Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[lilweegee]

I am going to try to not sound like an idiot as I type this, so bear with me.

I am new to this forum, just found it actually, and am trying to school myself on my '50 F-1. This is one of those deals where I should have listened to my father more before he passed.

As far as information on carburetion and ignition, where on here do I go to read and gather intel? My main question is this. I have a Holley 94, and was considering going to a Stromberg 97, but I have a vacuum advance distributor. I would like to stay 6v pos ground, to stay as close to origional as possible. Can I use a crab type distributor, and if so, do I need an adapter or do I need to change the timing cover? And lastly, is this a conversion worthwhile, as far as driveability?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for letting me ramble on,

lil weegee

[BrianCT]

It would be much simpler and cheaper to rebuild the 94 if it needs it.
The 97 may be a little sexier but the 94 is probably a better carb.
In order to switch to a front mount dist. you would have to change the cam, lifters and front cover.

[Binx]

Welcome aboard, you have much studying to do.

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...ifications.htm

http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/flathead.htm

And all of the previous V8 forum posts contained here. Took me two days -- Good stuff and you'll learn a bunch.

Books: Lots of books. Get them and read them -- but don't quote them here as gospel. Some members don't take kindly to that stuff -- especially older books. People here are revolutionizing this motor every day and come up with some great stuff.

Lonnie

[59ab]

Brianct is right. Welcome to the Ford Barn!

[jim1932]

Welcome! Where are you located? I am sure there are Barners near you as well.

[paul2748]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Welcome

Stick with the 94, its a pretty good carb and it matches the distributor you have. In Ford's infinite wisdom, for 1949-56 ford had was is called a Loadomatic distributor which must be used with the 94. Changing one requires you change the other. It wasn't a bad set up and it worked reasonably well in stock form.

There are a number of people here that do a very good job rebuilding carbs, so if you are afraid to tackle the job get ahold of them.

The distributor you have is easy to work with as far as maintenance goes.

As stated, there is a lot that has to be changed in order to go to a front mounted distributor and in my opinion it won't be that much better.

Originally Posted by lilweegee

I am going to try to not sound like an idiot as I type this, so bear with me.

I am new to this forum, just found it actually, and am trying to school myself on my '50 F-1. This is one of those deals where I should have listened to my father more before he passed.

As far as information on carburetion and ignition, where on here do I go to read and gather intel? My main question is this. I have a Holley 94, and was considering going to a Stromberg 97, but I have a vacuum advance distributor. I would like to stay 6v pos ground, to stay as close to origional as possible. Can I use a crab type distributor, and if so, do I need an adapter or do I need to change the timing cover? And lastly, is this a conversion worthwhile, as far as driveability?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for letting me ramble on,

lil weegee

[Mike in AZ]

welcome to the 'Barn....ask questions and hopefully you will get answers that you can use....enjoy the pickup and flathead....Mike

[lilweegee]

Great info guys, and thanks much for the warm welcome!

Binx, I have been scouring those two sites, tons of info!

Good advise from all. A wild hair made me think that a Stromberg would be a better carb to have, but looks like it's more trouble than it yields improvement.

I'm out of Middle Tennessee. Yeah, I know....... a southerner.

Other than a few gliches, i.e., bad ignition switch, acc. pump bracket not playing nice, the usual blah, blah, blah, the truck runs great. Like all things, I just want to understand it better before I start throwing parts at it. Swap meet season is upon us in this area, and I've been trying to gather spare parts. Ran across a few 97's, but remembered the advance issue, and didn't want to waste money on something I can't use.

Don't stop, keep the advise coming!

lil weegee

[danliveshere]

Go to the top of the page and find the search tab. Type in the info you are after and all the past threads related to your search will come up, so you can read through heaps of info if you so desire. You can often find the info you need straight away.

[4dFord/SC]

Here's a link to a wealth of flathead info on another forum: http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/flathead.htm

[Mike in AZ]

can you run one of those distributors with a 97 using vacuum from the intake??....just throwing the question out to the experts, which doesn't include me...lol....Mike

[Mike51Merc]

Welcome. Don't panic-- there's a ton of info and people willing to help here at Fordbarn and on the HAMB.

