Air filter for Model A

[Growley bear]

Oil bath.

[eagle]

Originally Posted by FrankWest

Out of the showroom I thought these 4 cylinder fords had no air filters.
Wasn't the first airfilter introduced on the v8?
I am so confused

When I say "Original" AirMaze filter, I mean an AirMaze that was bought by my grandfather back in the late 30's or maybe 40's. He never told me when he bought it but I do remember him saying it was necessary, in his mind, on gravel roads. It is an aftermarket item. He used it for many years, I use it now.

[Bob Bidonde]

An intake air filter is not a good idea because it:
> restricts breathing that results in a reduction of toque and power;
> enriches the air/ fuel mixture and fowls the spark plugs.

[dlfrisch]

I use the same K&N filter as senior member 160B

My theory: Keep the intake air clean. Seems to make common (cents).

[gweilbaker]

Just FYI:

Carburetors fall into two types, one the unbalanced type and the other a balanced type unit. In the bowl cover of the unbalanced type carburetor, is a hole drilled to a definite dimension. It is through this hole that air flows and exerts pressure, or pushes against the gasoline in the float bowl.


The air going through the air horn has no effect on the gasoline in the float bowl of the unbalanced type of carburetor. As a result, should the air filter on the carburetor be restricted with dirt, oil, or any foreign substance the air flow into the air horn would be slowed down or reduced in volume. When this happens, the carburetor not getting sufficient flow of air runs rich, because the pressure on the fuel in the float bowl remains the same as normal,.



In the balanced type of carburetor this cannot happen. The vent hole in the bowl cover is internal and the float chamber is vented by means of a tube into the air horn. If the flow of air into the air horn is restricted, by this internal venting, the pressure on the gasoline is also restricted. Consequently, the pressure in the air horn and the pressure in the float chamber are balanced.

[Purdy Swoft]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

An air balanced carburetor may be better than an unbalanced carburetor but still restricts air flow through the carburetor. The underpowered model A needs all the power that it can get . Modern carbureted engines with balanced air tubes get restricted air flow but have more power than the model A in the first place . Ford didn't think that the updraft setup on the model A needed an air filter and I don't either. I've run model A's for over fifty years with no filter and no problems as a result .

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi TDO,

For your question: "Has any one used this Air filter on there model A . That's on E-Bay for $67.80. And what is your opinion of it."

FWIW, Just one (1) Humble Opinion:

1. I bought one of these Hi-Boys directly from the manufacturer several years ago on E-bay with a attachments for an A & a B carburetor.

2. I next bought a slightly taller K&N filter from K&N to insure maximum air passage which meant it can be cleaned less often.

3. To answer your question, I have had no problems at all:

A. If one knows how to tighten a hose clamp with a screw driver, it stays in place & fixed when hitting bumps & crossing railroad tracks.

B. If one knows how to read a tachometer, one can verify that the engine runs at the same RPM'S with the filter or without it.

C. If one knows how to accurately calculate MPG's, the mileage is the same with or without it.

D. If one knows how to read black sooty plugs, the plugs stay the same color with & without this filter with an original A or B Zenith carburetor.

4. The key to "any" filter, whether it be an air-conditioner filter or a carburetor filter, is to insure that it has been designed with a large enough intake area such that it can allow sufficient air passage.

5. Many air filters formerly offered were so small & restricted that they were like burying one's head in a pillow & trying to breath enough air to run a 20 mile marathon race; hence, in my opinion, a new Model A Religion was formed & still exists today, like: "Get rid of the pillow."

6. As parochial as this may seem, on the other hand, just think for a moment:

A. John Doe goes to the bank & borrows an enormous wad of money to buy a fleet of 20, brand new taxi's.

B. The taxi's arrive, & the next day & John's maintenance mechanic, (who owns several Model A's), tells John he just saved John lots of money over the next 5 years -- rather than having to pay for 20 new replacement air filters every now & then, he removed all 20 new air filters & placed them in the garbage.

C. John's wife, a mechanical engineer, with a Master's Degree, who works for K & N in the technical testing laboratory, fires the mechanic.

D. Now, was it because she did not like the type of shoes the mechanic was wearing? .... or did she not like his color of socks?

E. Hmmmmmmm ...I think it could possibly be because of an ancient vintage Model A Religion: He told her his next move was to try changing to non-detergent oil; then draining the "Prestone" out of all of the radiators & substituting pure water; & next, getting rid of all of the whitewall tires.

