured units. I would imagine that if there are any NEW ones out there they are probably in the much higher price group.

If you will limit your search to "mixture control solenoid MX40" you will net more results.


http://www.carburetion.com/mix.htm

http://www.theautopartsshop.com/auto+ca ... enoid.html

http://topmost.us/auto-parts/mixture-co ... 79285.html

If you aquire from one of these sources, please let the folks here know your opinion.

_________________
Mike
Valley Grande, AL
1986 Sprint plus

Do you maintain a personal fleet like I do?
Why do we do it?
Because it's what we enjoy and because we CAN.
2011 camaro, 2005 Vibe, 2004 camry, 97 Moutaineer, 87 porsche 911, 86 Sprint plus, 73 gmc 4x4, 69 camaro, 99 Gl1500 Goldwing, 94 Honda PC800, 2012 Kubota L3200, and we wont even go into the small stuff.

Thank you for your help. I guess the problem I had was in searching for Carb rebuild parts, instead of looking specifically for MCS or MX40. I didn't think being that specific would show anything. I will be calling the last place you linked, to see if they actually have any in stock, since they list them for just over 100$ and are not listed as rebuilds or Core-required.
I have asked Phill in the past, for help with this, and on other matters, but I get criticism, sarcasm and riddles. I do not deal well with sensitive or cryptic types; one of my weak points; probably why I have been divorced so many times.

So, here I am again, still wondering about my orriginal question. Did any Sprints come standard with Mikuni Carbs? If not, I paid 55$ for someones backyard fix, and it is going in the bin.

ECO,

sorry no one seems to be able to answer the question...If I knew I would have.

As for the BIN....if that the trash bin, toss it my way...I dont have a use for it, but one never knows what the future holds, and carbs of any kind are getting harder to get....I have several old 4 barrels on hand, as well as about 20 Small various walbros, all fully rebuilt for what day I dont know....more than happy to pay reasonable shipping.

_________________
Mike
Valley Grande, AL
1986 Sprint plus

Do you maintain a personal fleet like I do?
Why do we do it?
Because it's what we enjoy and because we CAN.
2011 camaro, 2005 Vibe, 2004 camry, 97 Moutaineer, 87 porsche 911, 86 Sprint plus, 73 gmc 4x4, 69 camaro, 99 Gl1500 Goldwing, 94 Honda PC800, 2012 Kubota L3200, and we wont even go into the small stuff.

.
no not that I've heard of Hitachi and Aisan carbs
maybe if you posted a picture and some numbers you probably get more help
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.
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OK, I will get some pics up when I get a chance. Thanks for your replies.