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Pony Carburetors

How To Identify Mustang Carburetors

Quick Facts From Pony Carburetors To Help You Find The Right Carb For Your Vintage Mustang
By Jim Smart
Photography by Jim Smart
Autolite Carbs
Ford has been installing electronic fuel injection on Mustangs for the past 26 years. Carbureted Mustangs encompass the rest of the marque's 45-year history - some 21 years of production - which means there were a lot of Mustangs built with old-fashioned carbureted induction. The last Mustang with a carburetor was the '85 Mustang GT, which was fitted with a "no-tamper" Holley 4180.

Identification Tags
Carburetor identification... 
   
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Identification Tags
Carburetor identification begins with the identification tag. Pony Carburetors' Ford Carburetor Guide shows the three basic types of identification tags. Carburetor body markings provide additional information. Venturi size is cast into each carburetor body, providing further information.
We've known Jon Enyeart at Pony Carburetors for at least two decades. When it comes to classic and late-model carburetor identification and application, Jon's the "go-to" guy for specific information. The news from Jon about Mustang carburetors is generally good, but it isn't always positive because good cores aren't always available. If you have an '80 Mustang with a 255ci small-block and the California emissions-mandatory Motorcraft VV (Variable Venturi) carburetor, you will learn from Jon that these rare emissions carburetors are hard to find and not cheap when you do find them. You could say the same thing about a 780cfm Holley 4160 for the Boss 302 or an Autolite 4100 for a 289 Hi-Po - hard to find and expensive.

Autolite 1100 Carb
This is the Autolite 1100... 
   
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Autolite 1100 Carb
This is the Autolite 1100 carburetor from Pony Carburetors. For roughly the same amount of money you would spend at a discount auto parts store, you get a pristine rebuilt, restored, and engineered carburetor for your Mustang classic.
Autolite 1100
The Autolite 1100 one-barrel carburetor was offered on the 170 and 200ci sixes from '63-'69. There were three venturi sizes - 1.00-, 1.10-, and 1.20-inches. Mustangs had either 1.10- or 1.20-inch depending on model year and configuration. Basic bore size was 17/16-inches. Understanding how the 1100 works takes some imagination, but it isn't much different than any other one-barrel carburetor of the era. What makes it different is how it interacts with the ignition system. The '63-'67 1100 carburetor has a spark control valve (identical to a Holley/Autolite/Motorcraft power valve) which was not used on '66-'67 California emissions or '68-'69 50-state 1100 carburetors. The spark control valve was used in conjunction with the Autolite single-point Load-O-Matic distributor. This distributor did not have a mechanical advance; instead it used venturi vacuum (throttled vacuum) at higher engine rpm.

1967 1100 Carb
The '67 1100 carburetor came... 
   
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1967 1100 Carb
The '67 1100 carburetor came with both an accelerator pump (opposite side) and anti-stall dashpot, which reduces stall risk during sudden stop braking with automatic transmission.
According to Jon Enyeart, the Autolite 1100 experienced significant changes that adversely affected performance in the late 1960s. In 1968, Ford downsized to a 1.10-inch venturi and eliminated the spark control valve to help reduce emissions. Instead of a vacuum advance, six-cylinder distributors were purely mechanical advance, which hurt performance.


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