F. I am sure others definitely have different opinions on air filters "today"; and/or why she fired him -- respect them all -- in America, the "last" choice is always for you to decide what to do -- & it is your $67.80.

[JOES31]

H.L

All I can say is very well said. I think it depends on how much the car is driven and the conditions of the driving. I am using the large K&N above the carb. Below the carb to me is too dangerous with the leaky Zenith carbs. There is no restriction because the filter has a much higher CFM capacity than the engine is drawing. So no balanced carb is needed.

There is something to add however. We filter the air that goes into our engines but we breath the air without a filter. I guess I love my cars more than myself. For car guys I think that's normal. What's everyone else's excuse?

[160B]

I ran my own calculations 12 years ago using the formulas at the K&N see link below, and 200.5 cubic engine running at 2100 rpm and selected a K&N E-3050. To date I have over 30,000 miles using a K&N E-3050 and have never had any fouling of my spark plugs.

http://www.knfilters.com/filter_facts.aspx?pkid=1448282&rw=2#SELECT

Here is a link to the same calculation on Model -A.org. The calculations on the below web site are at an engine running 2800 rpm, and the conclusion is that any of the three filters below are adequately sized.

◦K&N offers several filters that can be used with the Air Maze housing.

◾Part # E-3050 is 3.5 inches long.

◾Part # E-9257 is 5.5 inches long.

◾Part # E-2040 is 6.625 inches long.

But the site makes this recommendation.

“◦To provide some margin for the filter getting dirty, before you get around to cleaning it, I would recommend the 5.5 inch long length. I know it is an over kill, but I am currently using the 6.625 inch long one to allow for driving on dusty gravel roads and to extend my time between filter cleaning / re-oiling cycles.”

http://www.model-a.org/filtering_air_into_carb.html

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi Joe 31 & 160B,

In reply #27 above, I only tried, used, & tested the K&N #2040 i.e., 6.625 " long.

I think John Doe's wife, (mentioned in reply #27 above), was at the least fully aware of the very helpful K&N filter tests shown in reply #29.

Because "all" twenty (20) of John Doe's taxi's were going to be used on a "daily" basis as opposed to now & then, I think his wife caught the very sincere old Model A mechanic in time.

He was just about to order:

a. The 100 quarts of non-detergent oil; &,

b. The 80 black wall tires; &,

c. Then, there was a possibility of John Doe & his wife getting sued by the EPA for his dumping the "Prestone" in the storm drain on the side of the front street; plus,

d. All of the town's cats & dogs could have gotten sick on the "Prestone";

e. And, thus generating a large non-intended Vet Fee for John Doe & his wife.

e. Anybody care to guess at the moral of the story?

f. I am somewhat confused at this point !!!

[160B]

E-3050 fits the Airmaze housing, you need to drill a hole in the closed end of the air filter and make your own bolt to match the thread form on the pot metal housing.

Website for K&N E-3050 FILTER

http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?prod=E-3050&pkid=1448669&rw=1

K&N price $35.99 with free shipping on any order over $10.00

Website for K&N filter cleaning kit

http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?prod=99-5000

K&N price $13.99 with free shipping on any order over $10.00

[Pinstripe]

Very excellent posts all!!

[Duffy1]

I have the high boy filter and works great om car.

[Wrenchy61]

Check the filtration efficiency of a K&N filter vs. that of any other pleated paper air filter for an engine application. You will be surprised that the efficiency of the K&N is very low. You can even see through it on a bright sunny day.

The only time a K&N has an advantage is at maximum engine speed. All paper filters are sized for twice the normal air flow to allow for proper flow after the filter loads with particulate.

Any one that operates an engine without out an air filter certainly doesn't know any thing about engines! The same goes for anyone using a K&N filter. Henry Ford knew that no filter on his Fords was certainly going to sell cars down the road.

I spent all my years as an engineer with Diesel, gas, and gas turbine engines for all kinds of applications. Don't tell me about filters!

[JOES31]

ISO5011 protocol is what K & N as most filter manufacturers use for testing. Coarse particle testing using 5 to 150 micron particles will produce a filtration between 90 to 99% for a standard paper element. The same test, if memory serves me, K&N will filter between 95 to 99% with 200 to 300 percent more air flow. That is why they were developed and used for racing engines. Now that is what I remember to be the case but it's been a while.

So you can get the same efficiency with less restriction with a K&N. So as the above post correctly stated they were mainly made for engines operating most of the time at its maximum rpm range which demands the maximum CFM flow rate of the specific engines.

