stock Carb.

[joeflh]

Hi All
I just bought a air maze from Mac auto parts for my model A pick up it has a Zenith Carb. and if fit's way to loose does any one know if there is a rubber bushing or something to seal it up or did i miss something i should have got to go with it i looked 2 time and i don't see a thing available i need to get some kind of a filter on Carb. ?
The part number i got is A9600
Thank Joe

[Gary WA]

I recommend not using the cardboard filter, use the screen type for the Air Maze. Cardboard can absorb fuel from the carb. no gaskets should be a bolt on top just snug it up not to tight it'll stay there. if it's a reproduction 10mm bolt.?

[jmeckel]

There are 2 types that look the same, one for the Zenith type of carb and one for the Tilly type of carb. The filter for the Zenith has a smaller ID than the one for the Tilly type of carb. Or someone may have ground it out trying to get it to fit something other type of carb. Or it could be just a poorly made part. You may have the one for a Tilly carb.

There are no gaskets or seals, just the screw on the top that locks it to the carb. You maybe able to slip a O ring or a thin piece of gasket material around the throat of the carb to seal it better, never tried it, just a thought.

If you have a copy of the original style it will have the metal mesh screen and no paper, this is how they were sold as an after market part in the 20's and 30's. Ford never installed them, but they were sold by parts dealers. If they do any good or not is a endless debate on this site. I can tell you I have one on mine (as did my Grandfather when he drove his A back in the day) I coat the screen with a very light coating of oil and clean it whenever it looks dirty, and it does attract dust / dirt. Is that just the oily surface or not.. who knows, I choose to use one, and it does not affect the carb, at least on my car.

[larrys40]

Joe
The model A never had an air cleaner and like Gary said a paper element filter can actually absorb fuel and cause a fire. The car will run better without it. Send it back and get your money back the car will be great without it
Larry Shepard

[H. L. Chauvin]

Joe,

1. As mentioned above, filters provided below a Model A & a Model B carburetor can get gas soaked from carburetor leaks and/or choking -- some Model A owners in the past reported Model A filter fires.

2. Also, some former & present filters offered are, & were not popular because of "restricted" air flow thus causing sooty plugs, fouled plugs & lower gas mileage.

3. A vast amount of carburetor air filter knowledge can be obtained from scientific test results on the K&N Filter website. For a Model A filter to function, all one needs is a large enough air filter that will not restrict air flow & provide the same volume of air flow as that of not having an air filter -- just that simple.

4. If one searches on E-bay for:"Ford Model A B air cleaner K&N filter system vintage new Tillotson Zenith Carb" one can see a very neat Hi-Boy "above" the carburetor filter -- some Model A vendors offer this same Hi-Boy filter. In reading further it can be ordered for other carburetors. It cannot get fuel soaked above the carburetor.

5. Some time ago I bought one on E-bay & it works great. If one would ask the seller, it can be ordered with an attachment for an A Zenith, an A Tillotson, & a B carburetor. It comes with free shipping, from a gentleman with a 100% positive feed back.

6. On the K&N site one can even order an even taller K&N filter for more air passage & less restriction to fit this gentleman's Hi-Boy design.

7. Some guys recommend Model A air filters are not needed -- some recommend driving without oil filters.

8. Maybe for Christmas someone can experiment with buying (2) new cars & (2) new large riding lawn mowers, one for the husband & one for the wife; & then remove the air filter & oil filter from one of each to see if it makes a difference.

8. Maybe one can report back in about (3) or (4) years to let us know whether or not filters work.

[Purdy Swoft]

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I agree with Larrys40. I believe that the air filters cause more problems than they solve. Two things that I noticed was that it robs power and cause the carburetor to run rich.. Some think that they help. everybody that wants to should try one and decide for themself, thats what I did.

[BarracudaBoy]

I have run a Air Maze on mine and when I opened my engine up here recently, the combustion chambers were covered half with carbon and half with dirt! I like original, but when it comes time get that rebuild engine, I think I'll go with some modern filtering tech. I'm surprised no one has dynode some engines with/without different filter setups.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi Joe,

Just in case one wants to read more technical information on Model A air filters, one can visit: " www.model-a.org "

then scroll down to "Filtering Air" which shows calculations for Model A air flow.

I use the 6.25" long K&N as the writer does with no air restriction; hence, no problem; but on a Hi-Boy device above the carburetor.

As he mentions on his site, & as one can find under "Search" herein, this air filter subject is, & perhaps will always be controversial -- each to his own & whatever makes one happy is the best way to go.

[Patrick L.]

The 9600 should be a wire mesh maze for the Zenith and the 9600T is for a Tillotson. They don't fit very well and I have never seen a gasket for them. I use the wire mesh maze and try to keep it oiled, but, they don't work very well.

[RonC]

Ford provided air cleaners as accessories. According to a Chicago Branch Service Letter dated 8-7-1930, there were two sizes A-18500 and AA-18500. The AA-18500 was larger for extreme dusty conditions. When used Ford stated it was not necessary to have the carburetor dash adjustment open 1/4 turn as normal.

[H. L. Chauvin]

FWIW:

When I got my 1930 Model A coupe 55 years ago, the former owner/mechanic/neighbor had installed a homemade air filter attached to his Model A Sears Marvel carburetor.

As a daily driver, with 99% of traveling done on local, dusty gravel rural roads, (& with the nearest hard surface super highway 11 miles away), there was lots of road dust circulating every day.

This filter was made with an empty tin can that had multiple ice pick holes punched into it, whereby the interior filter material was a non-ferrous alloy "Brillo" pad soaked in clean engine oil, all of which was attached to the carburetor with a water hose clamp.

The former owner instructed me to remove the "Brillo" every 30 days & to rinse it in clean kerosene, which was then only 15 cents a gallon.

Even though this make-shift filter did not look like much, I remember the fresh clean kerosene turning jet black each time after cleaning the "Brillo" pad every 30 days.

Today with paved roads, we have lots less dust on our highways.

But then again, one may want to consider the inside a very clean, well sealed immaculate residence, & try removing the air conditioning filter to experiment how long will it take before one's interior A/C coil is plugged solid with dirt; or try using the same A/C filter for one year without changing same to experiment how much dirt can be collected with interior "clean" air.

Also, with low Model A mileage, filtered carburetor intake air may not make any difference in Model A engine wear in one's lifetime -- different opinions & thinking are sometimes helpful in making Model A decisions.

[joeflh]

Thanks to you all for the reply
joe