The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Tillotson vs Zenith-2

steve s · 07-22-2010, 01:09 PM

Unless you're into judging points and restoration details, it's just personal (for some, almost religious) preference. Both can work fine or have problems. The Tillotsons are prone to warping and it may be easier to get Zenith parts--good or otherwise. Haven't personally heard any credible performance claims one way or the other. However, many folks in our are club are very attached to the Marvel/Schebler/Sears type carb--we have a member who specializes in restoring them. They claim they have clearly superior performance, but my Zenith had no trouble keeping up with three "Marvel cars" on our Williamsburg trip, and I got astoundingly better mileage.

I spent a lot of time and money trying to restore old Zeniths and Tillotsons. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a brand new, exact repro Zenith-1 and have been very happy with it. Personally, although no one would believe to look at my car, I default to using the original part if it's a toss up functionally.

Steve

07-22-2010, 01:09 PM	#3
steve s Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kalamazoo Posts: 1,656	Re: Tillotson vs Zenith-2 Unless you're into judging points and restoration details, it's just personal (for some, almost religious) preference. Both can work fine or have problems. The Tillotsons are prone to warping and it may be easier to get Zenith parts--good or otherwise. Haven't personally heard any credible performance claims one way or the other. However, many folks in our are club are very attached to the Marvel/Schebler/Sears type carb--we have a member who specializes in restoring them. They claim they have clearly superior performance, but my Zenith had no trouble keeping up with three "Marvel cars" on our Williamsburg trip, and I got astoundingly better mileage. I spent a lot of time and money trying to restore old Zeniths and Tillotsons. Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a brand new, exact repro Zenith-1 and have been very happy with it. Personally, although no one would believe to look at my car, I default to using the original part if it's a toss up functionally. Steve Last edited by steve s; 07-22-2010 at 01:15 PM.