1st Generation 1964 1/2 - 1973 - Questions & general discussions that apply to a specific year > 1964 1/2 - 1965

How to tell the difference between original and a clone Hipo 4100 carb

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Bob Gaines:
 I posted this recently over on the SAAC forum and thought I should do the same here.
I was pondering some of the many details between a manual choke 4100 hipo carburetor and a clone version made up from assorted parts. A friend Dan Case has done extensive research on the subject and provided me with a picture that makes it easy to understand what IMO feel is one of the easiest and most obvious "tells". The manual choke hipo clone carb is made up from the much more prevalent automatic carb core. All relevant 4100's have a cast in boss and stud for the fast idle mechanism. There is a extra rib cast into the manual choke casting that is not on the automatic choke casting.

There is also a thread boss just above the fast idle that is threaded on the automatic choke carbs that is not necessary on the manual choke carbs. The threaded hole can be filled and pretty convincingly disguised to the casual viewer but the extra rib not so much. Carb builders have done a good job of making convincing clones . Some better then others with convincing stamps and tags. If it doesn't have the rib it is a clone carb. The manual choke is a rare carb and the clone carbs have their place in being a more economical substitute for a missing carb on a original car. It is when a clone carb is claimed to be a original carb that it becomes a problem IMO. Just trying to help to inform about the difference.

Thanks Dan for the excellent picture comparison and your continued help.

J_Speegle:
Thanks for sharing Bob

livetoride60:
Thanks for sharing Bob.  I keep an eye out for this and have thankfully only seen a few times where the owner was trying to pass off a clone as a real hipo carb.  Most note they are clones.  One time was at the MCA Nationals in IL a couple years ago.  I noticed the clone on a hipo convertible while it was being judged, but didn't say anything obviously as I wasn't judging (and I'm not a judge).  I'm not even sure it would matter in a concours class vs thoroughbred (?).  I got to know the owner afterwards and pretty sure he was honestly not aware.  He was in the process of getting his car up to speed and was learning quite a bit.

CharlesTurner:
A deduction in MCA concours would be fair game if the judge knows how to tell the difference.

livetoride60:
Here's one I saw at a vendor display at the Mustang 50th at Charlotte.  The motor was described as a "hipo motor".  When I began asking questions about various parts, the vendor pointed to the distributor and asked "do you know if that's a hipo distributor?".  When I replied, no, it isn't, he turned around and walked off.  He didn't say the carb and other parts were or were not correct, but it was a very strange exchange regardless.  I had read some things online about this particular vendor's reputation beforehand, so was prepared.  Buyer beware.

The pics show the same carb tells Bob pointed out, along with a view of the noticeable restamping job.

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