A Zenith Carb question

[Capnball]

I soda-blasted my 9752 Zenith carb on saturday, and that turned out really well. Got it good and clean in prep for paint.
I've gone through the carburetor and cleaned it up good. I bought a rebuild kit for it, and turned out that none of the parts fit, except for the gasket, which I used. Now I've got most of a carb kit I can't use... no big deal, I think all the internals are fine, except for the float, which is on the way. The only thing that's got me stumped are the seals around the butterfly rods. All four fiber seals are gone. I ruined the one replacement that came with the carb kit trying to get it in. Questions:

a) Do I need to worry about the seals? I assume the answer is yes, as their absence lets in small amounts of extra air.

b) Where do I get them? Whose are good quality?

c) How do you get the seals in? Do you need to take the little pressed-in aluminum(?) dealies out? How?

[Bob McCarty]

You should only need to replace the two that have holes in them. You can gently pry the retainer out with a screwdriver. If the retainer is distorted, you can take a bolt or piece of rod that fits the ID of the retainer and tap it flat again. I'd suggest trying McDonald Carbs for the retainers and felt seals.

Bob

[Capnball]

A little belated, but thanks for the advice. I followed it. I carefully pried the retainers out and reshaped them, and replaced the seals with new ones from McDonalds Carbs. was very pleased with his service.