71 autolite carburator

Duc', some cars got Autolites, some Motorcrafts. I have a stock, unmolested '71 Pantera Autolite D10-F carb that I was given. You can HAVE it for the cost of shipping (about 10 lbs). IMHO it is an invention of the devil designed specifically to frustrate tuners.

Boss Wench told me years ago, "What your running a stock carb you must be the only pantera owner that still is" I ran it for another year and installed a Holley never looked back that was in 2002. Now I still have the factory intake and carb oiled in a bag. My advise is to do the same.

Hello,
Thank you kindly for the reply and the very generous offer. I have committed to the idea of maintaining the car as original as possible, it's a lot harder than I ever imagined and frankly not as fun. I have recently found my father's GTS 4654 for sale back in Italy and have toiled with the idea to let my pushbutton go. As Joe indicates, an original part over the shelf may be just as well be the way to go, it would join the original boat anchor manifold that is already sitting there. I have also explored the paint restoration side, but have little experience with the stripping process and have put it on hold for now in favor of a careful mechanical maintenance. Amazingly, no rust is on the car as it lived in southern Arizona all it's life before my ownership.

Boss, how do I go about paying for it? I can trade you with a 73 motorcraft if you want (I can send you the number on the plate), I can send it in trade if you want and will be happy to pay the shipping for both.
Thanks again,
Oreste.

While on the subject, although I don't run it I have the OEM Motorcraft (4100?) and CI manifold. When it was on the car I thought it was a pretty good carb .. sane primaries and monster secondaries. Are there rebuilding kits available in the event I get an odd notion to return to the dark side?

Hi Roobbie,
Could you indicate the number on the plate of your Autolite 4100. I believe that in spite of the different brand, though Ford for both, Motorcraft had a different numbering than autolite. I may be wrong.

I am looking for the original item # for the 71 PB.
Thanks.

Autolite and Motorcraft are not different brands. Autolite became Motorcraft in 1972. Ford had to do this to dodge legal problems. Carburetors, ignition parts, etc. which were branded Autolite in 1971 became Motorcraft parts in 1972.

The numbering is not different. The spread bore carburetor is a model 4300D, the model 4100 is an older carburetor used by Ford in the late 1950s and throughout most of the 1960s. There is no such thing as a spread bore 4100 carburetor. The 4300D primaries are equivalent in size to a 600 cfm carburetor, the secondaries are very close in size to a 1050 cfm Dominator carburetor. 300 cfm in front, 525 cfm in back. Ford rated them at 750 cfm. As delivered by Ford they were tuned lean to pass emissions requirements. Long ago I did business with a carb guy in Long Beach California who could tune them to perform just as well as a Holley. There is a guy today in the San Diego area who is supposedly good with them. They have two issues, they are known to "lean-out" under high G force cornering, and the top casting (air horn) is very easy to warp when tightening the screws. 4300D equipped police interceptor engines of that era had smaller fuel bowl floats made of copper which increased fuel bowl capacity a small amount in order to improve the carburetor's performance at high speeds (WFO).

1971 4300D carburetors with the name "Autolite" cast into them were produced in small numbers, they are rare and hard to come by, they are worth over $1000 to collectors trying to restore Mustangs & Cougars equipped with 1971 351 HO engines (i.e. Boss 351 engines).

Hello George,
Thank you very much for the clarification. I knew from prior research and posts but was misinformed as I mistakenly understood autolite became motorcraft from a purchase of the brand by Ford. As far as the 4300D, it is the only part missing for my car to get to original. It would stay on a shelf, I doubt I would put it on the car any time soon unless participating to shows. Nevertheless, thanks for the post, I appreciate the info.