Hot Rods New Stromberg Big 97 Issues

Jiust a dumb question, but are the current Gross Jets the same as the originals? Or are they another off shore reproduction?
I used them for years and never had a problem

 

Nice and comprehensive response Clive! Your wiliness to work with customers to solve problems would seem to me to be a model for other vendors to follow.

 

,I love the new 97's I have been running six of them on my sbf for the last six years driven almost every day.And they give me no problems what so ever!

 

Hmmm, I like the return line idea, think I'll try it.

 

We run 4 and have had no problems at all , (well we did have one where stromberg forgot to put a main jet in one carb!!!). wondered why it wouldn't run above idle!!!! But other than that pretty boring no leaks 12000 miles later. Getting near 21 mpg on the flathead. Dam good product.

 

Hey I appreciate everyones input and the time it took to respond. I guess I was just frustrated. Thanks for all the effort it took to share your thoughts, it really means a lot. You are all really great guys and have done a great job in contributing to this forum! I will keep diligently working on these carbs. This has just been a great experience and I hope others have learned as much as I have! I look forward to seeing you guys out on the road soon!

 

If you worked on and rebuilt these carbs for a living and was experiencing this trouble is one thing. But to come across so harsh on what might most likely is operator error is not cool. It may take more that just the best in your area, find the best GUY to set them up. They are on this board, and most might not want to work with you now. If you get them worked out, I highly suggest you rewrite your OP and send Stromberg an apology. Until then, keep 2 lb extinguisher handy...

 

I think Hotrodmeister has cleared the air. Hopefully learned a lesson too. This is a big forum and a big community. I have learned with such things and also some work related emails...type your reply and sleep on it. If you still feel the same way in the morning hit the send button.

Having said that, this thread has been very valuable. I run 4 Big 97s on my nailhead. Clive was extremely helpful throughout the loooong set up time and I learned a heap about these carbs. But they do leak. I kinda just live with it. It makes them look like originals. But I will be plumbing a return line next time I get some serious shed time. Great solution!

While there are some knowledgable people present I might ask a question about a recent issue I'm having. My engine is idling nicely at around 800RPM and performing OK through the range too. But just recently when I pull up in traffic it wants to stall. Once I give the throttle a little blip and the idle stabilises again it's fine. Any ideas? Oh, yeah, its a 4 speed, not an auto, before anyone asks.

Thanks, Pete

 

Thanks Clive. I will soon be installing my fuel lines to get my pretty new gold 97's up and running and I will now plan on incorporating that return line to just before the fuel pump. The return line all the way to the tank will not be an option for me.
Thanks for the stand up style post and service.

 

Great thread. Kudos to Clive and the OP.

 

It should be mentioned that the warranty on these carbs is good for as long as the original buyer owns them. My nephew's uncle is the U.S. warranty guy... Parts, labor and return shipping - free, no questions asked. Possibly the best warranty on the planet. [email protected]

 

Hell Beaner.... 10 to 15 % alcohol makes me percolate too....

 

Well there ya go.

The wife got me a bottle of 151, we don't drink it we just look at it.

 

Most of my alcohol comes from a jar and is made in a non disclosed location in the woods......I don't look at it, it tastes to good!

 

Hope you enjoy it, you won't be able to look at it when you go blind from drinking it so it won't matter.

 

Thank you Clive for a very interesting, and informative response. You are very STAND UP, for chiming in and going out of your way to help with the OPs problem, that is getting very rare these days. Once again Thank you sir.

 

Well. That's it. I'm sold.

 

Normally I consider it my duty in life to be a smart ass, it is my true calling. But allow me a brief deviation for a moment.

There is a lesson to be learned from this thread and the resulting posts. I was emailing Clive yesterday about a few things as I prepare to fire up my flathead for the first time and I want to make sure my 97's are properly plumbed and installed so I don't ruin the sweet paint job he did on them. I don't want to misquote him so I will cut and paste the relevant line; "Thanks for the kind words. Sadly, HAMB has good search engine visibility and all that would come up is the headline", he spoke in reference to the title of this thread.

We all come across defective, lack of QC, mislabeled, miscataloged and sometimes poorly engineered and assembled products in the course of our hobby. It is easy to get upset and type a rant to our friends and colleagues on what we often forget is a very public forum with high visibility on the internet search engines. And I'm not attacking the OP, there are plenty of posts on Drake, Coker and other Alliance Partners. Our "private" rants hurt good and honest folks like Clive every time someone does a search right now for Stromberg 97's or the new big97.

