1949-50 Olds Carter 849S carb

[dep5]

I have a long, barrel style aircleaner for what appears to be a 1949-50 Olds V-8 however it seems unusual to me as it has an oval intake whereas most of the ones I've seen are round. Then recently I saw a Carter 849S carb with oval intake for Olds.

My question is, what is the history on the carb with oval intake, how desirable is it with respect to drive-ability, early or late carb? Thanks

 

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by dep5 (see edit history)

[carbking]

The more common carburetor found on the 1949-1950 Olds was the Rochester type AA (7001570 in 1949, 7002570 in 1950). The 7001570 was Rochesters very first carburetor, and like the "first" of many items, it certainly wasn't the "best". The AA series carbs were, fortunately, discontined following the 1950 model year.

The Carter model WGD (714s in 1949, 849s in 1950) were also used on the Olds engines. I am not sure how the original equipment units handled the oval air intake, but those sold aftermarket contained an adapter to allow the round inlet Rochester air cleaner to be used with the oval air intake. The Carter part number for the adapter is 72-61.

The Carter WGD was the standard Carter two-barrel of the period, and was used (with different calibrations) on many other vehicles. Variations continued to be used on other vehicles through the 1960 model year, and Carter continued to produce the WGD (as O.E. service and aftermarket replacement) through 1971. If I owned one of these vehicles, it would have the Carter sitting on the intake manifold.

Jon.

[dep5]

Jon, many thanks for sharing.

Thanks!