Here are a few testimonials from customers of Island Automotion Ltd.

Rhys,

 

Yesterday afternoon, I reinstalled the carbs in my XK120. You made them look so beautiful, that I often found myself handling them with towels so as not to mar the finish. It took about 5 hours as I am slow and methodical and I like to document everything as I go. I also installed new sparkplugs, a new inline fuel filter. I had previously drained the gas tank to be sure there is absolutely no water in the tank. This afternoon, I filled the dash pots with ATF, reinstalled the batteries, put some gas in the tank and crossed my fingers. Vrooommm! She started right up and after one slight puff of white smoke, she ran smooth and clean.

 

I let the engine warm to standard operating temperature and I marveled at the fact that when warm, the mixture on both carbs was fine, and the idle speed (rpm) was perfect and the balance (checked with a Unisyn) was just about right on! Essentially, I had to adjust NOTHING!!!!! You dialed in both carbs perfectly on the bench!

 

I shut the engine down, reinstalled the air intake hoses and went for a spin. I can honestly say that the car has never run this well in the ten years I have owned her. The engine ran as smooth as silk and accelerated without hesitation and at a rate I had never experienced. There was no visible exhaust and she took a long steep hill effortlessly. On descent, she purred. In every respect, performance is now outstanding.

 

I have won my share of Concours d'Elegance events, and with these beautifully restored carburetors, I expect even more favorable judging. More importantly, I will take far more pleasure in driving my XK120, which after all is what such a machine is made to do!

 

Rhys, your work is second to none. You took two of the ugliest SUs on the planet and made them worthy of a vintage show car- both mechanically and in terms of appearance. I can't thank you enough!

Karl

Note - Karl owns this award-winning XK 120 FHC

Hi Rhys,

 

The carbs allowed me, for the first time ever, to start the car in seconds after turning the key! I installed them on Saturday. I am totally thrilled and although I need to do a bit of fine tuning, it ran fine on a short run, and most importantly it starts and idles really well. I will definitely recommend your work!

 

If you are ever passing through my area give me a call and stop by for a tea and meet the old car too!

Barry

Note - Barry owns a 1963 Bentley Series III V-8

I can't tell you how much I'm loving these SUs. Sooo much better than the Weber. I can't believe there would be that much difference, but the power gain has been noticeable. I thought that the power gain and better performance would be the only real gain with the swap, but I was wrong. Shifting and acceleration have improved--the throttle is nice and tight and in the perfect place to shift faster and smoother. Thank you so much for your fine work. I intend to recommend you to anyone needing SU carb work.

George

Note - George converted his B18 engine from the aftermarket Weber two barrel downdraft back to the original HS6 set-up.

Rhys, Got the carbs, they look and drive fantastic. The needles you used in these made a very noticeable difference in how the engine drives. Lots and lots of power! :) I had to put slack in the throttle linkage to stop accidentally spinning the tires on my gravel driveway! Thank you again.

Erik F.

Hey Rhys, It's Alex calling to let you know that I finally got the SU's working. The car is running AWESOME thanks to those SU's, and they look so good. I can't wait until I finish this car, now that it runs like it does. Oh man I'll tell you, my little Volvo accelerates faster, is more responsive, just overall more happy. Thanks again,

Alex W.

The carbs came today. HOLY COW! They look great! Not much gives me goose bumps at my age, but these did.

Leonard K.

Rhys, The carbs just arrived and they're absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for your superb efforts. I did a couple laps around the block to warm things up and the only fine-tuning required was tweaking the mixture less than a quarter of a turn. For a B18 with 142,000 miles it runs like a new car.

Bob L.