Being the filtration rate is the same or better with less restriction, that is the reason I feel it is a good choice.

[Jdubwikk]

The origional "Air-Maze" filter was used more as a flame arrestor in case of a backfire through the carb instead of as an air filter. If you think about the road conditions today compared to the conditions of the Model A era our air is much cleaner than then. Ford didn't deliver the car with an air filter and they ran fine. One of our club members had several problems with his car running rich and poorly. Once were were on the side of the road because the car stalled we took the filter off and it ran great the rest of the day and he hasn't put it back on since. I would save the money for the K&N and buy an original Air Maze if you want a "filter". Just an opinion is all. Good luck with your research on this one.

[Tom Wesenberg]

If you wet the air maze with oil it will trap more dirt.

[H. L. Chauvin]

FWIW:

When I first got my Model A Coupe in 1958 from a renowned mechanic, it had a tin can with punched 16d nail holes in it which was wired to the throat of the carburetor.

Inside the tin can was a copper/bronze Brillo pad soaked in oil whereby the former owner, told me to wash it in kerosene every now & then.

Every time I washed it, it was very dirty & loaded with dirt.

The engine had so little compression it would rotate several revolutions after turning the switch off.

In about 1960, many local rural & small town mechanics I knew over 50 years old, (born around 1910), related, when questioned, their same experiences about air filters for vintage cars traveling on rural gravel roads, i.e.,

a. With no air filters, all vintage cars averaged about 8,000 miles prior to having a smoking engine requiring a ring job;

b. About 40,000 miles was averaged after the oil bath filters were provided on cars;

c. But it wasn't until the pleated paper air filter was provided that cars attained over 100,000 miles without smoking & requiring a ring job.

However, all agreed on later having more paved roads with less dust, engines lasted somewhat longer before they began smoking.

1. Some people eat what is scientifically known today as healthier food, they exercise some, & stay healthy doing things they did when young way into their 80's; &,

2. Others choose & eat cheaper junk food, don't exercise, get lazy & become couch potatoes, & later resort to riding in battery operated shopping carts with hanging pot bellies at Wal-Mart.

3. I respect both types of people who make their own choices because we are all blessed with free wills in a free country to do whatever "we" want; &,

4. In my opinion, there is not too much difference between "vehicle" maintenance & "human body" maintenance -- both maintenances are a little more expensive, require a little more time, & in the end are just individual choices that we all make for better engine health & human health. LOL

[DougVieyra]

FrankWest, post #20: "Out of the showroom I thought these 4 cylinder fords had no air filters. "
__________________________________________________ _______

Yes, Ford did design his new 'Improved Ford' with an engine 'air filter', to help keep out road dust and debris from getting into the carburetor. He had one on each side of the engine. Not sure what he called them back then, but today's 'A' Parts Supplier catalogs still carry them. Bratton's is part number 9960 (page 45 in their 2014 catalog); Snyder's carries these important dust filters as part number A-116, as listed on their page A 127 in their 2014 catalog; Bert's part number is A-6775-A. The cost is in line with the Ebay filter that was the subject of this (TDO's) original post (#1).

Ford's original design, besides helping to keep out road dust and debris out of the carburetor, also helped the engine run cooler. You really need to check out the original Ford-Designed dust filter / engine cooler, and if you don't have this item on your car you are really missing an important component that should be on your car.

I have used these original dust filters on all the Model A's I have driven over the last 50 years, and I can tell you - they really DO WORK ! However, I do recognize that IF you drive a lot on dirt / gravel roads, that an additional screening device for your carburetor would be advisable. I do use the Air-Maze 'add on' when driving the dirt roads on my ranch, for example, and too, I used a jury-rigged carb. filter hanging up high and attached to my rad. support rods, when I spent a month driving the dirt / gravel roads of Alaska thirty years ago; but for everyday driving on today's paved roads, I find that the Air-Maze is primarily just another 'dress-up' item to embellish the car.

I LIKE embellishments, so don't have a problem with using one - but I know that it really adds very little to actual function to the car. If you have the original designed Ford 'Dust Filter' as mentioned above on your car, most of today's drivers won't need an Air-Maze.

But many of the things we do with and to our cars is not about 'need' - but rather about 'want'. And I am the leader of the parade on that score ! So by all means , enjoy the Air-Maze.

[Veger]

I just LOVE the sound of my engine running with no filter on it at all its SO Model A!

Keep On Truckin'