zip-fit carburetor

[Cliff54]

Thanks Carla,
I have the basic flat-6 with the 3 speed so I will look for those numbers you gave me. I will keep in touch with my progress.

Cliff54

[Carla]

Cliff, I had a look through the Hollander Interchange re your '54 Ply carbie.

There are a couple of alternative carbie numbers given for automatic choke,  overdrive, fluid drive (fluid flywheel or oil-clutch) applications.

The  basic standard '54 Ply listings are Carter D6H1, D6H2, and D6U1.

Carter E9N1 and E9T1 are given as direct interchange also (the E9 series was primarily Dodge truck applications)

Has your '54 the usual standard 3-spd. transmission/manual choke equipment?

If not, I'll give you the carbie numbers for overdrive, fluid drive, auto. choke, etc.

(there are many different Carter carbie numbers for various and sundry different applications, within the general spec of down-draught with 1-1/2" bore. I've not the faintest idea why they made up so very many different specs, aside from the obvious considerations of automatic choke systems, different throttle linkage components, etc., etc.

I'd imagine that many of these different specs represented subtle tinkering with jetting for different car/truck models, trying for max performance or max fuel mileage given the projected revs range of the engine, projected payload conditions, and various other factors.

As a 'real world' situation today, anyone who has the time and inclination can likely improve their car's performance a little bit by 'optimising' the carburetion by simple 'trial and error'. Trying main jets a size smaller or larger, likewise enrichment jets, acceleration pump settings, strengthening or weakening power jet springs, etc., can make a subtle but very real difference in the way your car 'feels' on the road, and a subtle difference in fuel mileage.

These subtle differences also relate to your individual driving style or preferences, as some people prefer to use more revolutions in the lower gears, some people are more interested in pulling power at/near the bottom of the torque-curve, etc.

One more thought to consider is that a great many of the older carbies one might find today may well have been through a commercial rebuild operation years ago. Some of the commercial 'factory rebuilders' were much more interested in producing a 'low-bidder',  'quick cheap and dirty' rebuild than in doing good work, and you'll find carbies which were 'kluged' together from a melange of miscellaneous parts, with stripped tapped holes, warped castings, and other such nuisances. Its sometimes not feasible to try to rebuild those, as you never know just what actual spec of parts you have.)

cheers

Carla

[Carla]

Hi, Cliff,

The 'Zip-fit' logo was an advertising term used by Carter, for new replacement carbies, which were sold as being suitable for a relatively wide range of replacement applications.

As a generality, they were intended to fit all models of a particular make of engine which used the same physical flange mounting size, and required a particular CFM (cubic feet per minute) flow capability. The would be provided with jets which were thought suitable for the majority of engines in that group.

A good example would be the Mopar 230 sixes, which includes Dodge pass and truck from the early '40's to '59 (and up to '68 in some uncommon applications), Plymouth from the early '50's to '59, and a wide variety of 'small block' Chrysler industrial 6 applications, such as welder engines, gensets, forklifts, etc.

The idea was to simplify stock-keeping for parts suppliers, by having only one part number of carbie for all those applications. This made it far more feasible to stock a replacement part, obviously.

As a generality, the 'Zip-fit' carbies were sold with some additional throttle linkage components, adapters, etc., to adapt the basic carbie to the wider range of specific applications.

It may be true enough that a 'generic' replacement carbie would not be optimal for some of the applications, such as the difference in desired jetting between a passenger engine and a genset engine, for example, but, as a practical matter, the mechanic in the field needed a part which would put the car, truck, or other engine back in service quickly, even if a slight loss of performance resulted.

Obviously, a really good mechanic would know whether to re-jet up or down a little bit, after evaluating the new carbie, but the generality of 'gas station parts changers' or industrial plant mechanics were more concerned with just getting the engine running reasonably well.

cheers

Carla

[Cliff54]

I found a 1954-59 "Zip fit" Carter Carburator(for a mopar) on E-bay anybody know what a "Zip Fit" carburator is?

Cliff54