Carby Question

[BST4X4XFA]

Hi there,

Started to get ready to get the motor going on the Series IIA project. It came with a Bendix Stromberg 2 barrel carby in a box that needs work. Did some research and it seems the Stromberg carby is used more on V8's and other larger engines so I'm not sure if it will be good for the little 2.25L engine. Will also need to source or manufacture an adaptor for it.

So the question is, "What carby is on your Series IIA?"

Cheers, Jurgens.

[matpoli]

Hey Jurgens,

Mine has a stromberg single throat off a holden red motor, I fitted an adjustable jet to it which i turned 2 and a half times and it runs beautifully. Some eastern states drivers have said that this type of carby can starve of fuel at certain angle but I haven't had any problems.

[JDNSW]

The 2.25 petrol motor originally came with a Solex, replaced about 1967 by a Zenith, which was in turn replaced some time in Series 3 production by a Weber. In good condition there is probably little to choose between them. The Solex seems to be getting hard to find parts for, and its operation is difficult to understand for most mortals. The Zenith you can get parts for but does have a few points to watch. I have no experience of the Weber. Both Zenith and Weber are available new.

The most common "foreign" carby fitted is a Stromberg off a Holden six (cheaper and easier than fixing the original). While some users are happy with these (particularly if modified to better suit the engine), they seem to have little advantage over the original carburetters and have the drawback that they do not like steep angles, although I have heard this can be fixed.

There are occasional references to the use of a side draught SU, which is reported to give markedly improved performance, but this requires a special manifold. I have not heard of the type you refer to being fitted, but being two barrelled I would expect it would need substantial manifold modifications if not a new manifold, even if it is suitable.

Hope this helps,

John

[HangOver]

jurgens if you decide to go the stromberg route let me know, I have a heap of spares for strombergs, whole carbys, parts, manifolds etc for these.
All from a V8 so dual-carb setup but if the bits are any good to you, just return what you don't use ;)
FWIW I never had any issues with strommies, true set and forget.

I think the only pita part is the needle seat which I am led to believe requires a press to replace it if its buggered, but once done lasts forever, more or less.

[incisor]

the zenith is supposedly the best of them and cheapest..

under $200 new from M R autos

the weber sucks offroad and has fuel evaporation issues unless you fit headers or some sort of heat deflection plate beweeen manifold and carby

the solex is pretty robust but a mongrel to rebuild and doesnt breathe as well as any of the others.

a rochester B series carby off a 216 chev or gmc donk is supposedly very good with a main jet between 48 and 50 and breathes better than all the above and fit where a solex fits.

i am looking for one to try it out :p

[dandlandyman]

A twin throat Bendix-Stromberg could be a WW-model (it will be written on it somewhere) and could be off a 186S motor, though some were fitted to Cortina cross-flow sixes. They are a little sought-after by enthusiasts, especially if they have a manual choke arrangement.

A standard single barrel Strommy fits and works on the 2.25, but you have to match the venturi size (stamped on it beside the fuel inlet) to the motor. From memory, the best one is a late grey motor top half (1-1/32") on a 202 throttle housing. I don't recall any problems with using a 161/186 (1-3/32") top half, though. Be careful to not fit an automatic throttle housing though, as this reverses the action of the distributor vacuum advance.

The only major issue is that the Strommy is noticeably taller than the Zeniths or Solexes, and will restrict which air filter you can use. I know of someone who built a replacement adapter plate to get around this, though, and he still uses the original oil bath set-up.

Dan.
69 2A 88" pet4 (still in disguise), 68 2B FC pet6 (resting quietly), plus 13 others.

[Warb]

If the Zenith option is taken, I can see three approaches:

1/ Rebuild an old one - cost $250? (from a previous thread on this forum) assuming a good condition old one isn't available.

2/ Zenith "copy", sold as "Zenith Type" carb, prices from about AU$60 to AU$120 +freight from UK.

3/ New "genuine" Zenith, cost about AU$300 +freight from UK, and assuming that genuine actually means genuine!

Anyone have any opinions on which is the best option?