Okay, I am a neophyte, so go easy.  I have an 1988.5 model sammi with the old 1.3.  Motor still runs good but the carburetor is a pain in the old tookus.  Want to swap it after hunting season ends, and a weber seems to be the way to go, but dumb me, which one is best?  I run 235s and I am not looking to get too wild away from stock.  OR is their another better carburetor solution that those of you with experience can help me out on?

The two most common aftermarket carburetor replacements is the Weber DGAx32/36 and the Harley sidedraft carburetor.

The Weber (which I have) runs pretty good once you have it set up properly with the following caveats:

The top of the intake must be modified for optimum air/fuel flow.

The Weber will easily starve and stall on inclines.

Beware of poorly made Chinese knock-offs. One usually has problems with throttle linkage wear after a while - the throttle binds causing the engine to run out of control due to worn butterfly valve sleeve bearings.

I have been getting 18-22 MPG depending on my driving habits/situation - a bit dissappointing...


The Harley Carb - the most popular being the kit sold by Zuks Offroad (ZOR) - is a bit more turnkey.  The kit comes with one of two versions of a modified intake with or without a carburetor depending on your skills or condition of your wallet.

It is said that the sidedraft carb does nor stall on inclines and gets better mileage compares to the Weber.

Bonus: The ZOR sidedraft kit comes with service after the sale.  The Weber may not - depending on where you buy it.

The guy who prepped my Weber does not sell Webers anymore.

My vote is for the ZOR sidedraft...

While I have a stock carb on mine for vehicle registration purposes, If I were to ca=hange it, I would go myside from ZOR. I have no problems with my stock carb though and untill I can swap in a 1.6 with FI, it will stay put.