hi, working on a 1951 8BA. it had a single ford 94 carb and i have two stromberg 97 and a dual carb manifold that i bought from speedway that i'm switching to. trouble is that i had a vacuum line from the single carb to the distributor but there are no such ports on the 97s. so my question is what do i need to do to make this work. i've attached pics of the carbs. the manifold pictured is different from the one i'm using. i'm using speedway's generic one. thanks
If there is no vacuum port on the carbs, then vacuum port needs to come from the intake manifold. How about a spacer below a carb with a vacuum port? https://www.ebay.com/itm/2668437557...hdN4oyymu8EGB8sU0Jdr23dz1xSfL8Zl74jfkf7Ndfxto Lot of info in Google search. Here's one: https://stromberg-97.com/faqs/stromberg-97-and-vacuum-advance/ I'm sure others will share other solutions.
You can't just hook that line up to manifold vacuum. If you're running the stock distributor it requires modulated vacuum which is kind of a mixture of venturi and manifold vacuum only provided by the stock 8BA carb. Easiest thing to do would be to change the dist. to an aftermarket unit with centrifugal advance or one of the Delco conversions.
Listen to warbird1. The distributor advance will not work if you run anything but stock carb. Really. You'll need an aftermarket or converted Chevy distributor.
The original Ford distributor has no mechanical advance. They used a venturii signal to approximate the mechanical advance. Venturi vacuum isn't manifold vacuum or ported vacuum. It come from a port in the carburetor venturi, way above the throttle plates. Holley 4 bbl carbs use a similar venturi port to operate the vacuum operated secondaries.
Does a carb base like this provide the correct vacuum for his stock distributor? https://stromberg-97.com/parts/new-97-base-with-vacuum-port/
Bottom left paragraph, last sentence from above site. Please note, ‘ported vacuum’ is taken from just above the throttle plate and therefore provides no additional advance at idle or higher revs – only at light load/part throttle conditions (cruising). Please check your distributor specification. Simple ported vacuum will not work on distributors designed and tuned to work with manifold vacuum. And not with the 1949-53 Ford flathead Loadamatic distributor, which has no static mechanical advance and needs a special, compatible carburetor.
Key word is “Loadomatic”. In most cases, no interchange at all. Oem carb/engine/distributor combination only work together. Like warbird1 said, buy the right new distributor.
I was going to suggest changing to the correct usable carbs, ie 2 x ‘94’s, based on this article from years ago……see post 5. Interesting reading even if you choose not to go down that path ! https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/dual-94-carbs-on-a-flatty-setup-questions.36751/
Also of note, carbs in OP are 9Super7 carbs made in SE Asia, not to be confused with Stromberg 97 carbs. Yes some parts may interchange, but you have to realize that manufacturing tolerances and materials aren't on par to the Genuine units now made in England. So if you run into issues with idling, stumbling, or leaking, there's plenty of prior discussion threads that can walk you through troubleshooting the Speedway carbs.
Here's my experience with the loadomatic distributor. For the last year and a 1/2.I've been running it completely locked out with a steel wire , so there is no advance. No. Vacuum hooked to it.I've got the timing locked in at 22°. It starts fine and runs fine. Your results may vary. I actually do have a converted Chevy distributor that I'm going to put in soon just to see how it does.
Did you look at the pics? They sure look like some old chrome real Strombergs to me. You can see the large 97 on the rear carb even.
2nd pic didn't load for me, so all I was going off of was the OP saying he got 2 carbs and a manifold from Speedway... Guess I must be a total idiot....
hey thanks for all the info! so it sounds like i need a new distributor. there are tons of options. can anyone recommend one? also, if i change the distributor, does anything else need to change? should i change the coil as well? any info will be appreciated. this is something i have never tried. thanks for all the help!
I've always thought it should be possible to add a venturi vacuum port. If you look at the venturi port on a Holley 4 bbl, it is just a small hole up near the top of the venturi. I think it would be possible to duplicate this on a 97 without too much trouble.
hey sunbeam, thanks and i believe that is the way to go. can you recommend a distributor? because this is a new endeavor, if possible, i'd like to know a model number, brand, or something specific so i can order what i need. thanks
The loadomatic may be a joke hot-rodding wise, but I have two 8BAs running great with them. I'm saving the multiple carbs for after everything else is completely squared away.
Speaking of that... How much extra performance do you actually get from the dual carb swap? Enough to be worth all the work and cost? For a extensively tuned engine you obviously need more/bigger carb, but adding dual carbs on a mostly stock engine may many times just be adding more things that can cause trouble. An engine can only use so much air... Then again, here on the HAMB i suppose many do things more for looks than actual function.
i know what your saying leon. that is just what i did. got the thing running and driving great and then i thought, it's runnin so good, lets change stuff around. what is something that i can do that will cause more problems and is not even necessary and may in fact be worse....oh i know...dual carbs. if you think one was trouble, wait until you try dealin with two! perfect! lets do it! that being said, there is just somethin about a flathead with dual carbs that is irresistible. sure you pay for it but hey, i gotta do something with my time and money! anyways, about that distributor...any suggestions?
Enjoying this thread and learning lots. I’m in same boat with recently acquired 8RT (1953 F100) and just bought a dual carb to add some extra challenge to my make-over.
How to modify a GM distributor to fit a late flathead... https://web.archive.org/web/20160318123808/http://www.flatheadv8.org/hei.htm
I assume the idea of dual carbs is HP. I have never seen a case of not getting a gain when ash caning the LoadOmatic.
I don’t know anything about flatheads, but based on my Yblock experience with Loadomatics, I’d get the new distributor, install it on the current set up and get it running properly. Then I’d do the carb change. One thing at a time is a lot easier to troubleshoot and tune than 2. I can’t get warbirds link to open, but there’s got to be a replacement that’s right for you as a bolt in. If an answer doesn’t come up here, try the early V8 section on the Ford Barn.
So this has me curious. Would a 1953 Victoria had the same quirky distributor? If so what would have been the 1960-62 fix? I had a chance at a worn survivor in the late 90s with multiple carbs on what I was told was the original Engine with a merc crank. Judging from rest of the car I had and still have no reason to doubt details on engine work unless seller was confused.
To the best of my knowledge Ford primarily used the Loadomatic until 1956. In 57 they went to a more conventional centrifugal/vacumn unit on the yblocks. I think the same with the Lincoln. I don’t think they were ever us3d on the FE’s. The sixes used them till later, maybe 62? Different variations, but always matched to the carb to provide proper advance. Very low signal strength.
So I wonder what dizzy was on the 53 I mentioned? Car did still run and despite a rod knock sounded healthy. As I was 13 I wouldn't have been able to identify the distributor. And in all honesty can't remember how many carbs it had. I wanna say three but again it was 27 years ago and about two years before the rat rod and traditional rod movement started hitting big nationwide...... meaning I've seen quite a few of those cars since then . I do for sure remember at least two because I remember asking the guy if the carbs and intake would fit the stock rebuilt flathead he was including. Even then I thought single carb flatties looked odd lol
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