Stromberg 4a Aeroquad (yes, a 4-bbl)

From: http://www.carburetor.ca/carbs/tech/Stromberg/4A.html



The Stromberg 4A Aeroquad was produced from 1952-1954 and was Stromberg's only four barrel carburetor. It was used exclusively on Buick V-8 engines. The 4A was probably the first four barrel carburetor, appearing shortly before the Carter WCFB .

For a while in the 1950's it was a favorite of hot rodders. It is the carburetor in our header image, which is from a poster for the movie Dragstrip Girl.

 

Here's a manual (click the thumbnails to make them obnoxiously big):
http://www.carburetor.ca/carbs/tech/Stromberg/4Amanual/index.htm

~Jason

 

So, "a favorite of hot rodders"... what do you guys think? I mean, if you had to comb the junkyards for a Buick-Only carb...

Anybody running these? Did anybody even know these existed?

~Jason

 

Sure, I've got a bunch of them. Surprisingly enough, I've found as many N.O.S. units as used ones. They use the same style jets as 97s, so rejetting for dual manifolds is no problem. I wonder why Stromberg axed them after three years of production and never made another four barrel? It's no wonder that they lost a lot of the market share, not offering a 4V all through the '50s and '60s.

 

Yeah, when I first ran across these (I only recently decided to post something about them), I've consistantly wondered WTF the deal was - THREE YEARS, Stromberg? Surely they didn't suck bad enough that the Big Three (and others) just quit 'em cold cold turkey and stopped putting orders for 'em. I mean, I can see GM putting Rochesters in, as they owned a piece of 'em... but seriously, WTF?

Were the Holleys and Carters THAT much better? I mean, come ON!

carbking says that they were expensive back in the day - Dodge had 'em in the running for '55, but Carter beat 'em out, offering a cheaper price.

Flat Ernie got one for free about Christmastime.

Bruce Lancaster says he remembers 'em being BETTER than the Carters in an old magazine article.

Link: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318399

What's the bolt pattern on 'em? Anybody have any real-world pics of some?



~Jason

 

Same small square bolt pattern as all the early WCFBs, 4GCs, and Holley teapots. In other words, '52-'53 Olds, '53-'56 Buick, '52-'56 Cadillac, and '55-'56 Ford/Mercury.

 

Jason - bolt pattern 3 3/4 x 3 7/8 inches. We have several.

Jon.

 

These basically use the same circuitry (with the added secondary) used by the Stromberg double AA series (AAV-16, AAV-26, AAUVB-16, etc.) and parts from these carburetors (idle and main metering jets, power valves, power valve actuaters, etc.) may be used for tuning purposes.

Jon.

 

Jason - did not get this file, so do not KNOW, but can speculate.

Unlike some other companies, Stromberg simply would not market a poor product (read "price leader") like some of its competition. The 4A units were top quality, and more expensive than their counterparts. Even in the early 1950's, price rather than quality, was starting to be a concern. The last poor carburetor (my opinion, others may differ) actually marketed by Stromberg were the D series beginning about 1928. Even these were improvements over existing models, as they were downdrafts replacing updrafts. Once Stromberg figured out the issues with the new downdraft designs, they offered replacements for every single D series with the newer E series.

The 4A's were the most expensive of the 4 barrel models, when compared with Carter (WCFB), Holley (2140 and 4000) and Rochester (4-G). No need to continue the production.

Jon.

 

Deal!

I'm really digging on the chokes... think a Holley electric universal would fit in there? I know they're supposed to in a WW, that is if you can find one WITHOUT a divorced choke!

~Jason

 

I may hit you up for one one day - I'd love to tear into one. Although I'm more of a 4G guy, there's someting just... endearing... about that 4A. It's just SO "Stromberg-y", you know?

Maybe because it's uncommon, maybe it's because I like a challenge and have never been into one... then again, maybe it's because I just can't like anything normal.

Saw one for $15 on eBay (with $10 shipping or so).

~Jason

 

Just picked up another one - looks in good shape - got a rebuild kit for the first one on eBay - it's missing a bowl plug (different size than the 2bbl). I will likely rebuild it and maybe do a back-to-back comparison to my WCFB I'm about to bolt on my flatty...

 

You think that's an old four barrel??
Lookee here, patent # 2104178
http://www.google.com/patents?id=z_...as_miny_is=2009&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2009

This is the patent filing for the manifold Bohnalite and Ford dreamed up to eliminate the low speed roughness of all V8 engines up to that time...introduced on production Fords in 1934. Note the four barrel! I'm guessing that somewhere out there is a patent for this mystery carb...
Ford of course introduced this with a 2 barrel, the Stromberg Model 40. Looks like someone started thinking about a four barrel flathead back in '33 or so! They had certainly begun to realize that the flathead wanted more air. Plus...this is the grandfather of almost all modern carbureted manifolds!

