Questions about stock 1608 IDF setup

[FiatRunner]

Hi all,

I've owned my 1974 for nearly four years now, and it's been awesome. I've put 15,000 miles on it. That said- I'm finally getting brave enough to dive into the car, and make it not just good, but great. I've done a lot of research and figured out that the block and cylinder head are both from a 1608 coupe. The intake manifold is a stock dual-plane and the carb (which I previously thought was a DHS) is confirmed to be a 26/32 DHSA. It runs ok, but not amazing.

Here's the bottom line: I've done little to no work on this car in the past year, and I need a challenge. I'm thinking about purchasing a Weber IDF manifold, cheap knockoff IDF carbs, and fitting them to the car. I'd tear the carbs completely apart, clean them very well, and install the venturis, jets, emulsions, and valves that would've come in the stock 40IDF 13/15s. This would allow for easier tunability and better reliability than the existing DHSA carb with it's vacuum secondary. There's a lot of info about IDFs out there. I'm not really looking for more performance, just want to do something fun with my car. That said, I have a few questions:

1- I have the throttle linkage with the horizontal rod that pivots along it's axis. Was this the stock linkage on cars with IDFs? Would it work if I were to install center pull IDFs? I assume I would have to get the correct center brackets to mimic the stock ones. I'm hoping to get a setup that is as stock as possible. I'm not totally opposed to fabricating something custom, which I have the capability to do, but the engineers at Fiat know more than I do. I'm sure that whatever they designed is likely a better solution than mine. The rocker arm assembly thing that's mounted to the cam cover didn't come until 1975, right?

2- Can I use the stock fuel pump? Or a mechanical pump of some sort? As far as I am aware this is a stock 1608, aside from the exhaust. I'd rather not install an electric fuel pump if possible, the electrical side of this car is untouched and I'd like to keep it that way. Plus a mechanical pump just keeps things simple. Of course I'd get the proper pressure regulator.

3- I drive the car in the late spring and early fall, sometimes in temperatures as cold as 45 or 50 degrees F. I would need to get carbs with an enrichment valve/lever/setup, correct? From what I can tell the stock IDFs had them. Does anybody know how they were activated? My car has a manual choke cable, I would love to use it with the enrichment system if possible.

Really appreciate any info. I realize there are a lot of threads asking about IDFs, but I wasn't able to find the specific answers I need. You guys on here are the best. Thanks!

[wizard124]

In my younger days, I owned a '71 sport coupe. I mounted the European version waffle manifold and twin carbs.
I rebuilt the engine adding 80/40 cams IIRC. The only mechanic I new at the time advised me against higher compression pistons. I remember spending alot of time fiddling with idle air screws and trying to balance each intake.

When time came for smog checks, I'd swap the original carb and manifold. The car ran very well.

I didn't achieve much performance gain. I think what I'm trying to say unless you build the block and heads, you may just want to leave well enough alone.

[FiatRunner]

I didn't achieve much performance gain. I think what I'm trying to say unless you build the block and heads, you may just want to leave well enough alone.

Yeah, I'm not really looking for any performance gain. It's fast enough for me. I really just want to make it a little bit more fun to drive. Maybe a little bit more intake noise, and generally run better. I don't think the current carb is tuned super well.

Would I be able to make more power, for cheaper, with a simpler setup? Yes. Would it be a fun challenge? No. The brakes, suspension, drivetrain, and looks of this car are all gone through and work how I'd like them to. Quite frankly, I'm getting a little bored with this car, it's been so reliable! The current engine/carb tuning is an unknown and I think I'd enjoy fitting new carbs.