Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

VV Carb

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    VV Carb

    Why was the VV carb such a disaster for Ford?

    #2
    The main problem I had with the one on my 82 was the cold enrichment system, with wear, began to function more than it should. A conventional choke would have cured that, but there wasn’t much room left on top of the carb with the moving venturi doors up there.

    Combine a few design flaws with the complexity that overwhelmed most mechanics at the time, and you have a recipe for “pull that junk off and replace with a 2150 or Holley.”

    With my cold enrichment disabled, I was pleased with mine. Good highway MPG. Equal to EFI in my experience. Throttle response was good as well.
    1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
    1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

    GMN Box Panther History
    Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
    Box Panther Production Numbers

    Comment


      #3
      Although I've never dealt with one, my understanding has always echoed what Tiggie remarked. It was decent, but mechanics unfamiliar with its intricacies would misdiagnose the cause of an issue, misadjust to compensate, and ultimately get it out of the picture rather than read up on how to properly solve the issue.

      Cough cough similarities to CFI.

      Looking back in a modern context, I suppose the lack of being able to hop on the internet for a quick Google [or fire up OnDemand, or AllData] would have been a serious limitation to the independent mechanic whose long-time-loyal customer just brought in a nearly new VV-equipped car, without having the actual Ford books on hand.

      I believe in the modern world there are issues surrounding availability and/or quality of rebuild parts so they may be a bit of a dead end. Or so it seems anyway.
      Last edited by kishy; 06-13-2018, 02:39 PM.

      Current driver: Ranger
      Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
      | 88 TC | 91 GM
      Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
      Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
      | Junkyards

      Comment


        #4
        VV Carb = royal pain in the ass., I have tangled with them in my time and I would not do it again.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Tiggie View Post
          ...With my cold enrichment disabled, I was pleased with mine. Good highway MPG. Equal to EFI in my experience. Throttle response was good as well.
          Can't beat that smooth power delivery of SEFI. My truck feels like a tractor with TBI compared to how smoothly SEFI shits & gets.
          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

          Comment


            #6
            VV Carb aka "Variable Vagina"
            Originally posted by Rodentkiller View Post
            VV Carb = royal pain in the ass., I have tangled with them in my time and I would not do it again.

            Comment


              #7
              They did have special tools and service procedures. I expect its like most other 1980s Ford stuff, if you don't have and understand the manual before screwing with it, you're SOL. Emissions era carb stuff in general suffered from that. If anything wasn't exactly so, it was just f'd.
              86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
              5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

              91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

              1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

              Originally posted by phayzer5
              I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

              Comment


                #8
                I still use my VV on my 85 wagon (351 Canadian car). I replaced it with a new one off ebay about 10 years ago and it does run great.

                Yup special tools and special knowledge for the rebuilding of those. I have the kits and the tools and when they are all set up they run great. Im not gonna touch it.

                Like mentioned earlier its the start enrichment / choke are the troublesome parts. Cold they run super rich out of the box. Great when running using the active feed back/lean cruise.

                Steve

                Comment


                  #9
                  I attempted to save mine... they require many special adjustments and different parts wear out. They are very complex in comparison to a 2150 carb (which i now have on my 351). When new they were great in theory, and if EFI wasn't right around the corner the 7200 probably would have been improved upon. A carb that is able to adjust its AFR based on a sensor is pretty neat if you think about it, saves a lot of time with tuning and nets better fuel mileage. That being said, I wouldn't willingly choose to put on one an old car at this point. the 2700 which didn't have the stepper motor to control the AFR was closer in relation to a motorcycle carb turned on its back, more or less.

                  Fun fact I was doing some looking up some carb info and there's another ford carb that had a similar feature...i cant remember what it was though, maybe a holley?

                  Also the self test where you had to put a pipe on the intake manifold and hit it with a hammer was entertaining...this was to test the knock sensor.
                  -Phil

                  sigpic

                  +1982 Ford LTD-S Police Car. Built 351w, Trickflow 11R 190 Heads, Holley Sniper EFI, RPM Intake+ Hyperspark dizzy, WR-AOD, Full exhaust headers to tails. 3.27 Trac-Lok Rear. Aluminum Police Driveshaft. Speedway Springs+Bilstein Shocks, Intermediate Brakes, HPP Steering Box.

                  +2003 Acura CL Type S 6-speed

                  Comment


                    #10
                    My Dad bought a lincoln that had the non feedback VV and it neeeded rebuilding, he had it done it turned into a disaster so he bought the Holly replacement after instalation and set up his car ran nicely. I had the feedback VV in my 80 Crown Vic car ran without any problems except the cold start system was effed up by the time I found out I in a stupid moment played tag with a truck bad move on my part car went to the junkyard.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Funny story while we’re all here.

                      It was winter time in West Virginia when I was in college and I had my 82 and I decided to enable my disabled cold enrichment system. The system worked in that it richened, it was just too rich. Had to drive a friend about a mile down the road. So we hopped in the car and I reset the tripminder for giggles. In a 2.6 mile round trip (1.3 there/sit/1.3 back), it used over a gallon of gas. Pig rich the whole way.

                      I disabled the cold enrichment when I returned. It still started on a 5 degree Fahrenheit morning, and with a short warm up period, was fine without any choke. It idled so low at first you could almost count the cylinder fires. It was a well worn engine. That was also the morning I determined the thermostat was in two pieces.
                      1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
                      1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

                      GMN Box Panther History
                      Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
                      Box Panther Production Numbers

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X