Upgrading to a different carb/intake?

[Sunnybob]

Hi Folks, what about the Zenith 32 NDIX? It was used on french flathead, it should fit Mercury intake with no modifications


https://it.scribd.com/doc/39219775/Zenith32NDIX

[tubman]

Boy, I have no idea. Does the French distributor work on the "Load-A-Matic" principle? If so, the carb from your link most likely won't work right. All in all, I think it's a bad idea. The original Holley's are tough enough to work on and find parts. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for these. Looks like you friendly local Porsche dealer may be able to help you, but at what cost?

[Sunnybob]

Originally Posted by tubman

Boy, I have no idea. Does the French distributor work on the "Load-A-Matic" principle? If so, the carb from your link most likely won't work right. All in all, I think it's a bad idea. The original Holley's are tough enough to work on and find parts. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for these. Looks like you friendly local Porsche dealer may be able to help you, but at what cost?

You are right. Sure the "load of matic" could be a problem using a Zenith, I hadn't thought about this snag. As it is not very popular as advance system, a distributor change could be best solution, but I understand it could be quite expensive. Otherwise here there is a cheaper way:


https://fordbarn.com/forum/showpost....90&postcount=3


"The original Ford distributor and the one on the French engine do only have vacuum advance and the take off for that on the carburetor should be the mean pressure between the manifold and venturi pressure. Therefore it is very important that there is a connection from the throttle body to the channel to the venturi in the upper part. As an example this is not the case in the DKW version, since it has a combined vacuum and centrifugal advance. If this hole isn't present, just compare the governed with the one you are about to replace it with, then the engine would run with way too advanced at lower loads and too little at full with lower performance a poorer mileage as a result. Just carefully compare the two and if needed drill the missing hole from the top into the vacuum take off channel."


The zenith 32 ndix were used on many vehicles, most famous are sure porsche 356, but they were used on thousands of french military trucks (Simca Cargo and Marmon), DKW, UNIMOG and so are very easy to find at cheap price here in Europe. You can buy a good one for about $100. I don't know how available they are in the US


Usually they have manual choke, another way to make life easier

[Sunnybob]

Some consideration regarding the "Load-A-matic" and the carburetor vacuum. Several years ago (2009) I put together a 1930 Ford Model A roadster with a French flathead V8. I used a Zenith 32 NDIX with a ford distributor. As can be seen in the pics, the advance vacuum was taken at the base of the carburetor. It shouldn't have worked correctly. But I can assure you that the engine ran like a charm (I didn't even know about the peculiarities of the LOD, at the time).


Maybe I was just lucky... or it's like the saying about the bumblebee, theoretically he can't fly, but he doesn't know it and he flies .

[tubman]

As I first said, "I have no idea". My knowledge of the detail on the French Fords is close to zero. I just wanted to raise a warning about the standard Ford "Load-A-Matic" system being an odd beast.

Hot Rodding used to be about trying something and see if it works. It sounds like you may have hit upon a good combination. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". That being said, the distributor pictured sure looks like a "Load-A-Matic". I tried to trace the vacuum line back to it's source, and it appears to go into the base of the carburetor. The vacuum line usually goes to a port in the back of the main carb body, but what you have is probably OK. A member posted a picture of an aftermarket "97" made to run with a "Load-A-Matic" that also has the vacuum port on the base so it looks like a reasonable alternative. The thread was on using a "97 carb on a 51 8BA".

I would bet that the Zenith carb was designed specifically for an 8BA and models made for other makes don't have it. Or may have it. As I said, Hot Rodding is experimentation.

[Sunnybob]

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Originally Posted by tubman

As I first said, "I have no idea". My knowledge of the detail on the French Fords is close to zero. I just wanted to raise a warning about the standard Ford "Load-A-Matic" system being an odd beast.

Hot Rodding used to be about trying something and see if it works. It sounds like you may have hit upon a good combination. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". That being said, the distributor pictured sure looks like a "Load-A-Matic". I tried to trace the vacuum line back to it's source, and it appears to go into the base of the carburetor. The vacuum line usually goes to a port in the back of the main carb body, but what you have is probably OK. A member posted a picture of an aftermarket "97" made to run with a "Load-A-Matic" that also has the vacuum port on the base so it looks like a reasonable alternative. The thread was on using a "97 carb on a 51 8BA".

I would bet that the Zenith carb was designed specifically for an 8BA and models made for other makes don't have it. Or may have it. As I said, Hot Rodding is experimentation.

You are absolutely right. Probably I was just lucky with that combo.


I checked on ebay the 32 NDIX prices in the USA and they are very, very expensive, so my suggestion would be good only for europeans...

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Sunnybob

Some consideration regarding the "Load-A-matic" and the carburetor vacuum. Several years ago (2009) I put together a 1930 Ford Model A roadster with a French flathead V8. I used a Zenith 32 NDIX with a ford distributor. As can be seen in the pics, the advance vacuum was taken at the base of the carburetor. It shouldn't have worked correctly. But I can assure you that the engine ran like a charm (I didn't even know about the peculiarities of the LOD, at the time).


Maybe I was just lucky... or it's like the saying about the bumblebee, theoretically he can't fly, but he doesn't know it and he flies .

[tubman]

Nice engine; it just needs more carburetors (the "look", you know). Unfortunately, that will require a distributor change. I prefer vintage "flattop" Mallory's".

BTW "Sunnybob", do you by chance know the throttle bore size of the of the Zenith carburetor? If the "32" is throttle bore size, it equates to 1 1/4". The Merc has a bore of 1 3/8", while a small base 2G is 1 7/16". If you do the math, it makes more difference than on would think in terms of flow volume. On first glance it looks like the zenith is a bit on the small side; thinking about it, it may be the venturi size.

[Sunnybob]

Originally Posted by tubman

Nice engine; it just needs more carburetors (the "look", you know). Unfortunately, that will require a distributor change. I prefer vintage "flattop" Mallory's".

BTW "Sunnybob", do you by chance know the throttle bore size of the of the Zenith carburetor? If the "32" is throttle bore size, it equates to 1 1/4". The Merc has a bore of 1 3/8", while a small base 2G is 1 7/16". If you do the math, it makes more difference than on would think in terms of flow volume. On first glance it looks like the zenith is a bit on the small side; thinking about it, it may be the venturi size.

Hi, the 32 is the size (in mm) of the throttle plate. It should be the same of ford carb and manifold, while Mercury and teapot are a bit larger (34mm).



And Yes a 2 or 3 carb intake would be nicer... ;-)