30 PICT vs 34

[johnnybuzzbox]

Will a 30 PICT 1 carb rn alright on a stock 1600cc DP engine? Would it be torquier than running a 34? Or simply lack top end? Headed into a budger built Baja.

[UFO pilot]

Hello

Don't let my post count fool you, my username here is new but I am not new to vDubs or this forum.

A 30 PICT 1 is the better choice. EIther will run but the 30 is the simplest and easiest to tune if you have the stock 034 dizzy. Spend the money on getting an 034 vacuum advance only dizzy if you must run either Solex 30 or 34. Side note, there is also Solex 30 PICT 2 and PICT 3 out there but the PICT 1 is the simplest and considered most reliable. Side note to the side note, I work for a guy who sells at VW swapmeets and the 30 PICT 1 sells the most to people who want the offroad performance it is known for: reliability, not "speed".

Don't run the 009 with either, both will have a flat spot with the 34 having a larger bog. The 34 has smog emissions tuning built in and needs the vacuum advance/retard dizzy to use all the vacuum settings on it. The slightly larger size of the 34 should offer more performance but that will be lost in tuning and running issues so avoid it unless money is that tight or you already have one.

Neither will be "torquier" or have more "top end" than the other, a stock 1600 DP will be all done by about ~4500 RPM and if you rev it to ~5000 it will probably be floating valves. You can get more performance if you build a "Super 1600" but that is more money and not what you asked.

There are a few more things to think about. Do you already have either of these carbs? Do you have a carb already but not either a 30 or 34? Do you have a BROSOL carb or are you considering buying one? Free tip: if you buy any BROSOL carb, find an OG German float from the same SOLEX carb and swap it in, even 50 years old the German float is better than a new BROSOL float.

One more thing I forgot to add: each carb has it's own intake because they are different sized where they mount. If you already have the 30 PICT 1 and the right intake for it you are set. Don't go crazy buying aftermarket intakes for this build you will get no more performance than the old skool VW stock intake.

Let us know what you do!

[Leatherneck]

UFO, thank you for your input. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

[johnnybuzzbox]

Thanks for the reply. If I can't get my 34 worki g nicely, I'd like to move to a 30.

[dustymojave]

There is an adapter to mount a 30PICT-1 on a dual port manifold made for a 34PICT-3.

The 30 PICT-1 has a round float bowl. 30PICT-2 and -3, H30-31PICT and 34PICT-3 all have square float bowls. That float bowl shape makes no difference in function of the carb or tune-ability, or reliability. BUT ... the square bowl DOES indicate a carb that is more complex and harder to tune and more finicky.

In offroad desert racing as well as in short course offroad, there are restricted 1600 classes that for decades have required use of the Solex 30PICT-1 carb. And the rules specify modifications that are allowed, including deleting the choke, and blocking the stock float bowl vent and adding an external float bowl vent to the top of the float bowl. EMPI sells a 30 PICT-1 carb already modified according to those rules and sells the adapter. If you already have the 30 PICT-1 carb, you can look at the EMPI catalog that's available online free to see what they have done. MY personal experience and that of thousands of racers over the last 40-some years has been that the 30 PICT-1 does NOT have a flat spot issue with a 009 or other non-vacuum advance distributor. ALL of the square float bowl Solexes DO have flat spot issues as they are designed to work with the vacuum advance. The 30 PICT-1 works with or without vacuum advance and is perfectly happy with all-centrifugal advance distributors such as a 009.

The 1600 classes have in recent years been allowed to use low compression, 91 octane gas and a single Weber 40 or 44 IDF instead of unlimited compression, 110-114 octane race gas and the 30 PICT-1. Works well and makes very close to the same power. Race engine builders claim 85-90hp either way. The lower compression engines are more durable and less expensive to build than the high compression engines and the fuel about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost and much easier to get, thus are quite popular lately among the racers.

For a relatively stock 1600, I like the 30 PICT-1, even if the engine is a dual port.

I used to know a guy who built a 2332 engine with stock heads, mild cam, and a 30 PICT-1 carb for his mountain forest trail buggy. He likes to explore ghost towns and abandoned mines on roads that may have been good 100 years ago, but are pretty sketchy in modern times. He doesn't like to go fast, but he has pretty good power. Not the way I would go, but he was REAL happy with it.