Your original 94 and Load-a-matic distributor will work out pretty well if they're in good shape. The good news is that parts are available and not too expensive. I got a rebuilt distributor for about $100.00 and carb rebuilding kits are less than that.

I like the Strombergs, but I also respect the 94 as just as good a carb. As noted above, if you swap the carb, you have to swap the distributor. A crab type requires more work than its worth, in my opinion. In addition to the distributor itself, you'll need to change the front cover and the cam gear.

There are a few choices for a simple "bolt-in" distributor swap. Some guys have converted GM and Chrysler distributors and I hear good things about them. If you go HEI you'll have to go with 12 volts.

I have a modern Mallory dual point, but I swapped in a pertronix unit (for 6 Volt) and am very happy with it.

[Vic Piano]

Welcome to the FordBarn. There are a lot of us here with F Series trucks that can help you. I would rebuild the 94 and use it, I'd also send the distributor to Bubba's Ignition Service (you'll find him posting here) to have it rebuilt. Have fun with the truck. Vic

[Charlie ny]

LIL WEG,
The loadamatic uses venturii vacuum not manifold vac so do not
go that way. The 94 is the correct carb and can be made as reliable as a
97. Its biggest quirk is the vac operated power valve vs the mechanical
power valve in the 97. Your 94 should have the air horn that has the 'V'
shaped gripper to hold the air cleaner and should have an 'RT' cast on the
lh side of the bowl usually with a 7 or 8 preceeding it.
Charlie ny

[lilweegee]

Hey, Charlie, you're right. It is an 8RT 94, with a Ford stamping on the pass. side of the float bowl. I looked it up on one of the websites suggested in this thread, and boom! There's my carb. I also looked into alternate vacuum locations for the 97, and yes, it seems it HAS to have venturi vacuum, unless you want to change spark plugs out with every oil change, and get 3 gallons to the mile.
Long and short of it, if I really had to have a 97, it could be done, but with related modifications, i.e., distrubitor, timing cover, cam gear, etc, etc, the difference in the carbs is not worth the time.
For the sake of argument, has anyone out there done this conversion and been satisfied with the results? Enough to say it was worth the time and money I should say.... ?
I'll be honest. My dilemna is this. I was always a modifier, hot rodder as a kid. My father (where this truck came from) was a purist. So to honor him, I'm trying to keep it as origional as possible, but the modifier in me is putting up a good fight. I am thinking a compromise is period correct modifications.

Maybe I should just stick with fuzzy dice......

Thanks again,
lil weegee

[Charlie ny]

Lil,
I'd stay with the 94....BUT at some point in time Stromberg did make a carb
as a replacement for the 94. It's just like a 97 only no # on the side and it featured
a venturii vacuum port to accomodate the Load Master dist. I may have one of these
in my stash somewhere, maybe. Uncle Max and Ken ct may have some too. If
interested email me off site. These carbs would NOT have the 'V' air cleaner gripper.
Charlie ny
[email protected]

[ken ct]

Originally Posted by Mike in AZ

can you run one of those distributors with a 97 using vacuum from the intake??....just throwing the question out to the experts, which doesn't include me...lol....Mike

NO, ken ct.

[ken ct]

Right on all counts Charlie,i think i have a few also with the vac. connection ken ct.

[G.M.]

If you want to use a 97 you can use a vacuum plate under the carb. G.M.

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by G.M.

If you want to use a 97 you can use a vacuum plate under the carb. G.M.

No, you can't.

[19Fordy]

Keep the 94.You will find that your truck will run just fine. If you need to "modify" do stuff like dual exhausts. Change for the sake of change isn't always good.

[joe plumber]

Welcome aboard.A lot of theories about running a 97 .I run a 97 on my 53 flathead and use the original dizzy and vac.hookup .Got rid of the points also. Switched to 12 volts and run alternator and a 3/4 cam .No problems going on 12 years .Might not get the best gas mileage ,but I'm having fun and enjoy it .To each his own .JMHO

[Ol' Ron]

In my opinion the 94 is a better carb than a 97. However if you were to add 2 carbs, either 94's or 97's, I suggest you get a distributor from Bubba. This is a vast improvement over the load a matic. It takes acuum from the intake manifold, so it doesn't care what kind or amt of carbs you use.

[lilweegee]

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

Change for the sake of change isn't always good.

That, folks, sums it up right there.