We might want to remember that the world is watching, reading our posts and we have some level of responsibility to maintain as gentlemen. I like this quote from another post on the HAMB that I read this morning (slow day at work), it is credited on the internet to Thomas Carlyle "Un hombre es dueño de sus silencios y esclavo de sus palabras" (A man is master of his silences and a slave of his words).

I got to get back to work so I can pay for more parts. I got a car to finish.

 

Clive,
Thanks for posting....


Now if you could only advise me on how to stop 350's from polluting the neighborhood when we turn the ignition key to the on position....
(the neighbors in Arizona are complaining)




.

 

My solution to this kind of problem is an electric fuel pump with a separate switch that I turn off while engine is still running. It is wired thru the ignition switch so it is never left on.

 

I like the idea of the return line with a small regulated orifice to bleed off pressure. The cobra guys that run weber Ida's use a similar setup. You can still maintain line pressure with a regulator, but bleeds off like shutting off the garden hose with the nozzle cracked open a bit when the pump shuts off.

 

I too remedied this problem similarly.
My electronic ignition stays on for 3 seconds after turning off my key. The engine remains running for this period but the key shuts down the electric fuel pump and it reduces the pressure automatically.

 

Dumb question but it has to be asked. Does our gas tank have a vent? If not, are you using a vented gas cap? Carbs are pretty simple and pretty much all the same when it comes to fuel going in. They all have a brass seat with a rubber-tipped plunger that is held closed by fluid level/float. If the pressure in the line coming in overcomes that float, gas is coming in. I wouldn't fault the 97 carb any more than I would fault an Edelbrock, Holley, etc. I learned this lesson the hard way on a Nash Metropolitan I restored. I put on an unvented, pretty chrome cap and the pressure buildup in the gas tank ran gas into the engines to the point I couldn't keep it running once it warmed up.

Anyway, the worst consumer product hands down is Weldwood water based contact cement. $14/quart milk colored water that won't stick anything to anything. I don't want ANY product trying to shove that stuff off that vaunted pinnacle.

 

I just have one question.

Clive suggested the restriction hole in the return line being .024-.028 is this good for 1 Stromberg, 3 Strombergs, 6 of them? Does it matter? I was thinking of stuffing a .025 mig welding tip in the line.

Thanks for all the great and informative reading.

 

I don't think it would matter on 1-6 carbs. Bleed off, is bleed off.

 

That sounds like a great idea to get the right sized orifice.
I'd even silver braze it in place.

 

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for all your kind words. Without sounding too much like a hippy, life's too short for confrontation. So to Hotrodmeister, thanks for your stand-up reply. To the moderator, thanks for changing the title of the thread. To Jimmy2car, our S-jets were designed using the old Grose patent papers, and are made in the UK on a super modern CNC machining centre. I heard from a US circle track racer that they lap their Holley inlet valve needles into the seats - the same as you lap a valve in - to stop seepage, so it's clearly a well known issue on carburetors generally. To 28 Ford PU, just one hole of that size is a good starting place, though you can experiment to find the best solution for yourself. In theory, the pressure in the line is the same all over the fuel system.

I might also add, that the return line shouldn't be required in the vast majority of Stromberg 97 applications. It seems to be worse with some pumps over others, perhaps depending on whether they incorporate a non-return valve. And it also seems worse on BIG97s for some reason, maybe because we have less float bowl capacity.

As some experienced members have pointed out, I also suspect (sadly!) that the 97s original design, with a small bowl volume, a relatively high float level and horizontal inlet valves, is also partly to blame. Maybe that's another three reasons why they were called leakers in the first place. Remember, on the original Ford flathead application, the line from pump to carb was short, so the line volume was slight. Three 97s with long lines to the firewall, for example, is a different matter altogether. But as a long time hot rodder, I know which set-up I prefer! Thanks again. Keep the tech enquiries coming. We're always open to feedback of any type.

 

Carburetor flooding after the engine is shut off is certainly not just a function of the Stromberg carburetor. Posted this in our troubleshooting page many years ago:

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Troubleshooting.htm#Fuelleak

Just for the record, I just checked the original Stromberg drawings. Design fuel pressure was 3 psi. Doesn't take long for that to develop in the lines after shutdown if no pressure release is incorporated in the system.

Clive - email sent.

Jon.

 

I'm bumping this thread to the top because it's an awesome, tech heavy thread.

I'd love to see some pictures if someone has plumbed a bypass return on the fuel line. If that's all there is to fix the issue, that sounds like a relatively easy, inexpensive fix.

 

Roger that, Joe. I will bump it as well. This thread is highly informative and should be placed in a Tech Section for reference with sticky to keep it easily available to all.

Happy Motoring,

Harry