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Any idea what these rayfield carburators are for?


Blunderbuss

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I had an old friend who built a hot rod model T about 1920. He stripped off the body, put on a high compression head off a 1908, added a magneto off a 1910 Cadillac and a Rayfield racing carburetor. Said when he got through it would go 70 MPH.

 

They may be an accessory used to improve performance or economy. If they have a part number or model number on them the Carb King may be able to identify the original application.

 

My friend seemed to think they were hot stuff in 1920.

 

Are they a matched set? Could they be an early multi carb setup for a race car?

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
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They may be an accessory used to improve performance or economy. If they have a part number or model number on them the Carb King may be able to identify the original application.

 

 

 

 

 

The Rayfield in the picture is a type GL-3E. Decoded:

 

G - type G carburetor

L - linkage on the left

3 - S.A.E. size 3 manifold size (see below)

E - economy carburetor

 

I have no record of a Rayfield GL-3E used as original equipment (doesn't mean is wasn't, just that I have no record of it)

 

Rayfield carbs were horribly inefficient for their size. While this carb is for a size 3 manifold, other Rayfield size 3 carbs were used on engines in the 225~250 CID range; which would have been carbureted by a size 1 or possibly a size 2 Stromberg or Zenith. Because of this issue, Rayfield offered a wide range of adapters, and even aftermarket manifolds so their aftermarket carbs could be sold. The Rayfield books have more pages of adapters and manifolds than pages of carburetors and carb parts!

 

My GUESS is this was one of the aftermarket units.

 

Jon.

Edited by carbking (see edit history)
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So are you saying the Rayfield carburetor is no good?

That would be a little harsh. Instead, let us say that there were several other makes of carburetor that were better. Although, if given a choice between a Marvel and a Rayfield, I would opt for the Marvel.

 

Besides, with a few accessories, the Rayfield makes a beautiful lamp ;) , well, at least the brass ones do.

 

A chuck of walnut for the base, a piece of lamp-rod, a micro-switch, etc. Hide the micro-switch inside the throttle bore, connect it to the throttle, and then you can use the throttle arm to turn the lamp off/on.

 

Jon.

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Rusty - the Rayfield was probably over-engineered for the necessary task, given the materials available then.

 

Several adjustments, several points to wear.

 

If you have one with zero wear, and like to adjust, it can be made to function; but never as well as a Stromberg or Zenith from the same period.

 

On the positive side, Rayfield did offer a gorgeous wooden parts cabinet to their dealers, and they also had excellent cataloging for the day.

 

Jon.

Edited by carbking (see edit history)
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Back then there were several carbs with lots of adjustments like Winfield, Fish etc. The idea was it could be tuned perfectly to any engine. The drawback was it took an expert to tune one and get it right.

 

It is also cheaper to mass produce a carb without all the adjustments.

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  • 1 month later...

Back then there were several carbs with lots of adjustments like Winfield, Fish etc. The idea was it could be tuned perfectly to any engine. The drawback was it took an expert to tune one and get it right.

 

It is also cheaper to mass produce a carb without all the adjustments.

 

End quote.

 

There were also several carbs with lots of adjustments that could not be tuned perfectly to any engine! ;) (and the Fish was much later).

 

Seriously, I have information on maybe 600 different makes of carburetors. Many were aftermarket only, never being used as original equipment. Of course, if one believed the advertising, each one would deliver 40 percent more power and 40 percent better fuel economy than the original. The subject of this thread, Rayfield, actually was more successful than most as they were used as original equipment on many makes. They also offered aftermarket carbs. They lasted from the pre-teens through the late 20's when they became a part of the Borg-Warner combine. The last Rayfield design (of which I am aware) is the Model N Marvel/Schebler (sold as aftermarket through the discount auto parts houses) in the 1930's.

 

Jon.

Edited by carbking (see edit history)
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On the positive side, Rayfield did offer a gorgeous wooden parts cabinet to their dealers, and they also had excellent cataloging for the day.

 

Jon.

 

Per your comments about transforming a Rayfield carburetor into a lamp, and the above quote, it sounds like the Rayfields were more about appearance than performance.  Your idea about converting a brass one into a lamp has considerable merit, particularly the throttle lever on-off switch.  I need another table lamp, so I'll look for a brass Rayfield carburetor at the upcoming swap meets/flea markets.

 

Cheers,

Grog

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  • 3 weeks later...

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