I am not the seller
Check this out
http://www.ebay.com/itm/s/121421002304
BID BID BID
lets see how much a NH straight through will bring.
The seller says in the description, "Here is an original Ford Model T Holley Model NH carburetor." From what he wrote I don't think he really knows what he has.
Straight through Holleys were not factory equipment, were they?
Henry
The NH straight thru were std issue in 1920 later year of 1920 the sway back came std.
There's also an early G with the wrong top on it for a Buy It Now of $349. It looks nice, but not three and a half bills nice.
I have a wheelbarrow full of the NHs (both styles) Lets see, If I sold 20 of them I could buy me another complete car.
Thanks for the information, Dan. For some reason I had the idea that the straight through Holleys were an aftermarket item.
Henry -- Maybe you were thinking of the Simmons, which is very similar to the early NH and is aftermarket
I have a Stan Howe rebuilt straight through on my Touring. Wonder what IT is worth??!
Here's a better copy of the ad Dan posted.
The straight through's run fine but they have a tendency to be hard to start on a stemwinder and have a bad habit of dribbling gas out of the choke end when the engine is shut down. There are reasons Ford redesigned them almost immediately.
IMHO if you are going to spend the money some of them bring you should add a little to it and buy a decent aftermarket carburetor. There are a lot of them that run far better than the straight through NH does.
They do have a tendency to idle fast,but I like mine. Never had a drip problem though. I do have an extra,maybe I should trade it for a couple decent wire wheels I need.
Jack, your engine is probably tight enough that it doesn't rock when you shut it off. If your engine is worn to the point where it rocks back and forth when you shut it off they tend to blow gas out the choke end on the "reverse intake" stroke.
Stan, I think I have a holley on my '26 that is getting kind of tired and loose, hard starting on first start of the day, what carb would you suggest looking at?
den
I'm simply curious...because I don't know or have a hint as to the answer
What makes a straight through that looks like it is going to need a full rebuild worth so much?
OK, so now I have to ask myself, if there is a feeding frenzy, why? Is it simply because the Straight-throughs lose in a 'numbers' count as to survivors for the total NH count?...or someone wants a 'pure' year type carb for some sort of show purposes?...but while it is nice to see T parts bid high...heck, I think that I can get a totally rebuilt by a 5 star pro NH sway-back for near that kind of money?
I thought for a moment that maybe it had better OVERALL characteristics than a sway-back, but then looked it up on the recent USNA test lab results and the Straight-thru actually came in 5th out of 7 entries with the NH sway-back being first.
I then looked at BMEP (that catch all thing for contribution to HP and torque) and saw that a straight-thru is better than a sway back by all of 5% when it comes to BMEP, but it does so for the sake of MPG loss. OK, maybe a speedster guy? 5% more possible 'umph', not sure it would really show up that much on a rear wheel dyno...
You figured it out, George. Folks believe that the straight-trough NH gives them more power than the sway-back model, and they aren't as plentiful so that also drives the price up.
I like the straight-through idea, which is incorporated into the early NH, the Simmons (also sold as "Wizard" by Western Auto), and the Stromberg OF, to name a few. The NH is reputed to be hard to start, but Simmons fixed that by incorporating a "flapper," similar to the one in Kingston carbs. The flapper acts more or less as an automatic choke in the Simmons, and it is quite easy to start with very little manual choke. It's my favorite.
A problem here is that the auction just says NH carb. It doesn't differentiate between straight-through and swayback. Now, every clown that has any kind of NH for sale is going to be convinced that it is worth $240.
If one is versed on the evolution of the NH, the early straight bores had "cast" throttle & choke levers and the offset, separate bowl drain. The earliest models had a brass "bleeder screw" which was later just an open orifice with the patent plate covering it. I run several.
Dennis, the Stromberg OF is the best all around carb. There are others that are faster, give more power, give more gas mileage, etc., but there are none that do everything as well as an OF does.
I think the better running of the NH Straight Through is mostly myth although they do seem a little better by my "seat of the pants" observation. They also tend to spit back and be harder to start with the crank. Ford replaced them for a reason. Or several reasons.
And to think I've been throwing nh's in the scrap barrel! KGB
What's the difference between a "straight through" and a "sway back" and how can you tell by looking at it?
From an older post
Look right down the throat - self explanatory. Sway back or late model NH's, one cannot see through.
Thank you for that Steve.
Working on a couple at the moment, the NH has a 3/4 venturi and a un-named after market one has a 13/16 venturi.
The one I run on my 16 is reamed out to 7/8 and a high volume manifold, crank starts easy as long as I remember to give it about 1/2 throttle, about 16 mpg and pulls very well in top on hills that I could only do in low before.
Didn't get that view in the eBay listing pictures. Must be some other way of knowing.
Dan
A side view shows the 'dip' in the later HN, the early 1920 first version shows a straight side casting. Easy to see if you know what to see
Later 'dip' styles
Straight Thru, and note the early cast style levers.
Got this one restored by Potter, found it at Hershey in the bottom of a plastic pail with more modern carbs on top of it. Seller let me have it for $40. Only thing he knew was it was an old Model T carb!
Sorry that big photo is SO out of focus! Yuk, wish I could delete that image.
Here is one not so out of focus, with the Straight Thru NH carb on the engine,
what drives the price up, like any old part is the people with money and no time, or desire to go find the stuff. just buy it, its easier. granted, things are getting harder to find, but its still ther if you look. personally, i love the hunt. new junk yards, the next swap meet, a small auction, you never know. i bought 2 dayton wheels ant a garden store for 40 bucks each. they had them in a flower display with a tag on that said "old farm wheel" the one had a left hand hub on it still, with the knock off hack sawed off because the fool could not figure out the the back wards thread to remove it. i suppose the rears were thrown on the scrap pile because it was too much work to get them off. i only have one straight thru, but it was 10 bucks at a thrashers show. ya gotta look!
Got it. Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures Dan.
Ed, it amazes me how often that photo pops up. I think I took that and posted it back in '02 or '03.
I wonder where that straight through is now. I finished rebuilding it right after I took the photo and sold it on eBay. I prefer to run the Simmons carbs.
Thank's Stan, I'll check it out!
den
I find the NH straight thru, if rebuilt properly, starts and idles no differently than the later style NH carbs. Three quarter turn pulls up on the crank while choking with the key off. Open the throttle half way, turn on the key, and I get a free start most of the time. If not, one or two pulls always starts the car.
I am not convinced there is a huge difference in power compared to a regular NH.
Royce, what year was your AUTOMOBILE TRADE JOURNAL magazine ad published with the Straight Through Carb?
James,
That ad was used in 1920 - 1921.
It's the oldest story in the auction business, two guys who want it and think it's the only one in the world. About a year ago I had two straight through's completely rebuilt, powder coated & test run; put them on the classifieds and couldn't get a response at $275. Sold them over the winter. This one, which needs a rebuild and probably $25-75 worth of parts brings $240. Go figure.