I have to confess that I have a sizable stash of "mystery parts", all unboxed, unlabelled and for applications unknown. I worked on the principal that sooner or later they might prove useful to someone, if I could only work out what they fitted.
This bizarre air filter housing component is typical of such mystery parts. It has a few design features that the eagle eyed classic car fans might recognise. Note the ovoid mounting ring on the base, as far as I know this was a signature design feature on Solex carburettors.
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Ovoid mounting ring - a signature design feature on Solex carburettors |
I made a test fit with a salvaged Solex DIDTA carburettor from an Opel Manta A series and the mounting ring was of the same dimensions. The adapter would have fitted completely, but for the secondary choke vacuum actuator fitted to this carburettor, as illustrated below.
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Test fit with a salvaged Solex DIDTA carburettor |
The other noteworthy element is the provision of a captive nut, I recall that some Fords used an air filter housing with a single wing nut fastening to hold the lid in situ.
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Some Fords used a single wing nut fastening |
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Could it be Opel or Ford? - do you know what it fits? |
Now this quirky item has finally broken free of loft bound captivity, do you know what it fits? Could it be Opel or Ford? Because if it doesn't find a new home soon, it will be going in the scrap bin.