 

The few Packard dual quad setups I've seen had Rochester 4GCs on them. For all of the searching I've done, I can't find anything other than Buicks that used the Aeroquad as standard equipment. The '52 Roadmaster 320 straight eight used both Aeroquads and WCFBs.

 

Those sure are some pretty 4BBls. I wouldn't mind seeing one in person and checking them out. That's what Ivo used before the Hilborn setup? Something new!

 

I remember one of the mid '50s HRM covers showing under the hood of a Cadillac powered F100, and it had a pair of Aeroquads on it.

 

I do love a new conquest... If I only had the cash, man!

~Jason

 

I've looked a little into using a pair of Carter quads on a '54-'56 322 using an old Edmunds dual quad intake and a McCullough supercharger. Any thoughts on how a pair of these might work.

 

I just picked up a pair the other day from French lake, a junkyard i go to often, they just got in a bunch of 50s and 60s buicks, i bought 2 rochester 4 jets, 1 carter 4bbl and 2 stromberg 4bbls, all the small base bolt pattern design.

heres a pic of them on an Edmunds 2x4 intake.

JEFF

 

You lucky mofo...

~Jason

 

As the H.A.M.B. is "the source," I figured I'd throw in what I know and what I've heard just to make the info available in spite of the last posting being 5 years old.

(Fact) The Aeroquad WAS the first 4 barrel to hit the streets on the '52 Buick. Cadillac and Olds held back on using them and Buick was the only division with the guts to be the test bed. The carb turned out to be spectacular. It's probably the highest quality 4 barrel ever built.

(Heard) Cad and Olds both tried the Aeroquad and wanted them. They were supposedly tested against the Carter WCFB and beat them in every category. HP, torque, gas mileage, and abilty to maintain a tune. The issue was price.

(Fact) Stromberg was very quality conscious. When they told GM that they couldn't produce the carb at a price to match Carter;s bid, GM execs had a fit. Stromberg told them that their passages were all drilled and Carter was casting many passages. Stromberg engineers stated that casting passages was crude and uncontrollable and they wouldn't do it. Too many diameter variations. Buick kept using them for three model years and then gave in and cut Stromberg out. Through the years, Stromberg was pressured by all Detroit manufacturers and refused to give in.

(Heard) When Chrysler was building the 1952 PanAm cars, the wanted to use dual Aeroquads on the Bohnalite dual quad manifolds but contract commitments to Buick prevented it from happening.

 

To add to the above and my post from several years ago:

Stromberg released experimental versions of the type 4A 4-barrel carburetor for the following, other than Buick:

Lincoln - released 23 May 1952
Packard - released 23 June 1953
Cadillac - released 26 August 1953
Dodge - released 26 August 1953
Mercury - released 24 January 1955
Mercury - released 17 May 1955
Mercury - released 15 July 1955
Lincoln - released 15 July 1955
Dodge - released 22 July 1955
Studebaker - released 22 July 1955

The above information from factory Stromberg records, I am the current caretaker.

There are no indications that any other type 4A was built, even in experimental mode, for either Oldsmobile or Chrysler.

Jon.

 

Jon, Do you know if anyone has ever benched a Buick Aeroquad and found out what they flow?

Art

 

I am unaware of a CFM test on any of the Aeroquads.

Jon.

 

I realize this is an old post but I am in need of a float for a stromberg 4 A Aeroquad is on a 52 roadmaster atraight 8

 

I recently decided to stuff a 300 inline six with a C6 under the hood of my 1998 Mustang Cobra.

I'll be running a 4A, as I never use any carburetor that's not a Stromberg.

 

Have no facts to dispute the above, other than Studebaker used Stromberg 1-bbl and 2-bbls and no one was more cost conscious than Studebaker.

Interesting that so many here are lamenting they can't get a Stromberg 4-bbl and no one other than Studebaker guys use the readily available and cheap Stromberg 2-bbls on 2x2, 3x2 or 4x2 setups.

jack vines

 

Jack - actually, someone did use the Stromberg type WW 2-barrels for multi-carb set-ups other than Studebaker (me, on occasion), but they seemed to be a "hard sell".

Jon

 

Hi, Jon,

Agree, everything has been done sometime, somewhere. I just wanted to point out theoretically the Stromberg 2-bbls should have the same virtues as the 4-bbl, just not the scarcity.

jack vines

 

Jack - the Stromberg WW is one of the finest 2-barrel carbs that can be used in multiple carb set-ups. For single carb application, I prefer Carters because of the metering rod technology used by Carter.

Jon