Air pumps

[Guest]

Was looking at an 81 (204bhp) SC at the weekend and was surprised to see it fitted with the air-pump. I know these were on the 180bhp Europe & US models (but most people took them off). The guides seem unclear about whether they persisted to the 204bhp European spec. Can somebody clarify? Thanks

 

[AirCooledExcellence]

Hi Rupert,

I think they alll had them, I know my 83 had it's pump removed by a previous owner.

Cheers,

Tim.

 

[bruceb]

Rupert

mine is an 83 model and had the air pump fitted when I purchased the car, long since removed however!

Bruce

 

[dugsud]

I presume my 83 also has had it removed by a previous owner as there is an unused bracket on
the left of the engine.

What did these air pumps actually do.........obviously not much as the don't seem to
be missed []

 

[bones]

The air pump was a clever idea to beat American emission laws, fresh air is pumped past the exhaust valves to 'dilute' the polutents particularly at start up. If you have a car with the pump removed check that the cylinder heads have the blanking plugs fitted if the rest of the air pumps tubing has also been removed. As far as I know all production model SCs have this power sapping device.

 

[Guest]

Ah Mr Saunders, I've been expecting you []

My air pump also long gone, the old inlets still in place but blocked up, have the little blanking plugs to sort it properly but as you well know I have no time to do the job at the mo!

Tell us more about this '81 example then.

JG

 

[Guest]

Hi John

Just because it's Halloween there's no need to post spooky messages like "I've been expecting you"!!

Was 81 SC without the tail and original Berber Tweed interior - that's good bit. Bad bit was the respray that covered all the rust and the dodgy looking service history - no receipts and all the stamps looking suspiciously neat & tidy, if you know what I mean.

When I find a good one that deserves a second look, I'll bang on your door.

PS: Why does this site say I'm not a PCGB member. I've paid my dues and my membership number is in my profile. Any thoughts?

PPS Thanks to everybody else for the replies

 

[RSGulp]

My '83 SC still had the air pump fitted when I bought the car about 5 years ago. I simply removed the belt that drives it.

All this talk about removing the pump and blocking the inlets makes me wonder whether I should have done the same. Is there any advantage to be gained by completely removing the pump - apart from losing the excess weight?

Rupert - see "General Discussion Forum" and at the top is a 'sticky' thread about how to get non-member switched to PCGB member.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[tripe]

Removing the pump saves a bit of weight and improves access to the left hand side of the engine bay. That's about it. If you decide to remove the pump and the ancilliary pipework then it can turn into a bit of a chore - the pipes into each cylinder head can rust and seize quite badly with shearing and burring of nuts a possibility - turning a straightforward job into a saga.

Unless you're desperate for a bit of weight loss the 'do nothing' option is the safest.