File or Heat Tilly?

[California Travieso]

I like the Tillotson carb. If it were not good, I don’t think Henry would have supported it at all as a replacement. That would just not be good business.
The casting process of the Zenith or any cast iron part is not simple and then it has to be machined to specs. The Tillotson uses a die-casting process where the die itself is made by machining to very accurate tolerances resulting in very little machining of the final parts. It is cheaper in cost once the mold is made, quicker production times and lighter but still strong enough. If the top warps by over-tightening the gasket, it can be fixed. I personally like the cold clamping method. But if the Zenith breaks off an ear from over-tightening it is hard to easily fix without it looking bad.
Although in our hobby there are a lot of things done because somebody else says it is good, in this case I think it is actually a good replacement carb.
The only thing they could have done better would have been to make the top a little thicker so it would not warp as easily.

Cool Hand,

What model Tillotson do you have? I have a couple of Model X's that I want to restore and try on my Roadster.

David Serrano

 

[Cool Hand Lurker]

Cool Hand,

What model Tillotson do you have? I have a couple of Model X's that I want to restore and try on my Roadster.

David Serrano

I don't have one right now, the Model A coupe that it was on is gone. My current 1930 Model A Tudor has the stock Zenith carb but one of the mounting tabs has been broken off and welded back on but not very well. I bought a box of stuff at a swap meet that contained one of these Zenith replacement carbs for a 1950's Ford tractor that I think will try on the car. It doesn't have the GAV but instead has a manual adjustment screw. Hopefully that won't have to be fiddled with once it is set.