Carburettor upgrade to suit the BMC Mini.
Thanks to the efforts of drivers such as Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen in the works' Mini Coopers, roadgoing Minis were prime candidates for tuning upgrades. Many budding motoring enthusiasts took a standard Minbin and converted it into a little hotrod, thanks to a range of tuning parts that had become available to suit the A series engine. Exciting articles in magazines such as Hot Car and Car and Car Conversions taught the DIY mechanic how to go about it.
Some conversions required the engine to be removed and machined, whereas other modifications were less involved, and simply required some dexterity with the spanners, and a few quid to buy the parts. Carburettor upgrades were standard practice when it came to the Mini engine. SU carburettors were a popular choice, either single or twin setups, coupled with fancy inlet manifolds from companies such as Mangoletsi, and extractor manifolds getting rid of the exhaust gases as efficiently as was possible, via a fruity straight-through silencer. Another carb option was the Reece Fish, popular in clubbie motorsport throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Zenith, of Honeypot Lane in Stanmore Middlesex, came up with the Stromberg CD option for many cars in the '60s, tempting them with increased performance coupled with excellent fuel consumption. This page features their Mini leaflet, their carb options for Ford owners can be found here.
|
Stromberg CD Carburettors
The cover of this Stromberg leaflet, dating to August 1968, has an illustration of a tweaked Morris Mini-Minor in action, showing some of the de-rigeur bolt-on goodies that every self-respecting tuning fan would attach to their car, namely extra lamps (up front and on the roof for night rallies), and the stick-on chequer tape, a definite go-faster essential. In later years Minis would often be seen with larger diameter wheels, but in the 60s the 10" rim was still king, perhaps widened a little in the Cooper S style but still with the stock diameter.
|
Inside the leaflet continues to herald the benefits of the CD carburettor:
Mini owners are a breed apart. They demand more from their cars than most other people. They love the thrill of a fast run all the more because it is costing them just about as little as motoring can - but, a worn carburettor wastes petrol.
Now comes the Stromberg CD outfit, tuned to give full performance with excellent consumption figures plus brilliant modern design features:-
- Concentric floatchamber
- Diaphragm control of air valve
- Ingenious cold starting arrangement
- Twin boom floats
- Effective petrol tight seals
- Elimination of moving jet orifice
|
|
Two versions were available to the Mini tuner: the F.6003, a 1 1/4" model at £6 10s 0d, or the high performance F.6029 1 1/2" model at £8 10s 0d plus your old unit. Whichever carb option you chose, you were assured of: INSTANT STARTING, NO FLOODING, DIAPHRAGM CONTROL and FAST ENGINE RESPONSE.
|
|
On the back page of the leaflet is a list of Stromberg CD conversions that were available:
|
|
Triumph TR3, TR3A and TR4
|
2 x 175 CD F.6001
|
|
Jaguar Mk. VII
|
2 x 175 CD F.6002
|
|
Austin Mini Seven, Morris Mini Minor, Riley Elf, Wolseley Hornet
|
1x 125 CD F.6003
|
|
Morris/Austin 1100, Austin A40 1098cc, Morris Minor 1098cc
|
1x 125 CD F.6011
|
|
Austin Healey Sprite Mk2 948cc, MG Midget Mk2 948cc
|
2x 125 CD F.6012
|
|
Austin A55, Morris Oxford Series V, Wolseley 15/60
|
1x 125 CD F.6014
|
|
Austin A60, Morris Oxford Series VI, Wolseley 16/60
|
1x 125 CD F.6015
|
|
Morris Minor 1000 (1959-1962), Austin A40 Mk2 948cc
|
1x 125 CD F.6016
|
|
Triumph Vitesse 6
|
2x 125 CD F.6025
|
|
Austin Mini Seven, Morris Mini Minor, Riley Elf, Wolseley Hornet (for "hotted up" engines with polished ports, manifolds etc only)
|
1x 150 CD F.6029
|
|
|
|
More about tuning firms from the 1930s - 1960s can be found in the period car tuning companies section, here at oldclassiccar.
|
