Hello All:

1967 Volvo 122S Wagon. Okay, I have taken the plunge and started down the treacherous road of carburetor black magic. I am doing my first tune-up and thanks to the efforts of many on this website I have figured out that my motor is a B18D. I also realized that the previous owner set the valves to 0.0022" when in fact the manual states the range should be 0.016"-0.018". According to the marvelous "What's Wrong with SU Carbs?" article on V-Classics even 0.002" can make a significant difference, so I consider my change quite significant.

No sooner had I set the valves than the idle felt horribly low. I mustered up all of my courage and started to fool with the idle screws on the two Skinner Unions and reached a satisfactory level. Please note this was after an evening of driving around Westchester County so the engine was plenty warm at the time.

The strange thing is that after a bit more driving it feels like the idle has moved up quite a bit. The engine sounds like it is racing. Any clue regarding this? I have not tried to wiggle the throttle shaft in the housing yet (as suggested on V-Classics) so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I just figured once the idle was set on a truly warm car it would not move much. I am very new to understanding carburetors but I feel I have the basics under control.

Thanks in advance for your always sage advice everyone.

Cheers,

Jeff Pucillo