Stromberg Carbs

[geodon]

I have a non starter UNLESS I prime it with petrol down the carby.

Looking down the throat and working the throttle, I see no evidence of an accelerator pump. Surely they have one?? Should I see a squirt of petrol each time I work the throttle?

Can someone give me a link to how Strombergs work?

[Homestar]

They do have an accelerator pump. If you are operating the throttle and not seeing any fuel squirting out, then you will probably need to stuff a kit through the carby - very easy to do on these. The accelerator pump bucket washer will be worn and passing fuel behind it.

Here's a pic of one pulled apart clearly showing the accelerator pump chamber.



This kit - STROMBERG CARBURETTOR GASKET REBUILD KIT HOLDEN EH-HD-HR-HK-HT-HG-HQ SMALL BASE | eBay and a couple of hours should see it all fixed.

Cheers - Gav

[debruiser]

Goedon,

I'm having similar troubles. Have to give her a sniff when she's cold or wont start. Once it's hot/warm no problems at all! I've put a new carbi kit through it too.

[mick88]

A couple of drops of light oil down the plunger hole might get your accelerator pump working if it has a leather bucket on it (some are leather and later kits have nylon).
Strombergs are a pretty good simple and easy carb to work on.


Cheers, Mick.

[Homestar]

Goedon,

I'm having similar troubles. Have to give her a sniff when she's cold or wont start. Once it's hot/warm no problems at all! I've put a new carbi kit through it too.

If you have put a kit through it and still have issues when cold, check to ensure the choke is fully closing. These engines need quite a rich mixture to start when cold.

[debruiser]

If you have put a kit through it and still have issues when cold, check to ensure the choke is fully closing. These engines need quite a rich mixture to start when cold.

ahhh... I had sort of suspected this! Thank you for confirming it! I am going to have another play with the setup for the choke.... Got it to start today without a sniff! yay!

[Homestar]

ahhh... I had sort of suspected this! Thank you for confirming it! I am going to have another play with the setup for the choke.... Got it to start today without a sniff! yay!

I remember as a child watching my old man trying to start the Kingswood on a cold morning - even when it was new, he used to have to pump the throttle heaps and almost rip the choke cable out of the dash to make it go - mind you, that was on a frosty morning when the whole car was white and you almost needed a chisel to get the ice off, but you get the idea.

Although not impossible, it is quite hard to flood these when they are cold, don't hold back on pumping the throttle.

Cheers - Gav

[debruiser]

I'm not sure but I could swear that the old girl is starting to get easier to start! maybe i'm just getting used to how to do it.....

I just start it more like I used to start my old Ford Laser, heaps of throtle!! haha.

Thanks for the help guys.

[geodon]

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of accelerator pumps to prime the carbs for cold starts.

Very early Porsche 356's had twin Solexes but NO chokes. The factory cold start recommendation was to prime them by repeatedly pumping the pedal.

That was a far more practical solution than Ettore Bugatti's solution for a customer who said his cars were a bitch to start when cold: "Well then Monsieur should get heating in his garage!"

[Lionelgee]

I have a non starter UNLESS I prime it with petrol down the carby.

Looking down the throat and working the throttle, I see no evidence of an accelerator pump. Surely they have one?? Should I see a squirt of petrol each time I work the throttle?

Can someone give me a link to how Strombergs work?

Hello Geodon,

Another thing to watch out for is mix-matched Stromberg carburettor parts. A previous owner of my Series III had a different base and the wrong carburettor for my 202. It had a 161 carburettor main body fitted and a different base even for the 161. This combination was then put on to the 202 motor. Bolted on to the incorrect inlet manifold as well.

This could probably be why the former owner had some high speed issues on the highway.

The link below is a pretty good site for checking to see that everything is as it should be on a Holden carburettor.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68315221/4/Stromberg-Carburettor-Model-Numbers


Kind Regards
Lionel