1948 cub carb question

[hotrodcars]

Hey folks I'm coming to the end of my restoration and I think this thing has the wrong carb on it, the inlet of the carb is bigger than the breather tube hence the hose does not fit plus the mounting flange is larger than the flange on the manifold, it still mates up with the gasket and the manifold but it doesn't quite look right. The carb I have is a zenith 13794e, can someone tell me what the original brand is supposed to be? I have attatched a pic of the carb as well as an updated pic of my cub. Thank you in advance for any help you could provide !!!

[staninlowerAL]

Early cubs came with an IH carb and changed to Zenith in the mid 60's I believe. Someone will probably post the exact year/SN. Zenith works OK might have to add extra gaskets for the butterfly to clear the intake manifold. If you want an IH carb, check with the forum sponsors at the bottom of this page.

[Bob McCarty]

The Zenith takes a rubber air hose that flares larger to go over the larger inlet on the carb.

[Don McCombs]

The changeover to the Zenith occurred in 1975. The carb for a 1948 should look like this...


Photo courtesy of TM Tractor Parts.

[Dale Finch]

As mentioned, the IH carb uses the metal tube from the air cleaner with two short hoses. The Zenith carb uses this hose, available from TM Tractors:

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/ae/4537fp.htm

[SamsFarm]

The Zenith takes a rubber air hose that flares larger to go over the larger inlet on the carb.

I have saw people buy and use a rubber fernco adapter from the plumbing supply places to adapt the zenith to the preexisting metal tube!

[Glen]

Hi,
Cubs came with the IH, 3/4" updraft carburetor, until mid 1975, then IH started using the Zenith carb. The Zenith is a 1" updraft carb they have said on here.

The IH carb is shown in the 1947, and 1949 Cub owner's manuals.
IH didn't make a new manual every year, they have said on here, there wasn't a 1948 owner's manual, I guess. They have the 1947 and 1949 manuals on here, if you want to see them.

Below is a pic from TM Tractor of an IH style carb on a Cub engine. It looks like a newer, replacement carb.
TM Tractor is at bottom of the page, and has a new replacement IH style carb.
You would need a gas line that fits it, TM Tractor has the metal gas line also.

[hotrodcars]

Hey folks thanks again for the info. now to buy a new carb !!!!

[Don McCombs]

Let us know which IH style carb you intend to buy. There are some things you need to know about the eBay Chinese carbs.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Before you buy a different carb think it over. If you are just wanting one to have the original style carb on it get whatever appears to be right, but all 3 of my cubs (47,48,49) have Zenith carbs on them, which obviously are replacements. One had an Ih, which I traded for a Zenith so all 3 would be the same. The Zeniths are physically sturdier than the IH carbs, but the IH carbs do start quicker which the extra round or two to start only matters if you are hand cranking. An IH carb being warped or the fuel line threads being stripped is not unusual due to the design. I have worked on a lot of cubs, both mine and friends, and the only warped Zenith carb I have ever seen that was warped was on a cub I bought and still own some 35 years later. It belonged to an old man with Alzheimer's, and had a bowl full of water. Whether he had done it due to mental problems or someone else did it as a prank I do not know, but even in northern ARK. it gets cold enough to freeze that small amount of water in the winter time. I spent about 3 hours sliding that bowl on a large sheet of emery cloth laying on a piece of smooth Masonite.