Marvel Carburetor

Has anyone got any Sears-Roebuck catalogs from the mid '30's? My guess the Marvel was introduced around 1935-'36. I recently put a rebuilt Marvel-Schebler on the truck. I noticed it ran better (smoother) but now need to open up my GAV much more for a longer time on start up, but down to 1/4 turn open when hot. My Zenith 1 was a perfect working example prior to my swap. I paid a lot more than 150. for it and it came with a worn throttle shaft, which I fixed.
 
I use 1/32" cork/buna-N gasket material. It is softer than the paper gaskets available and conforms to slight warpage on the carb body without the need to over tighten.


Do you have a Fel-pro # for that gasket material? The thinest I can find is 1/16".
 
Do you have a Fel-pro # for that gasket material? The thinest I can find is 1/16".

I have used the 1/16" gasket material and it works fine but the Marvel on my car right now has 1/32" Cork/Buta-N gasket material. I got it from McMaster-Carr. Unfortunately the smallest size is 3' long, enough to share with your entire club and still have some left over! Pretty cheap tho.
 

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I found the old Sears catalogs on ancestry.com. I looked through them pretty thoroughly, and the Allstate 2405 Marvel carb first shows up in 1946. So there you go.
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During the Model A's production run, the only carburetor listed by Sears was this package consisting of dual updraft Winfield carbs and a special intake.

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During the '30s, Sears offered a number of aftermarket carb brands for the Model A, including Simmons, Durobilt, and Cross Country. None of them look like the Marvel carb.

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More than a few companies made replacement carbs for the Model A & B cars. The Marvel Schebler 8-2843 had the Ford part number B-9510-A2 and the Tillotson Model XF had Ford part number B-9510-A3. The cast iron Zenith design faded away rapidly after these cars went out of production so Ford purchased the least expensive types for replacement parts sales.

Zenith also made a replacement for the Model A which was the model 124 1/2F P/N 0-6989 but it never had a Ford part number. It was set up to take the gravity flow fuel system and they made another for the B engine with the mechanical fuel pump.

There were two types of Tillotson carbs, the F1B round bowl style and the XF with the more conventional rectangular shape. I don't know if one is any better than the other since my experience is only with the model XF.
 
I've got 2 Marvel carburetors I have rebuilt. The information I have gathered refers to these as better than the original Zenith giving more performance than the Zenith.
I have cleaned all passages, flattened the mounting flange, and replaced all gaskets. The throttle shaft is tight. If interested Email me, please. $150.00ea
jonh@maine.rr.com

Why does one carb have a brass washer under the gav and the other carb does not?
 
Originally Posted by Benson View Post
I do not know about Marvel but Zenith choke and throttle plate screws are 5-40.
 
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Originally Posted by Benson View Post
I do not know about Marvel but Zenith choke and throttle plate screws are 5-40.
 
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I do not know off the top of my head but I do have a Marvel apart out in the garage. I will measure them when I get out there (moving slow this morn...)

Edit: The Zenith and Marvel have the same size thread (6X32) but the Zenith throttle plate screws are longer.

Dave Renner, https://rennerscorner.com/carburetor.html, would know. He has rebuild kits and small parts for Marvels. He has used parts too. I just got a good used throttle shaft from him to replace one of my worn ones.

Heck of a nice guy too...


I guess that I better recall the restored Zenith carburetors that I sent out into the field because they do not have 6x32 screws, they have the correct 5-40 screws in both shafts.
 
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I guess that I better recall the 1800 plus restored Zenith carburetors that I sent out into the field because they have 5-40 screws in both shafts.

Benson, I'm sure you are correct on the Zenith. When I answered that question all I did was compare a Zenith screw that I pulled out of a spare Zenith with a Marvel screw. Maybe that one Zenith I picked had an oversize screw?? My bad.

Regardless, a Marvel uses one 6-32 screw in the throttle plate.

But I do think you should go ahead and recall your 1800 plus restored Zenith carburetors just to check... :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
"neds 29" When I say "Clam Box" , does that make you hungry !! Saw an unrestored A sedan on one of my trips for a clam fix. Car drove off before i could talk to the owner. Rick.
 
That "brass washer" is actually a fiber washer or gasket for the GAV housing.

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The carb I'm rebuilding has a brass washer. I did not realize the rubber seal was not included in the gasket kit. Is there something I can substitute? Possibly an O ring?
 
The carb I'm rebuilding has a brass washer. I did not realize the rubber seal was not included in the gasket kit. Is there something I can substitute? Possibly an O ring?

Where did you get the rebuild kit? Renner's Corner kit has all those parts. I believe he sells the parts individually also.
 
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Where did you get the rebuild kit? Renner's Corner kit has all those parts. I believe he sells the parts individually also.

I did not need the entire rebuild kit. Out of the 6 carbs I was given, I have 2 good bodies, 1 excellant complete set of internals, and an assortment of spare parts. All I needed was gaskets. I see Renners has a separate GAV seal kit with the fiber washer, spring, and seal. I'll give them a call. I'll probably also get a Viton tip float valve and a spare gasket kit to justify the postage cost.
 
I did not need the entire rebuild kit. Out of the 6 carbs I was given, I have 2 good bodies, 1 excellant complete set of internals, and an assortment of spare parts. All I needed was gaskets. I see Renners has a separate GAV seal kit with the fiber washer, spring, and seal. I'll give them a call. I'll probably also get a Viton tip float valve and a spare gasket kit to justify the postage cost.

You might ask Dave about the fiber washer for the GAV housing ("Nut" in picture). I don't think it comes with the GAV seal kit. The kit contains the seal, spring and brass washer.

I got some 7/16" ID red fiber washers from Restoration Supply Company for spares (part#WAS042)
 
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