Building A Better Carb

After encountering numerous reproduction stock carburetors that simply fell short of the mark, we set out to create our own version of the Solex 34 PICT-3 and 30-PICT series carburetors. Our goal was to create an affordable aftermarket option that improved on the original design. We put our carburetors on the market after over a year of research and development and today, we can confidently say that our carburetors are the best reproductions available.

After some tinkering, we were able to determine where other reproductions are lacking and design our own version to eliminate those flaws. The first and most important step was to identify how we can make the 34 PICT-3 more reliable. And thankfully the answer was simple, spend a little more to have it made to our own specifications rather than buying unbranded copies from existing manufacturers.

While they may look similar, our carbs are held to a much higher standard of quality than other reproductions and have minor adjustments made to optimize performance. For the 34 PICT-3 series, we have found that our version is free of the common issue of not drawing enough vacuum to work properly with the Single Vacuum Dual Advance (SVDA) distributors found on stock engines. It’s a stock carb, it really should work with a stock distributor.

Our 34 PICT-3 draws significantly more vacuum than other comparable reproductions, which helps advance engine timing. Given that most folks out there tend to tune their carb on the richer side, this is not a problem for most stock applications. It mostly means you don’t have to feather the accelerator pedal to avoid bogging down whenever you want to pull away from a stop. With one of our carbs, you can pull away smoothly without any extra effort.

Likewise, the 30 PICT series, which is as close to perfect as a VW carb can get, benefits primarily from small improvements more than drastic changes to the casting. For example, we found that aftermarket carbs tend to fully open the choke prematurely – not due to any issue with the heating element, but rather because of a poorly made choke cam.

The choke cam on our 30 PICT reproduction has deep cut steps to prevent it from slipping down off choke before the engine has come up to operating temperature, which helps minimize engine wear during the warm up process. The steps on the cam wear down over time from use, so you don’t have to worry about it slipping off choke after the initial wear-in period.

Both carbs come with a 12 volt choke element and are plug and play for pretty much any Type 1 engine. If you have a 6v electrical system, there is no need to worry – the choke element is just going to take a minute or so longer to expand due to the lower current.

If you’re thinking about replacing your stock carb, we can’t recommend our 34 PICT-3 and 30 PICT enough. They’re stoutly built and have been thoroughly tested by Sam, our most experienced tech here at JBugs, as well as hundreds of happy customers since they’ve hit the market. We’re extremely satisfied with their quality and think you will be too.