Sears/Allstate carburetor

john charlton

Well-known member
Just bolted one of these on my flying Budd cab pickup .It starts and idles fine but not road tested it yet .Just wondered who made it and why . The makers invested in production so must have seen a profit .

John in damp raining Suffolk County England . Happy Birthday to me today !!! 87 and never been kissed ( much )
 
From what I read it was a replacement carb from the 40’s. So they had 10 more years of R&D in carbs by then. I love the carb best gas mileage and best power combo.

Mike
 
IIRC correctly, these were the later "Marvel" or "Marvel Schebler" carbs being sold by Sears - who aligned themselves heavily with Allstate post WWII.

You can research further at https://modela.org/default.html "The Place for Model A Carburetors" and doubtless find an equivalent appearing carb in the right hand column.

I well remember finding in the 1964 Sears-Roebuck catalog (The "Big Book") the couple of pages devoted to the Model A. Nice front end view showing the Model A in the upper LH corner of the page.


Joe K
 
Allstate/Johnson/Marvel Schebler were aftermarket carbs sold to replace Zeniths on Model As. See Renner's Corner for more info.

I think you will be happy the way it runs.
 
Just wondered who made it and why . The makers invested in production so must have seen a profit .
5 million cars on the road Even reaching 1% of the owners would be 50,000 carbs. Sears was started in the 1880s as a mail order company. By the 1950s they had big department stores. They were big enough they could have the manufacturers build and brand their products. Car parts, tires, appliances, etc. At one time they even sold home kits. They delivered all the pieces and you assembled it. Sears sold rebuilt Model A engines for about $30.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears They could have been Amazon if they had kept up with the changes in buying habits.
 

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ModelA29;245 [url said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears[/url] They could have been Amazon if they had kept up with the changes in buying habits.

I thought so too. Transitioning from the catalog to the internet should have been easy for Sears. They were still viable in the early 2000’s. They were obviously asleep when technology came in.

David Serrano
 
Talking about the Sears-Roebuck catalog. I used to love that as a kid, looking at the model trains and guitars,toys.

Imagine ordering something and thinking it was great that it arrived in 2 weeks.
 
Yeah whoever was running the show at sears in the late 90s Through the 2,000s really blew it obviously they accepted their multi million dollar Salary bit didn't update with the times Really should be the #1 internet sales company today And unfortunately it's long gone now!!!
 
Hello, with available parts it’s understandable how the Model A lasted so long , The Erie ,Pa store had a large store about where the baseball field is now, it had a escalator to that you to the 2 nd floor, but you were on your own to get back down!!
 
The Avatar (pix) came with 140K miles on the odometer - and a worn out RED engine. The engine was un-numbered and the number pad seemingly un-molested (had not been ground off)

I theorized that this was an Allstate Replacement engine - Owned by the town, the truck had been used at the local Oakham, MA graveyard for miscellaneous sod transport or whatever. And given a typical life of the non-air filtered Model A engine of 70K miles, this was probably the end of the second go-around.

I still have this engine having since replaced it with a 1930ish engine that has been rebuilt by Richard Knight of this board. But the likely Allstate engine sits waiting for its own rebuild - if that is possible.

I've considered repainting it in "Ford Engine Red" to match what it was when I got it. EVERYONE has a green engine - but a red engine is a sign of HISTORY - and who are we to erase history?

And, of course, everyone will point and laugh and say "you know that engine should be GREEN."

Well, maybe not THIS engine.

Joe K
 
The Avatar (pix) came with 140K miles on the odometer - and a worn out RED engine. The engine was un-numbered and the number pad seemingly un-molested (had not been ground off)

I theorized that this was an Allstate Replacement engine - Owned by the town, the truck had been used at the local Oakham, MA graveyard for miscellaneous sod transport or whatever. And given a typical life of the non-air filtered Model A engine of 70K miles, this was probably the end of the second go-around.

I still have this engine having since replaced it with a 1930ish engine that has been rebuilt by Richard Knight of this board. But the likely Allstate engine sits waiting for its own rebuild - if that is possible.

I've considered repainting it in "Ford Engine Red" to match what it was when I got it. EVERYONE has a green engine - but a red engine is a sign of HISTORY - and who are we to erase history?

And, of course, everyone will point and laugh and say "you know that engine should be GREEN."

Well, maybe not THIS engine.

Joe K


Regarding Engine Color(s): my 1930 Roadster came with a light green colored engine. It seems to be too light to be the result of the aging of the dark Ford Green.

Does anyone know if some early engine rebuilder might have used a lighter colored green to differentiate their engines from original Ford engines?

David Serrano
 
Sounds like a Marvel Schebler to me. I run one on my A and love it. I think it is superior to the Zenith and Tillison. Much better acceleration when cruising in 3rd at about 45-50. I have run a Tillison and have a brand new rebuilt Zenith under my seat. Just my opinion.
 
I have rebuilt/restored dozens of these carbs and favor them over the others as far as smooth idle, better throttle response, and overall performance. It's important to make sure to not overtighten the mounting bolts and warp the mating surface flange that attaches to the manifold - this can cause a vacuum leak. The mounting flange is thick, so it can be sanded or filed flat and smooth to take out any warpage.
 
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