MTFCA Forum

Gee, am I glad that I bought my Stromberg OF-1 carburetor, just a year or two ago when they were reasonable. Current listings for them on EBAY and elsewhere, make me think sellers are planning on retiring on their sale income.

Asking price & actually getting price is quite subjective !

Flea Bay is a crap shoot. People that don't know what they have can be a bargain.

Some people see Model T and think its worth 10000% of what it is.

big2bird wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 06, 2025 12:49 pm

Flea Bay is a crap shoot. People that don't know what they have can be a bargain.

Some people see Model T and think its worth 10000% of what it is.

Even the ones on this site are getting expensive.

I think there were some in the carburetor lots at the Meadow’s auction. They looked rebuilt.

Who in our T community is still refurbing OF’s?

Darin

Russ Potter had done them in the past, but stopped when they were all going to Montana to get rebuilt. Jim Potter might do them again as he has taken over for his dad rebuilding T carburetors.

I never had a desire to compete with Stan, but after he died, I figured folks would want a continuing source for quality parts for Stromberg/Zenith/Etc carbs, so, I geared up production on parts I'd been making for just myself. I found out very quickly that almost no one wanted to buy new parts for good aftermarket carbs, so that effort came to a screeching halt. I had assumed that owners would do their own work, but it turns out that those folks are too far and few between to make a parts business worth the effort. It's too bad because between OF, OE, OS, and Zenith S4BF carbs there weren't hardly any parts that I did not make, including adjustable jets for Zeniths. The market will provide what the customer will pay for, so pull out your wallets and parts you need will appear like magic...or just get a new line of credit from your Banker and then send the carb out for restoration. Just beware of sellers who's shop equipment consists of eggbeaters and chisels, and demand to see clear photographs of exactly what you're buying, because quality can run the gamut from "OK" to "awful".

Examples of products that could not attract enough buyers to remain in production as of 2023:

Do you have a rebuild kit for sale?……I could find a carburetor rebuilder in my area

I do not sell kits nor individual parts any more. The parts shown above were an effort to supply the need for replacement parts after Stan Howe died. As it turns out, there was no demand for parts and therefor, no need to continue production of those parts. I now only make parts to satisfy my needs on my own personal carb collection.

Sometimes I need an unusual part and when I do, I sometimes make extras for sale on a one-time basis. When those parts become available, I often have to practically beg people to buy them by constantly pimping them in ads until they're gone and I get zero enjoyment out of that. I sometimes wonder why I do it in the first place. I guess for the challenge - the Stromberg adjuster well being a good example of the challenge of figuring out a process that would work...

Here's an adjustable jet for a Zenith S4BF that went over like a lead balloon - Stan Howe used to make them and people lined up for them...I made them for the same price and they wouldn't sell - I suppose that's because I'm not Stan Howe.