mein Vergaser ist angekommen !!

Yup, I said it..... no, I can't speak german... thanks Google translate.....ha ha!

​​The Corvair authority William Wynne talks extensively on his blog about different carb applications in a Corvair conversion and the importance of keeping things simple.

The dual  (and sometimes quad) factory Rochester carb setup on a Corvair car engine not only complicates matters (syncing throttles arms, etc) they were never designed for altitude compensation and mixture settings required in an aviation application.   The converted Corvair engine falls into the same horsepower range roughly equivalent to typical medium Continentals and Lycomings, approximately 100 to 120HP.  This requires a fuel delivery system capable of delivering an air to fuel ratio capable of supporting this demand.

Fuel injection?  I believe the advantages (no carb icing, small increases in HP) are FAR outweighed by the complex system components (injectors, return fuel lines, pumps, electronics, sensors, etc).  Keep it simple.

​The MA3-SPA carb as found on the O-200 continental and O-235 Lycoming is the definition of simple.  They haven't changed much since the 1940's and Marvel Schebler continues to make new ones today - in other words it works, simple.  Overhauled to new specs it's the perfect carb for my conversion.

​Finding one that is both inexpensive to obtain and overhaul becomes a problem due to this popularity.  A good core for rebuild can be found in the three to four hundred dollar range then count on six to seven hundred dollars to overhaul it.  Expensive, but not an area I want to save money on - engine reliability is important in flying!  The recommended overhaul shop (D&G Supply in Michigan) also will convert specific O-300 carb models to the Corvair specifications.

​Armed with this knowledge, I've been searching online for a suitable core.

A couple of weeks ago while surfing E-Bay, I came across a listing for an O-300 Marvel Schebler carburetor that would be suitable for my engine.  It's clearly an older one, but again the model number matches the acceptable models for conversion and the pictures showed well.

​Like anything on E-Bay, Kijiji or Craigslist it's a buyer beware mentality.  One has to consider the odds and what it's going to cost to ship.  In my case, the core I was interested in had no reserve pricing but the shipping costs weren't cheap - it was in Germany!  This compounds the pricing with the Euro being somewhat strong against the Canadian dollar.  Worth a shot.

​With this in mind, I did the responsible thing and figured out my maximum bid would be about 100 Euros.  I watched the days count down and was pleased to see my bid of 40 euros was enough to win!  With shipping and currency conversion the total costs came to $112 Canadian.  Not bad and certainly better than what I expected to pay for a core.

​"Mein vergasser ist angekommen" (which means "my carb has arrived") on Friday and I picked it up at the post office yesterday.  My first look had me really worried as the box had a crushed corner and was split open at the top:

​There was a sticker on the box from Canada Post stating the box was damaged by the forwarding shipper.  Not good.  One of the fears shipping any item overseas or otherwise is theft.  Hope there isn't just a bag of sand in here!

​Opening the box, I smiled a bit finding a note from the seller:

​Opening the box further, it came apparent that the shipper used a lot of bubble wrap to protect the carb on it's journey, but more importantly there is a carb inside the wrap!

​It's definitely old, but everything seems intact and the throttle/mixture arms move freely.  The accelerator pump seems seized but that's typical of something that has been sitting on a shelf for a long time and that will be repaired as part of the overhaul.

​The data plate is intact and shows this is a model 10-4895 MS carb, typically used on O-300 engines.  This is a good carb for overhaul and conversion to the required specs for my Corvair!

​Glad I found this.  It will be sent for overhaul this fall.

​Back to the shop soon.