[JOES31]

Henry also didn't want to change from the Model T to the Model A. He just wanted to keep on making T's until his son Edsel explained how Ford was losing market share and would be gone if they did not change. Hence Edsel won the argument and the A was produced. Basically we have Edsel to thank for the A, and acquiring Mercury and Lincoln. I wonder what Ford would be like today if Edsel would not have died at such an early age.

Paul in my experience ingestion of particulate matter is always going to be worse on an updraft. Dust and dirt comes from the road and a carb is basically a vacuum cleaner and as we know the A updraft is closer to the road than most downdrafts where the dirt and grit would have a much harder time making its way into the carb. Just think about it for a moment. Would more dust be lifted with a vacuum cleaner facing down a foot from the ground or facing up 3 feet from the ground. The large stuff that could do immediate mechanical damage is not the problem. You're right. It can't get past the carb. It's the fine particulate matter that is the problem. It's not going to happen right away and lets face it not many put that many miles on our A's so not running a filter for most of us will not be a problem. Take the filter off your modern car that you drive every day and not only will you wear the engine prematurely you will void your warranty. But we are talking about A's.

From experience I cannot run an engine without a decent filter. My problem.