Air Maze vs. No Air Maze

[MrTube]

I think its easy to see how engine builders feel.

ALL production cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, lawn mowers, generators have been shipping with air filters for over 50 years and its not because the manufactures want to spend extra money.

I also think most model A engine builders insist you run an air filter or it voids the warranty.

Unfortunatrly this discussion gets repeated almost as often as oil arguments .[/QUOTE ]

All prod. cars in the last 50 years have larger eng's. and draw in a heck of a lot more air then a 40 hp. 80 year old "A" does.

Dirt bikes and lawn mowers need an air filter for obv. reasons, and so does an "A" if it is driven on dirt/dusty roads most of the time.

On todays roads, if your "A" has eng. pans and the correct fan, most of the dirt/dust will be blow'n away from the carb. intake.

If your going to get an air maze, you might as well get an oil filter also, and why not a GPS ?

It's JMHO, but i don't think the air maze is worth even one fire .

The power of the engine as well as displacement is irrelevant and you are 100% right, the A engine does benefit greatly from an oil filter. GPS is optional.

 

[30Tudor]

I run the same set up as "Clydes". Has anybody built a shield to go between the filter and the carb to deflect any gas that may drip from the carb? If so, can you please send me a picture?

 

[snowbird06]

I put a KN E-2040 filter on my 30 A and it works very well......

 

[John Butts in CT]

Like snowbird06, I run a KN E-2040. I'm very happy with my engine's performance and with the muffled intake sound. The filter does fit above the engine pan.

Also, like at least one earlier poster, I highly recommend http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30531

 

[Jack '29 Sport Coupe]

Mine always ran fine with any of the filters, but the mileage is better on mine
if I use no filter at all. JMHO

Jack

 

[Kevin in NJ]

How many miles do you drive a year and how many dirt roads do you drive down?

If you are going to put many miles on your car or see a lot of dirt then you have greater concerns. Keep in mind that, unlike later engines, the Model A was designed to ingest dirt and still keep running. One of the advantages to the thick poured Babbitt was it could safely embed dirt and not hurt the crank. If you are running inserts then you might need to worry more.

 

[Special Coupe Frank]

Your car, your choice, your money....

Frankly, I think the super-size Air-Maze with the "duck-under" U-tube and pleated paper element or the K&N type filters are the way to go on a driver / tour car.

The original wire-mesh Air-maze looks nifty and "vintage" but can't begin to compare to modern filters or a decent oil-bath unit.

In the interest of full-disclosure, presently I'm not runing a filter on my '28... the air-maze fell-off and was crushed by the car behind me; but that engine is very tired, with 86,000 miles on it, and is definitely on its last legs before needing a rebuild. So I don't think the lack of a filter is going to greatly affect it's longevity.

When I get a re-built or better engine in my car, it WILL get a modern filter, and an oil-filter as well.

 

[allen]

How many miles do you drive a year and how many dirt roads do you drive down?

If you are going to put many miles on your car or see a lot of dirt then you have greater concerns. Keep in mind that, unlike later engines, the Model A was designed to ingest dirt and still keep running. One of the advantages to the thick poured Babbitt was it could safely embed dirt and not hurt the crank. If you are running inserts then you might need to worry more.

Kevin I think your dead on, also with the oils (non detergent) I don't think engines got the miles we expect today, a motor with 100k was way past its life, but with todays oil and filters 100k to me is very approachable

 

[RonC]

I prefer running without an air cleaner. The car made it 80 years without one and using an air cleaner muffles that "Model A" carb sound.

 

[30Tudor]

I wanted to update this thread based on a question I asked earlier this year regarding building a shield for a "duck under" air filter assembly using a K&N 2040 filter.

I ended up building a shield using 4" heavy gauge galvanized heating duct as shown in the attached photos. It is cut out of one piece of tin and I soldered the tabs together on the one end . There is about a 3/4" gap between the top of the filter and the shield. The bottom is open.

I do get the occaisonal drip from my carb and at least now it is not soaking into the filter.

You can see in the pictures that I like filters!

I hope somebody can use this idea.

 

[MrTube]

i wanted to update this thread based on a question i asked earlier this year regarding building a shield for a "duck under" air filter assembly using a k&n 2040 filter.

I ended up building a shield using 4" heavy gauge galvanized heating duct as shown in the attached photos. It is cut out of one piece of tin and i soldered the tabs together on the one end . There is about a 3/4" gap between the top of the filter and the shield. The bottom is open.

I do get the occaisonal drip from my carb and at least now it is not soaking into the filter.

You can see in the pictures that i like filters!

I hope somebody can use this idea.

nice!!!!