I have been looking at intake manifolds for my '54 Dodge 241 hemi. What I would prefer is three WW Strombergs (4 bolt base). I see Offenhauser is making the 3x2 for 97's, but only a 2x2 for the 4 bolt WW. I've seen the Edmunds 2x2 also. So how does the CFM of a WW compare to a 97? Does anyone know if manifolds were made for three 4 bolt two barrels, for the 241/270 hemi? I searched the hemi tech, couldn't find one. Thanks.
Hmmm...there is some noise on the subject in HRM in the mid fifties, for instance in their first year or two of articles on hopping the Chevy V8, and on into the early sixties in various engine development articles up to the earliest FE and W motors. They were still using multiple 2-barrels because early 4 barrels were small, often less than 2-2's, and expensive...HRM used a variety of the later Strombergs in some of these tests. I think there are some numbers, but they will be in venturi area measurement, the general standard of the day since no one down in the hot rod world had flow equipment then. You'd have to compare areas as a way of estimating change in flow capacity. Somewhere around 1960, Carter and Holley started a size race in four barrels and first the AFB, then the Holley took over.
Thanks for the info! At 280 CFM, they are a lot bigger than 97's. I guess that is why I am only finding 2x2 intakes drilled for them. Time to find a 2x2 Edmunds, I should have bought that one last week on ebay... I have found Offenhauser & Edmunds 2x2 with the 4 bolt carb mounting, any others to be found? I just like multi carbs on my rods!
Edmunds take 2 of the OEM carbs. Something I read about that might be interesting is....they made internally progressive 2 bl carbs for Pintos, Vegas, ect. Don't know what size they are but 2 or more may be interesting & a nonprogressive linkage would work where the carbs themselves are progressive
A wee bit more information: Stromberg made many different type WW carburetors in 2 different flange sizes, plus a "big brother" type WWC The most common of the WW's are actually a type WW-2 (the 2 represents S.A.E. size 2). These were used on engines from 224 CID to 351 CID and there are a number of different internal venturi sizes (the internal venturi size is cast as a fraction on the side of the bowl. Thus there are several different CFM ratings. The larger WW is actually a WW-3 (again, the 3 represents the S.A.E. size). These were used on engines up to and including a 401 CID. And again, different internal venturi sizes were available. The still larger "big brother" WWC was used on engines of size up to and including a 637 CID. The WWC had two different flange bolt arrangements, the same as the WW-3, and a trapezoidal flange that was used on larger GMC V-6 engines. And of course, different venturi were available. Most of the WW-2 series used a single stage power valve (a.k.a. economizer); but a few used a two-stage valve. Most of the WWC carbs used the two-stage valve. Some of the WWC's have a built-in governor. These are best left to those using them on large trucks. If you use a big enough hammer (actually, you will need to fabricate a different throttle shaft and linkage) these could be used, but generally easier to find one without the governor. (Opinion) These are great carbs, but have one Achilles heel....an aluminum throttle body. A 50,000 mile carb will need throttle bushings installed, but once the throttle bushing are installed, 100K plus miles are quite possible. And no, I do NOT have a table readily available to me showing all of the various venturi sizes, and I am too lazy to pull all of the blueprints. Jon.
And not to be forgotten, is the "marriage" Stromberg/Zenith WWZ. As some of you know, both Stromberg and Zenith were owned by Bendix. For the most part, Stromberg had passenger and light truck applications; whereas Zenith had heavy truck and industrial applications. Sometime during the 1960's, Zenith had a need for a less expensive than their type 28ADA 2-barrel for light industrial use (several combine applications, among others); so Zenith cast a new throttle body to use with the upper two/thirds of the WW. These units normally are manual choke, and have the linkage on the opposite side from passenger use. These carbs have the "Stromberg" cast on the side of the bowl, a "WWZ" or "WWZ-10" cast on the forward edge of the throttle body, and have a round riveted tag (ala Zenith) rather than the stamped id number (ala Stromberg). Since these carbs were sold for industrial use only, MANY of them do NOT have a power circuit (the idle and main circuits are present). Jon.
And one minor complaint: Why does the spell checker on an automobile forum "correct" venturi to venture??? Jon.
Thanks for all the info! My Dodge 241 hemi has one WW on it stock, and I have picked up a half dozen more like it at swap meets. I'll find a 2x2 intake for it, and rebuild the best two smallest size WW's I have.
These things are actually very tunable. The big issue for many is that parts are generally not available locally. However, by mail order main metering jets, idle jets, and power jets are all available. As I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, many will require throttle shaft bushings (also available main order). The design clearance from throttle shaft to throttle body was 0.004~0.006 inch. Wear to 0.009 is still OK. Past 0.009, and you will have idle issues. Easy to check using a dial indicator. In the FWIW category, when we were still doing the bushings, we would press in the bushings, and then ream to a clearance of 0.055. We tried the 0.004 and found one would occasionally get a binding condition on a hot engine. Remember that the air jets will vary (these are pressed-in and not easily changeable). If you look at the top cover (airhorn) looking straight down just to the right of above the fuel inlet you will see a stamped number. For a Dodge, it should be 3-nnna where nnn is a number from 1 to less than 400, and a is a letter that may or may not be present representing engineering change status. For best results in your twin setup, both carbs should carry EXACTLY the same identification. The early WW carbs used the main metering jets which use a "double D" socket. Please don't attempt to remove the jets with a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Double D sockets may be purchased or made. Later WW's used a jet removable with a hex socket. The double D jets are not replaceable with the hex. Jon.
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