meskhov Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Can anyone recommend a carburetor rebuilder that does the early 20's Tillotson's that they have had good luck with? I have a MV-1B in need of rebuilding. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) If the pot metal is good then they're not bad to do. If the pot metal warped or cracked then it is a problem. Ask Carb King. He is on this site. Dandy Dave! Edited April 13, 2020 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meskhov Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Dave: Actually, this is an all bronze carburetor. I'm trying to find a shop that does the early 20's versions. Thanks for the reply. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) Good. Many Tillotson's are pot metal. Glad to hear yours is bronze/brass. A step in the right direction. Edited April 13, 2020 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Good Harley mechanic might also be able to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 In the For What Its Worth category: Most of the early bronze carbs, including Tillotson, had pot metal venturii. Virtually all rebuilds of these carbs should include a new venturi to be machined, unless it has already been replaced. As far as Tillotson is concerned; many of the early Tillotsons used a "vane box" with steel vanes that deflected with the air velocity (basically an early variable venturi design) in the air intake. The Tillotson documentation stated these vanes should be tested for fatigue (they would stiffen with the flexing over time), replaced with new as required, and adjusted with a special Tillotson tool (which I have never seen, and I seek out and collect carburetor tools!) I also have never found documentation on the specifications of the steel used for the vanes. I realize quite well that this site promotes originality, to which I generally agree. However, if I owned a car with one of these that I actually wanted to start the engine, rather than look at it; I would certainly NOT try starting it with a Tillotson carburetor. But to answer the OP's question to the best of my knowledge, I am unaware of any professional that will touch one, other than the aftermarket JR series. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Taking the above post 1 step further. My records show the MV-1B of the OP to be original to a 1926 Star with a Continental W5 engine. A further check of the records show: (1) In 6 years, Star tried 10 different Tillotson carburetors on the W5 - why? (2) Checking the Continental records, most of the W5 engines went to Star and Durant, all using Tillotsons, but Oswald used a Continental W5 with a Stromberg SFM-1, part number 127-1, production number F-3673. Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meskhov Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Jon: Thanks for the advice. I see a lot of these on 20's cars at Hershey so someone is doing them. I'll have to look into a replacement as I see your point about the vanes and the pot metal venturi. I have seen some Durants with a Marvel-Schebler TSV or X from a Continental F-162 motor used in farm equipment. I don't know how well the linkage adapts. I'll post this on the Durant technical site and see if anyone has a carburetor upgrade. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norm cushing Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Hi CarbKing and everybody else in the community... I am new to the community and cannot yet directly reach CarbKing. If you can pass this along to CarbKing that would be very helpful. I have a Tillotson JR5A carb that needs a new Main Jet and I need a replacement. The carb is off a 1929 Chevrolet International AC 1-1/2 ton truck that uses the JR5A instead of the stock Carter carb. Your assistance to connect with CarbKing, or another source for parts or carbs, would be very helpful. Respectfully, Norm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Good morning Norm - and welcome to the forums! My guess would be the only way to obtain such a jet would be to watch for a complete used carburetor on Ebay. While we do make a rebuilding kit for this carburetor, we do not, nor will we ever, make any other parts for it; and even the Tillotson dealers that we bought out 40~50 years ago had only gasket sets for the JR series. It was a very inexpensive universal "replacement???" when new. Jon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norm cushing Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Hi CarbKing, Thank you for the reply. Knowing about the lack of historical stock, and no newly made replacements is very good to know. I do see what appears to be a complete carb on E-Bay and it is showing the needle adjustment that inserts into the Main Jet. Hopefully, the main jet is there and in good enough shape to be a replacement. Thank you for the guidance and the suggestion. I will post back how this gets concluded. Respectfully, Norm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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