I have a 72 250c in improving condition. I know and have heard the pains of zenith carbs, which i'm considering to either rebuild for $800 or replace for about the same. The Zenith carbs are 35/40 INAT double-barreled . Does anyone know of alternatives that are, at best, within a reasonable price range and relatively easy for conversion? I know of Webers , but i'm not sure which type are right for my Mercedes. Thanks in advance, as the postings on this site are very helpful for myself and many other people.
C-501: Mercedes 6cyl 32/36 DGEV.
Replacements for Zenith carbs on single overhead cam 6-cylinder. Click here for a comparison of the JAM Mercedes linkage and air cleaner adapters (left) with cheaply made copies (right). Note 1/8" sheet metal adapters and plastic ball sockets on the cheap copy. We use real steel.View a printable 1985 Mercedes Benz Club "Star" magazine article page one and page two for a complete installation description.*
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Near Manassas Va. '89 300SE, 2002 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, 89 420SEL
Had '65 220SE, 67 230S, 72 280SE 4.5 Dad had '65 300SE LWB, '65 220SE
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive." C.S. Lewis
Zeniths are not all that bad, once they are squared away. Driveability issues are often attributed to the carbs that actually are caused elsewhere. "Hesitation" often comes from weak springs, or a bad vacuum advance/retard unit in the distributor, as an example...
Over the years the Zeniths can suffer from lack of maintenance, ham handed mechanics, etc., but can usually be put right by someone who knows what they are doing.
If it were my 250C, I would get the Zeniths worked over [by someone who really knows what they are doing]... YMMV.
was the last gasping hurrah of the carb manufacturers and "Detroit" to avoid using real fuel injection and still comply with ever tightening emissions requirements. It really did not work very well "back in the day," so I am guessing that it will not work terribly well in this application.
Actually they work rather well,it's crap quality of the ECU's that ruins them. The drivers for the injectors burn out with monotonous regularity.
Those baby down draft progressive webers are a poor substitute for the Zeniths,if you want cheap and simple just bolt a pair of holley 300's on . :-) http://www.holley.com/data/TechServi...Carburetor.pdf
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