Zenith Carb: New vs. Rebuilt

k_dodd@swbell.net

k_dodd@swbell.net

Member
For a spare carburetor for my cars --is there an advantage or disadvantage of NEW vs REBUILT Zenith carburetors? I know that some reproduction parts are more problematic than others.
 
I personally would choose a rebuilt with good flow tested jets and proper cleaning and set up over new!
 
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I purchased a new Zenith Carb. about a year ago thinking I'd avoid potential problems with a rebuilt. I had purchased a new Zenith about 15 years ago and it was great, and I'm still using it today. With a "new" car now in the picture, and a problematic carburetor, I figured I'd bite the bullet and go for another new Zenith. I paid over $500 for it. It was nothing but grief and trouble. I ended up returning it for a full refund and picked up a nice Marvel Schebler that works great.
 
There are too many good original Zeniths 'floating around' sorry for the pun.

I'd go that route and avoid the 'new' ones.

An original with Renner's flo-tested jets and you can't go wrong.
 
We rebuild hundreds of Zeniths every year and they work great. For fun, I bought a new Zenith last week to give it a try to see how they work. I could write for twenty minutes and not say all the things wrong with it. It ran. It didn’t run well. So many things to fix. Got it fixed and all good now. Don’t waste your money on the new ones.
 
As others have said, go with a good rebuild. I made the mistake of buying a new air balanced one. What a piece... For starters the throttle shaft had way too much clearance. It went doenhill from there.
 
Oh, I don't know, guys. The day I received my very first Social Security check my wife and I drove to Snyder's and I bought a new Zenith. That's been 12 years ago and I haven't had a bit of trouble since.
Marty
 
Reading thru the thread…..
Seems new carbs 12-15 years ago were good…now they are problematic.
Wonder what morphed between then and now? Outsourcing? Huuuum..same story as everything these days?
 
Oldbluoval said:
Reading thru the thread…..
Seems new carbs 12-15 years ago were good…now they are problematic.
Wonder what morphed between then and now? Outsourcing? Huuuum..same story as everything these days?
Click to expand...

Bill, the biggest thing from those 12 years ago was they were each tested and flogged before they were sent to a customer.





k_dodd@swbell.net said:
For a spare carburetor for my cars --is there an advantage or disadvantage of NEW vs REBUILT Zenith carburetors? I know that some reproduction parts are more problematic than others.
Click to expand...

Realistically, you don't need a spare carburetor for your cars if each of them have a correctly functioning carburetors already on them. Spend the time to have them correctly restored from someone like Steve, Gary, et/al that can fully renew the carburetor by installing a correctly fitted throttle shaft, flowing the jets, cleaning all passages, burnishing the GAV seat, etc. where the functionality will provide 40k-50k miles of flawless service. If you find yourself needing to swap to using a spare to clean the car's carburetor due to rust, water, etc., then my suggestion is to fix the root problem. Back in the day, Model-A owners did not need to own a spare carburetor.
 
I've had my carbs on my A's for twenty plus years and never have replaced them! Still running fine..
 
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