I've always wanted to put side drafts on a flathead six Mopar, never seen it done. In searching here and elsewhere, I've come across very little info on vintage U.S. side drafts. Two pop up regularly, the Carter YH and an unknown Zenith. The YH seems to be frowned upon for performance application, which seems odd since it was on early 'Vette's, and turbo Corvairs. The Zenith, I have no clue what model, seems to have been O.E. on big IH trucks, and was referenced to have been used on the Eddie Miller Jr. lakester. Mention was also made that Nicson made a Chevy manifold for it. Does anybody know anything about either of these carbs? Is there a particular model of the Zenith to look for? Can the Carters be made to "run"? The Carters are cool looking, and I found a guy that can build a set, but I want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into first. One other thing- any carb guys here think a regular down draft carb could be fabbed/modified into a side draft? Remove the bowl, fab a new remote one, It'd probably be a huge pain in the ass, but......
You might want to look into motorcycle carbs,Lots of multiple side draft options available.Some posts on the subject yesturday I think.
One thing's for sure--the Cater YH is a lot easier to come by. I've only seen pictures of the Zenith side drafts, never one in the flesh. The YH also was standard equipment in single form on early '50s Nash OHV sixes.
Two YHs were mounted stern to stern on an aluminum H-shaped manifold for marine 312 Fords. I've seen a similiar layout for a marine 327 Chevy.
Side draft Strombergs and SU's are still easy to find. One big advantage of using a "Constant Depression" carb like those is that it's tough to overcarb an engine. The slide will only open as far as engine demand will allow. They have a crappy rep, being linked with Brit cars, but that's mostly because they were poorly maintained or tuned. When done right, it's hard to beat an SU. For that engine, I would look for a pair of H6 SU's or even H8's if its in a higher state of tune.
I've seen those at swap meets for years, the Y block ones. Never paid much attention to them, and they were always cheap. Nowadays I see them in the 300-400 range, that's alot for two core carbs. I'd like to run 3 carbs, since the Mopar engine has three intake ports, with balance tubes between, and I've given alot of thought to the SU's, I'm holding off for now pending further info.
funny, i just rebuilt a zenith for a guy from an old international crawler tractor. there are actually lots of weird places you'll find those carbs. old ford industrial vehicles through the 60's, old volvos and rovers also had them. as well as the old international agricultural/industrial stuff like this one was off of. though the guy did say that the carb was a replacement from a 60's ford tractor. neat peices, wish i'd have taken some pics now.
oh yeah, check here...seems there are several for sale. http://www.newpennjerseytractorpullers.com/forsale.htm
I know this is a 3 year old thread, but I'm also looking for info on early Zenith side draft carbs. John Gerber used a pair on his Chevrolet powered sprint car in the 20's. Don't know what he pulled them off of, but know that they ran well for him. I was hoping to find out more about them and how cost-effective they are (translate as- are they cheaper than Winfields). Any info on these early Zeniths would be of great help! Thanks, Bill
http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/ this site will give you all the info you need for carbs and what they came on, I just took one off an International motor from the 20s.
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