Fun poll time! Rochester or Zenith?

[DiscoJen]

I just bought a new Zenith (aftermarket). Now today I'm getting a great deal on a used Rochester B that I can't pass up which just needs a quick rebuild. So I'm going to be in possession of both of them in a few days.

Which one would you install? The loser will be the back up carb living happily in the basement until need arises.

Let the fun begin!

 

[singingcamel]

I 'm a weber fan ,have been for years. the Zenith carbs are know to warp at the bases .
www.singingcamel.com

 

[DiscoJen]

I'll have a Weber for sale soon.

 

[singingcamel]

how much! trade ya for a timing bracket!

 

[Jason T.]

Keep the weber. Had one on for 15 years now and can't complain. Easy to tune and run well at all sorts of angles.
If you must change though....Don't go with the aftermarket zenith. Total crap carburators. Find an original zenith and rebuild it.
The Rochester isn't bad but it is thirsty and sucks on side slopes or acute angles.
Jason T.

 

[LR Max]

Rochester.

I've run Zenith, Weber 1 barrel (34ICH) and the Rochester. Rochester gives better power all around. Extend the breather tube at the top of the carb (add a little piece of rubber tube) and it'll be friggen great off road.

 

[eric w siepmann]

The new Zeniths suck. Get your money back. Rebuild an original.

 

[Mud&Rox]

dont know if your on RN but they are talkin about carbs over there....http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7285
I dont have any experience with the Zenith but I have the Rochester on mine and is awsome...

 

[DiscoJen]

Wow it's a tight race!

Marc, I may be interested in selling the Weber. But it will need to be rebuit as the gaskets and a few o-rings are in less than good condition.

I am on RN and I've been following those threads as well. But I have a secret identity over there. I don't want my DiscoJen antics following me everywhere ya know. of course, I'm easy to find if ya pay attention.

 

[apg]

Unless someone has bought out the patents/rights/whatever, most Rochesters were originally made in the 1950's. Nothing wrong with that, as they seem to be able to be rebuilt into perpetuity.

I'm on my second Zenith, as the original continued to run rich after rebuilding. Didn't know about "the Zenith warp" back in '79. Nothing wrong with the Zenith, either, if you 'understand' where it's coming from. And correct its genetic faults....

By that, I mean the lazy buggers at Zenith/Solex never bothered to anneal the white or 'pot' metal after casting. At some time down the road, when it got good'n'hot, it would warp and spill fuel down the carb throat.

Now the way to cure the warp once and for all is to anneal the halves of the carb yourself, flat-plate grind the components and then rebuild. It's a no-bux fix. There should be one or more articles on the subject in that stack of newsletters I sent ya'. If you can't find one, shoot me a PM....

Cheers

 

[Leslie]

I'm not votin', 'cause I'd stick w/ the Weber....



FWIW.......

 

[Taoseno]

I have a Rochester w/ 48 jet running at 7500ft and it runs great and I get decent gas mileage..............


Todd
Taos, NM

 

[cptyarderho]

The 68 I just bought has a Solex, , and George at RoversDownSouth sent me the rebuild kit labeled Zenith, are these the same?

 

[apg]

Zenith and Solex are now one and the same - however there was a Solex carb that wasn't at all like the Zenith. Just make sure the kit is for the 35iv.

And to add more fun to the free-for-all, I ran for about 8 years with a Holley that was designed for IH Scouts in the '61-'64 range. It got *great* mileage - if any mileage for a square brick can be considered great....

 

[eric w siepmann]

The 68 I just bought has a Solex, , and George at RoversDownSouth sent me the rebuild kit labeled Zenith, are these the same?

Odd. I would assume that it would have a Zenith...

George knows his shit. He should have sent you the right kit if you told him it was a Solex. That or he just doesn't like you...

 

[singingcamel]

Nothing wrong with the rochesters, they need to be jetted corectly to run right. British Pacific and the west coast are big Rochester fans.You can find the one barrels at the junk yard. they usually came on the early to mid 50's chevys.

 

[DiscoJen]

The Zenith came in yesterday and I'm not very thrilled with the quality of it. The base looks like someone took a chunk of metal and ran it through a band saw with a rough blade. It's full of ridges that I can forsee leaking. They also threw the gasket underneath the carb, so after rolling around in the box back and forth from it's date of manufacture to the time I got it the gasket has been cut and scored. Yeah, gaskets are cheap and available, but the point is you just want to be annoyed to drive around and get a new one.

My Rochester should be here by friday and since I've been down this long already I might as well wait for it. If it works out then I'll tape up that poorly made Zenith and send it back to AB. They pissed me off anyway by sending it UPS signature required thus ensuring it would be delivered on friday with us working class folks not home to sign for it. Thus, redelivery occurred on monday where I don't have time to tinker with it during the week leaving me truckless for another week.

Bastards! I will only buy from people that will ship USPS or FedEx from here on out.

Damn I was on a rant there.

 

[Jason T.]

Told ya the aftermarket zenith is a piece of shit....You'll be happier with the rochester but I still think the weber a better bet.
Jason T.

 

[DiscoJen]

What a tight race to the finish! The Rochester arrived at my door yesterday and I rebuilt it tonight. Luckily, it already came with a 50 jet which should work well at my elevation. Gonna try to get it installed saturday.

If anyone has any good pics of how you did your linkage please post. I found a few on the RN board but I couldn't really see the set up real well. From what I read over there, it can be mounted with the adapter, or with the adapter removed, as long as the linkage is set up right.

There is a small threaded fitting at the bottom of the carb by the adjustment screw...is this for the vacuum line???

Sir Alfred is getting close to living again. Unless my timing is still off. I hope to know more tomorrow once the carb is on.

 

[DiscoJen]

Rochester is on, linkage could use a bit more adjusting as it was working my poor geometrically challenged brain to death. Idle was shit. Readjusted the timing, adjusted the carb again and had my first drive in what seems like forever. The throttle is sticking terribly but at least I finally made some progress.

From what I can tell so far, the Rochester is kicking the Webers ass for throttle reponse. It reacts instantly. The Weber may have not been jetted correct so I won't fault it 100%. I can't wait to tinker with it a bit more to get it just right. But alas, dinner at the in-laws is interrupting.

Progress feels good, real good!