97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

has any one put a stromberg 97 carb on a 51 8ba eng. & kept the orignal dist taking the vacuum from the intake manfold. how did it run

Re: 97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

Nope; never saw the point of it. I remember that my older brother did it on our '51 Fordor back in the fifties and replaced it within a week.

One caveat : I have heard that back then "Western Auto" and others sold a version of the 97 with the proper vacuum plumbing for a Load-a-Matic, but I've never seen one.

Re: 97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

Tubman:

I was also going to mention the same variation of the 97 with the vacuum port in the base. I've only seen a few from all the years going to Hershey, but its possible that a carb guy/rebuilder may have one in their stash.

Re: 97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

While the 97 does flow a bit more (162 cfm vs 155 cfm) due to slightly larger venturi's, more improvement could be had by using a later "Y-Block" Holley (185 cfm) that is still compatible with the "Load-A-Matic".

Re: 97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

The Y block carb has a 1 1/16th venturi. One has been installed on my 1951 8BA. I notice a little bit better acceleration when going through the gears.

Re: 97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

I have a NOS Stromberg 97 designed as a replacement for the 49-53 Fords with the loadamatic distributor. The original box is a bit rough, but all the documentation is with it. Also have a NOS Carter replacement carb for 34-53 (per the instructions) flathead Fords. It has the loadamatic port also. Pics of the 97:

Re: 97 carb on a 51 8ba
 

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...0&d=1715952464

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...1&d=1715952464

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...9&d=1715952464