essex carb swap?

Unknown

my marvel carb and heat riser set up is not in the best shape and doesnt seem like the easiest thing to find. im going ot try my luck with it, but if it doesnt work out im thinking of going to a later style downdraft carb, a holley 94 or stromberg, i wonder how it would work with a 2x2 setup. anyway i will have to make an intake manifold which is no big deal as i am a welder. any one ever do this with succes? i like the car stock, but i also like to upgrade things as they need to be replaced.

Jon B

Before you go to all that trouble, you might give these people a try:



http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Passengerkits.htm



find ESSEX in the list, then in the page that pops up you scroll down to find Essex, and the year, and it will tell you which kit to buy.



Otherwise you may be off on a real detour that could involve a lot of time and effort and still might not solve the problem!

Unknown

well, the 1st problem is the heat riser, it has at least 8 cracks in it. big ones. trying ot do the right thing i already sent it out to be repaired which is going ot cost a minumum of 100 bucks. i had to remove everything from it including throtlle shaft and plate, all linkage. it would warp and get all funky when all the heat is put into it. i can only hope the throttle bore is good and the thing will even work after being repaired. i sent it out to someone with many years expierience in cast iron repairs, again to try and do the right thing. now for the carb, some one glass beaded the entire carb before i got it, which i own a glass bead cabinet, but i despise doing carbs. i did find a kit from kanter i think, but it was around 200 bucks and thats not to say a kit can even repair it. so i guess time will tell.

essexcoupe3131

see my email to you

mike

Geoff

The easiest, and least noticeable change you can make is to blank off the hot box altogether with a flat plate. make up a simple elbow to bolt to the inlet, and fit a Model A Ford carburettor. There are several different types of these (Zenith, Stromberg, Tillotson), all work satisfactorily, and give good performance and economy.

Geoff.

Unknown

cool im glad to hear im not the only one to think of that. ill try my luck and see how it works.

Unknown

geoff would you happen to know the cfm rating of the original carb so i can find something close.

Geoff

Sorry, I don't have that information. the Model A Carb throat size is 1-1/8" from memory. it has an adjustable main jet, so you can set it for the engine you are using it for. there are a number of other updraught carbs that would do the job as well in the Tillotson range, with adjustable jets, but these are probably a bit harder to get then Model A Ford ones. I always keep my eyes out for these at swap meets, as they were a Universal carb, with the throttle levers able to be switched to either side of the shaft. The problem with the '29 to '31 motors is the overhang of the heat exchanger makes it difficult to fit either a side-draught or down draught. You will have to fit a blanking plate over here, and either remove, or wedge open, the exhaust butterfly.

Geoff.

Geoff

Sorry, I have just looked up Model A Ford specs, and the originla carb is a 1" throat. However, the Ford engine is 200 cubic inches, against the Essex at 175 cubic inches, so it is well within its range.

Geoff.

Unknown

Geoff C., N.Z. wrote:

Sorry, I have just looked up Model A Ford specs, and the originla carb is a 1" throat. However, the Ford engine is 200 cubic inches, against the Essex at 175 cubic inches, so it is well within its range.

Geoff.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Model-A-Ford-Carburetor-TillotsonXF1928-1929-1930-1931_W0QQitemZ250102960043QQihZ015QQcategoryZ34198QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem





Would this be what you need ?? Good luck, Ron

essexcoupe3131

would the carb from the 35 that being parted out fit?

Geoff

No, the '35's had a down-draught carburettor. The extended hot box precludes fitting one of these.

Jon B

Htrd, a few days ago I sent you some ads for various 1931 parts, which I had gleaned from an old-car website. I now recall that one of these ads was from a fellow in Maryland who had bought a '31 Essex and then street rodded it. He was in our local Hudson chapter for awhile, and I had spoken to him 2-3 years ago. Anyway, I recognized his name from the ads and you might be able to get not only your carb, but a complete spare engine from the fellow (unless he's found a buyer), so be sure to contact him. Again, he was the one from Maryland.

awca12a

How did this work out?

I was advised not to rebuild my Essex carb because the pot metal will fail without warning and I'll have raw fuel all over a hot engine. The carburetor shop advised going the Model A route. They'll sell me a rebuild kit but when asked why they won't rebuild it for me I got an education on the Marvel.

Has anyone fabricated a replacement adapter?

Thanks



David

Unknown

ahh i just went through it, cleaned it and slapped it back together. i think it would run better with a down draft carb from something newer with a real accelrator pump and stuff, but i guess it works. im not crazy about it, but im 90% sur eim goign to swap out the stock engien for something else a little newer and more reliable.

Jon B

I may be misunderstanding you, but are you saying that the Marvel carburetor body is cracking?



I asked a friend in the Hudson club about this. He reports: "In 1930 and 31 marvel made a new carburetor, of new type material, that didn't fall apart as easily as they did in 1929. The main difference between the 2 carburetors is the 1929 has a large flared opening where the breather is attached and the choke is located and the 1930-31 has a choke and breather opening very close to the same size."



Just curious: are you sure that the carb on your car is the original-type one that was built for it? Possibly someone (over the years) has slipped a different one in, which is causing the problems.



If you have further carb questions regarding the '31, you might want to e-mail Carl Weber, who knows quite a bit about the older cars (and owns them, and buys and sells parts for them). He told me he'd be happy to answer any questions you have (and who knows -- he might have some part that you need!). His address is HEThudson654@aol.com (delete the HET before sending).