LUVTruck.com

New guy here. Have been cleaning up the new 80' Luv. Carb was pretty greasy. Wiped out as much as I could. Had the engine running and sprayed short bursts of carb cleaner in it. It cleaned up well. Not sure what carb it is, but assume it is stock. The previous owner said he rebuilt it a few years ago. It apears to be a two barrel. I'm guessing it is some type of progressive carb. One butterfly did not open, when the the throttle was blipped. With the engine turned off, I managed to fumble around and get that side to open. So, here are the questions: Where would the model number be on the carb? Is the above condition normal?

Thanks

Hilljack

How about posting a few pic's and then we should be able to help you better?

Dunno if that is normal, but that's the same thing the stock Hitachi carb on my 79 did. But I didn't jack with, ran fine. Installed a Weber... runs even better.

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FIAA: Color Guard

Thanks guys. Will try to get some pics in the next few days.

Tried to post the pics, but got an error message that said you have to have 5 posts, before posting a link. So here is one more post....

Here it is....





Cleaned it up a bit more, and found this number on the fuel bowel: 8942178570

The boot on the accelerator pump appears to be dammaged. Guess I'll need one of those. On the second pic, in the upper left, is the breather for the crank case. It does not have a pcv valve. Should it?


Also, here's the truck

Nice truck!

That is a stock Hitachi carb...probably one of the worst carbs ever made IMHO.

My best suggestion would be to scour ebay for a rebuit hitachi, or better yet - look for a used weber 32/36 and a rebuild kit. With a simple adapter plate, installing it will make a huge improvement in your gas mileage, performance, and drivabiliy.

There are new webers and adapter plates on ebay too...but they aren't near as cheap, and rebuilding a weber is a pretty simple and easy think to do.

I don't have a weber - wished i did - but you can get a rebuild kit for less than 20 bucks at advance auto. If your carb is running bad it will help and it's not that hard to do

The engine starts and runs fine. Just looking around to see if everything is working correctly. Also looking for other problems, like leaking vacuum lines, ect. Replaced one. Think I'll just clean it up and do a tune up for now. A Weber carb might be a good upgrade, but not just yet.

I want to do a Weber someday, but for now I have my Hitachi running fine. I can't say the mileage is real great, but it looks pretty good now. I used a $32 rebuild kit from Carquest and a can of carb cleaner spray.

Your truck and mine are both yellow!!

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Nice 4X. I noticed your fenders are cut as are mine. I bet a lot of them are for tire clearance.

Are they? The seller said it had a 3 inch body lift.

Looks like a lift to me, but then I might need new glasses.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

yep, body lift. evident from the frame level lower than the body. fender loks to have been trimmed a little behind the fron tire, no biggie tho just less metal there to rust.
Nice lookin 4x

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FIAA: Color Guard

Thanks fellas.

I may go with a weber carb later on. Will keep an eye out for one, on the cheap. Have Webers on a bug, and they do tune in nice. What jets are recomended for this engine?

Catman knows.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

I realize this is an old thread, but the carb OEM number question needs to be answered correctly. The number you are looking for is easy to find once you know where to look for it. And it's NOT the number on the sticker on the float window either. Position your Hitachi carburetor in front of you with the float bowl facing you. On the right side of the float bowl casting, yes around the corner from the float window, on the RIGHT SIDE (NOT the front!) of the float bowl is an ink stamped number. It will be something like this: DCH-340-217

Now, be REAL careful trying to clean the grime covering up the number, or you will clean the number right off too. I have used alcohol at times with limited success, and orange hand cleaner too. Odds are pretty good the number will wipe off, but don't despair! If you get a magnifying glass to look at it, eyeball the thing at about a 60 degree angle to a light source and you should be able to still read the number imprinted in the metal slightly. The number may take up two lines, so make sure you get the entire number off of it. Some parts plales will requir this number (and many rebuilders) so it's good to have it handy. Good luck!

A-hem, ahem. It's been awhile since I've logged on,but I think a few of you would like an update. I'm not making this up either. I've been seriously considering going down the Weber route. Truth is, my Hitachi carb is doing the job just fine, although I'm wishing to try the difference with a Weber. I know ctmandu says they're around much cheaper than they can be had for from certain sources, but it's a little more work.

I got into a small accident when someone hit me. The guy at fault denied his fault, and as I was also not accepting the blame, it was determined to be a no-fault accident, so I got zilch from the insurance company. I ended up with another bed I got for $40 just 20 miles away.

I just got back from Mill Creek, which is 50 miles north of us. The truck holds a steady 65-75 mph and I have yet to floor it. A great ride, as the weather was very nice today and blue skies. I wonder if I need to spend $300 or not on a new carb? Add to that I read in some of the LUVTruck.com reference material (or else online somewhere) about the problems with fuel pump pressure and the possibility that having a Weber might necessitate replacing the electric fuel pump. I'd have to check on those prices too.

Almost 10,000 miles on my engine/truck so far in case anybody was wondering. Electronic ignition hasn't needed any changing except the cap once. It had burned the center electrode to a nub. I should go look at it now, but it sure runs good! That was a good $34 dollars spent on a rebuild kit for my Hitachi.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Hilljack, the stock Luv carbs have a vacuum secondary. If you blip the throttle, it won't open. It needs near full throttle under some load to open. If the truck pulls smooth, it's probably working.

I put a Weber on mine and I'm happy with the extra power, but there's nothing wrong with the stock carb. The Luvs are slow, even for a mini-truck, but that's the entire engine/running gear, not just the carb. From a quality standpoint, they're as good as most.

If your truck runs smooth, drive it. When you get some cash to upgrade it, check out the post on this site for the best upgrades.

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You went there in that?!?!