Bob,
We all think air cleaners are important. I clean mine regularly.
Ettore Bugatti, among others, didn't seem to think so. Updraught carbs,
five or six inches above the road, unprotected by anything from grit,
stones, abrasives, dead cats, rocks and worse fed the supercharger and
then the engine.
Look at the engine pictures of pre-war MGs. They are air cleaner
challenged too.
On the other hand, we can't help but know that air filters are
worthwhile, and we know that manufacturers do not put them on for
altruistic reasons. It must be because they have value.
Still, one of the guys in our club put 1.75 inch carbs on his MGB,
modified cam, raised compression, and drove it 100,000 miles commuting on
I-95 before taking the head off again. He said that it didn't need to
come off, but at that mileage he just felt that it was time to take a
look. He says 0 measureable wear. He's a mechanical engineer.
I say I'm not that lucky.
So, I think you don't need to stay awake nights worrying about it.
Balance the carbs w/o the air filters so that you can get the UniSyn
onto the car firmly and without leaking. A pair of air filters should not
alter the balance afterward.
Bob
On Sun, 25 Jul 1999 17:13:06 EDT BobMGT@aol.com writes:
>My 71 B came with after-market air cleaners, the chrome pancake style.
>My
>mechanic and I always checked the front one to see if it was time to
>clean
>them. It always looked clean. Well I just discovered the back one had
>no
>filler in it! So the car has been driven untold thousands of miles
>with no
>filter in one air cleaner. I've put 10K on it since I've owned it.
>Just how
>damaging is it, running without an air filter? Anyone have a feel for
>this?
>Also when I get a new one installed, will I need to rebalance the
>carbs?
>
>Bob Donahue (Still stuck in the '50s)
>EMAIL - BOBMGT@AOL.COM
>52 MGTD - under DIY restoration NEMGTR #11470
>71 MGB - AMGBA #96-12029, NAMGBR #7-3336
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