Ah man, that makes me so happy to hear. Thank you! Back when I was researching parts for my build, Stromberg introduced the 81, which was specifically set up for four-bangers. It's been solid since day one. When combined with the 12V sealed battery and FSI ignition, the car always starts easily and runs well in city traffic and on the open road.
They make a battery box that is modified to mount a master cylinder. Just be careful there are some cheap ones out there that flex. Attached is a little eye candy for motivation. Unfortunately its's not mine. Charlie Stephens
The master cylinder mount I was describing in post #34 is shown here: https://bolingbrothers.com/model-a-master-cylinder-battery-box-assembly/ Charlie Stephens
Cool start! My 29 Roadster has a Model A engine with a police head, downdraft with a Stromberg 81! Haven't done anything with the ignition yet. I do have a mallory and model b distributor. I also have juice brakes, dropped axle, and converted to 12volts.What really livened it up was getting a Clings adapter and putting a 39 trans in my A.
Thanks for the pic Dedsoto - the tire rake looks great. 51 Mercules - appreciate the thoughts on the tranny - will need to put that combo on my research to-do list. Am dropping the header and extension off on Friday to be ceramic coated - ground the tag off of it this morning (someone needs to tell the Reds Headers folks to stop putting the tags on them (or at the very least don't include their phone number on the tag)).
Mine just arrived today. Can you post a photo of it installed? I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like it's going hang well below the frame. I might need to find aprons. These builds are very inspiring. I'm starting on a banger sport coupe project.
Here’s my set-up. High compression head, Ansen downdraft manifold with English Stromberg 97, and 2 to 1 headers. Still have the stock distributor and thought about changing it to an FS but it runs great and very peppy so I will keep the stock setup for awhile.
Thanks Zax - appreciate the pics. Steves46 - thanks - looks great - what is the holder for the coil - is it fabbed to match the intake design?
This fully synchronized 3 speed with overdrive is truly wonderful https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-original-model-a-engine-w-torquetube.728951/
Here is my mill for some motivation. Best bang for the buck where you are is the dual point Mallory Distributor. Get one of these or a 32.
Is the stock location for the sediment bowl not good enough to run a down draft intake manifold? Was the car starving for fuel at all?
That is the stock location for the sediment bowl. Honestly, it may indeed work fine without an electric fuel pump however I decided to install one when I converted over to a downdraft. I do carry an extra fuel line to hook up between the sediment bowl and carb in case the fuel pump fails.
I know thats where the sediment bowl goes, but I noticed the fuel lines running elsewhere instead of directly to the carb. Some guys on here I notice have a fuel pump with their down draft set up and some use gravity. Just wondered if you encountered any problems with the gravity system. Thanks, the engine bay looks great! Also, is that a fancy coil you have mounted on the firewall? Looks cool
Gravity here also... The key is enlarging the supply line size from the sediment bowl to the carbs to account for the pressure loss by increasing volume. 5/16" line size is good for single downdraft. 3/8" is what I'm running for my 2x2 setup, have been high 70mph range with no starvation.
Hi , not wanting to hijack your thread but for inspiration check out mine- just got it running and boy it is sweet with these two 81`s on it. YouTube video-https://youtube.com/shorts/9T0LNSjB0_Q?feature=share
Good observation, you are probably right. I still have mechanicals in my Model A so no photos available. Ask trikejunkie (post #51) to give you a side view photo and then add for the master cylinder. Charlie Stephens
I saw one at the car show in Porterville last week, on a high boy 30 roadster. The box is quite visible and the master cylinder hangs below that. I would say aprons are a must for this application.
Thanks Manyolcars - not sure my fabrication skills are up to the level required for the conversion but we will see…tranny is a bit down the road…. Stubbsrodandcustom - appreciate the inspiration Trikejunkie - your car sounds great Made a little progress today - cleaned the engine bay and got the new radiator and upper hose in - I am going to give a Gano filter a try since there was a lot of scale in the old fittings - went with the clear one for now (I suspect there will be a good amount of crud in the block despite washing it out) and will put a brass one in later. Also got the water inlet blasted and painted - had ordered a new one but the vendor sent a differential plug instead….will sort that out after the holiday….ran into an unexpected issue w the new radiator - the powergen is too far over to the left with the stock fan belt and touched the bottom fitting on the radiator - anyone else run into this issue? Ordered a B39 belt which should give me enough clearance.
Thank you for the kind words. The coil cover is from O’Brien Truckers. Dennis makes some really cool stuff.
Close up of Craig’s set up using a modified petrol/paraffin manifold with twin single choke downdraft Zeniths fed by his fuel pump design.
The B39 belt turned out to be too tight so got the B40 to work after some adjustments. Got the rest of the cooling system back in the car and checked for leaks. Turns out the water inlet gasket (I used a copper one) was leaking so replaced it with a paper gasket and permatex sealant - hoping that does the trick. Will check the system again later in the week. Also tackled the rear bumper - it was a bit tricky to get it out with the body on but doable at the end of the day.
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