'59 air cleaner

[Michael M.]

Bought what was advertised as an original air cleaner for a '59 on ebay. I need help identifying this from a reproduction. 12 set of vents around circumfrance, has 4 sets of stamp marks on sealed lip consisting of two small ticks on each set. The vents are evenly spaced except one gap is a bit wider than rest. Anything else to look for?

[Joe M.]

Re: '59 air cleaner

The gaps between original louvers are the same, no wide gaps and narrow gaps. I just purchased a complete unit off of e-bay and the gaps are the same width. The repros use a two piece grommet in the center, not a single eyelet like the originals used. The original eyelet is approximately 1/2" wide. the incorrect grommet has a flat outer edge, the eyelet does not have a flat edge around the perimeter. What type of material is the spark arrestor pad made out of? There are faint vertical lines running across the louvers and gaps on the originals.

[Dennis C.]

Re: '59 air cleaner

Bought what was advertised as an original air cleaner for a '59 on ebay. I need help identifying this from a reproduction. 12 set of vents around circumfrance, has 4 sets of stamp marks on sealed lip consisting of two small ticks on each set. The vents are evenly spaced except one gap is a bit wider than rest. Anything else to look for?

Mike,

Post some photos so we can see. Be sure to take pictures of the louvers spacing, the flame arrestor material and the retainer. Don't forget the base and the silk screen.

Dennis

[Joe M.]

Re: '59 air cleaner

Photos attached as requested. The spacing between louvers on originals is 3/8" (1st photo). Spacing between louvers on repros ranges from 3/8" to 1/2". It is difficult to see the animal hair mixed in with the jute spark arrestor pad, but it is there, mostly jute (2nd photo). image 2049 shows what is called a "tang" that was added during the 1960 year to help center the base plate on the choke rod. If the base plate is not in the correct position, the choke cannot operate properly; the tang aligns the base plate in the correct location. The next post will have spacing on a repro cleaner and eyelet-grommet comparison.

[Joe M.]

Re: '59 air cleaner

The first photo shows the wide spacing on the repro air cleaner lid and the 2nd photo shows the narrow 3/8" spacing. The final photo depicts from left to right, an original eyelet, the smallest eyelet I could purchase, and the 2 piece grommet that is used on the repro air cleaners to secure the lid to the spark arrestor holder.

[Michael M.]

Re: '59 air cleaner

Want to make sure we are talking about the sealed air cleaner for a '59 and not the two piece '60. The air cleaner I purchased has 3/8" spacing at all gaps but one, that one gap is 5/8". The material for the flame arrestor looks like burlap. There is no silk screen on the underside. The grommet is missing. I'll get some pictures on here next post.

[Michael M.]

Re: '59 air cleaner

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