My 59ab is running to rich. I'm running a Thickstun high rise manifold and 2 stromberg 97's. Also, using Mallory crab style unilite distributor and Isky max-1 cam. I already changed jets from 45 to 41. I changed the power valves from 69 to 65. Where do I go from here?
No meaningful or harsh words directed at you personally,but I have over 55 years of hot rod flat motors.I assume you are not after the best running flathead that can possibly be had like me,but as cool as the Thickstun intake looks,it is a TURD when it comes to flow and power performance.Hot Rod Mag did a shootout of Flatmotor intakes,and the Edelbrock Slingshot built in 1939 outperformed the Thickstun by 18 H.P. That may not seem like a great amount but a flathead needs all the help it can get and even though I am 69 years old,I run my flatheads hard and like for them to perform well. Change over to the slingshot and I bet your jetting will be more near normal. Hope this has been helpfull,did not mean to appear a know-it-all.
What symptoms are you experiencing to give you the impression you are too rich? As flatheadJohn states, you can't argue with results of a well done comparison. But I can say I run that intake with good results and there are many of these operating fine on Flathead's nowadays.
I agree, a Thickstun does rob horsepower. Actually the motor runs pretty good though. Maybe I will think about changing over to a slingshot in the future. My issue is The fumes are so strong that I feel like I'm gonna pass out. The fuel pressure is set to 2 1/2psi. I haven't checked the floats yet. The strombergs are new. Do the floats come set out of the box?
The Edelbrock Slingshot and Edelbrock Regular intakes will indeed outperform the Thickstun PM7 intake as the Thicksun intake has a couple of very sharp bends in a couple of the intake runners that the fuel mixture has to go around to reach the combustion chamber. This being said the Thickstun intake is still a good performer compared to some other intakes but not a great performer compared to the Edelbrock intakes. There are two kinds of NEW Stromberg carburetors. There are the ones that are made in England (excellent quality) and then there are the ones that Speedway sells that are made in China. The Speedway ones can work good right out of the box and some of them are just pure crap and some of them fall somewhere in between. The quality control just isn't there with the China Strombergs. Which Strombergs do you have ? I'm wondering if you ended up with a couple of poor quality carbs and this is the problem.
I have real stromberg's from England. The motor runs good, just the fumes are to strong. You get light headed trying to drive.
Your fuel pressure sounds like it is where it should be and you have the good carburetors. Lets try some of the simple stuff first. Are you running air cleaners when you are driving your car? Some of the newer air cleaner elements are very restrictive and can cause some flooding in the carbs and the smell of excessive fuel is very noticeable. Try running without your air cleaners and see what happens! If you have already tried this then you should try adjusting your floats. Since you are running a Max 1 cam, I am assuming that you have a close to stock 59A flat head.
I'm not running air cleaners. I'm running bug screens. I have a 4" merc crank. Nothing to modified.I have a video posted on you tube under Flathead with 12" Brockman Steel packs. Check it out.
You might follow through with where you purchased the carbs about the float level. Not all companies I believe set floats when they leave their hands.
If you don't have any success with adjusting your floats and the car still has the same problem then I would contact Uncle Max here on the HAMB. Uncle Max is the go to guy here on the HAMB when it comes to Stromberg 97's.He knows these carbs inside and out; he sells these carburetors, rebuilds them,and could tell you exactly what jetting and power valves to use for your size of engine. Come Tuesday morning give him a call and get your Stromberg problems sorted out. Uncle Max is a member here on the HAMB.
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