Gasket problems

[spanishdave]

Hi all … I have just rebuilt the carbs on my 77 stag and have come across a problem. The gaskets between the carbs and the pedestal were 6 mm thick, but the ones that came with the kit are paper thin which means the carbs are too close together to allow the nut to be fitted on the stud. Anyone come across this before, and if so where can I get these original type thick gaskets (in UK). I did think it would be possible to use a spacer to raise the nut above the carbs, but the stud isn’t long enough.

[DJT]

The 6mm 'gaskets' are spacers. Refit them with new paper gaskets.

[Philip Wardle]

The ones I have appear to have a cork layer in between the outer layers, I guess this is to reduce heat transfer to the carbs when the engine is hot. On my 1973 Stag there is a notch which needs to be fitted in the correct orientation, on some vehicles where these carbs are used the notch isn't needed. One supplier for notched version is as follows, there may be other sources

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[spanishdave]

Thanks for the replies .. I’ve done some more research and these are in fact spacers . … it’s a good job I didn’t bin them .. they stuck and ripped a bit, but with a bit of hylomar and a gasket I’m sure I can make good.

[jbuckl]

They are also insulators…..

[Philip Wardle]

When the engine is running two effects come into play to reduce the temperature of the carburettors – one is the ideal gas law PV=nRT which happens when you send some air through the throat of a venturi, and the other is the latent heat of vaporisation which happens when the heat energy is transferred to the fuel to enable it to change state.

We don’t want the carburettors to get so cold that they start icing (e.g. as can arise in racing engines or aero engines), but neither do we want them to get so hot (e.g. so that the fuel starts boiling). The spacer / insulator is there to deal with the time window in which they become too hot to allow reliable starting because the cooling effects have stopped but the stored heat in the engine has not yet dissipated. It's even more important that they're fitted now that we're running on E5 / E10.