Dellorto Carb question - cylinder wash? Help please

[spoolin4life]

Hey folks,

So I've just had a fresh rebuilt motor (L28) and and did a carb rebuild with a friend. I did the sequence of breaking in the motor and have done a couple oil changes after the initial break in and driving 20kms or so. When him and I were putting the carbs back together before starting the engine for the first time (DHLA 40's) he forgot to put the emulsion tube in the 3rd carb as I had 2 other spares I wasn't watching at this point. I had done a total of 40 miles of stop and go driving thus far without the e-tube. I just put the emulsion tube back in and did an oil change after thoroughly letting the oil drain from the car. When driving the car hesitated through 2000-3000 rpms but pulled fine after that and felt like my old L28. When I changed the oil each time it was a little darker than normal but never smelled of gas really. I've changed plugs a couple times also as my number 1,2, 5 and 6 were dark. Not sure if I should put a couple drops of motor oil in the spark holes to be safe.

What's the chances I've washed the cylinders and done irreparable damage? Would love some feedback cause I'm stressing a lot.

Edited August 5, 2017 by spoolin4life

[Mark Maras]

 Hopefully, no damage. A compression test might ease your mind a bit. Other than that, watch for symptoms like blue smoke from the exhaust, oily plugs, gas in the oil, etc. Install a new set of plugs so you can get a good color reading and dial in the carbs. I think the engine will be fine. Good luck and keep us posted.

[spoolin4life]

I got it looked at and it there doesn't seem to be any cylinder wash. But I didn't even notice the misfiring as a result of the e-tube problem nor did I check for spark. Seems my distributor or ignition coil is done. I'm going to replace both as the car is only running on 4 cylinders. Do you think 70 miles of driving on 4 cylinders would've done any harm? the car still pulls well over 3000rpm. I'm just afraid I've done some internal damage now. My builder says the motor will be fine as long as I don't drive it for a long time. I just hate reading posts online. All the posts I've read scare the hell out of me.

Thanks for the input though.

Edited August 6, 2017 by spoolin4life

[Mark Maras]

 Finish tuning it and drive it. I've heard of a lot worse things than this and everything turned out fine. I had one old engine that ran fine when I fired it up after years of sitting but was a little low on compression on two cylinders. A bit of blue smoke in the exhaust, slightly oily plugs in those two cylinders. After a few hundred miles, everything cleared up. I think those two cylinders had stuck rings and or rusty cylinder walls. Marvel Mystery oil in the cylinders prior to starting may have prevented more problems. Evidently the rings became unstuck or the rings re-seated. The engine lasted for years with good power and no problems. Enjoy it.

[spoolin4life]

Thanks Mark! Happy to hear some positive feedback beyond the other posts I've read. Gotta wait for parts but I will update when all is in and running.

[LeonV]

Your main circuit should not have even activated without emulsion tubes, i.e. it would've been running lean, not rich. Sounds like some tuning is in order.