See Homepage.

This page: Throw away your standard carb and benefit from a new Stromberg CD on your Anglia or Cortina.

Stromberg carburettor conversions in the 1960s.

This folded, single sheet, leaflet turned up recently, and was given away by "The Zenith Carburetter Co. Ltd" of England, promoting the many benefits of using a new Stromberg CD carb instead of the tired standard fitting found under the bonnet of thousands of Anglias and Mk1 Cortinas in the late 1960s.

The front page shows two cheerful motorists, one with pipe (obviously the Cortina driver was more of a cad), complete with their ladyfriends, bowling along at a fine rate of knots, no doubt pleased with their carburettor conversions. Tuning modifications were as popular in the sixties as they've ever been, and many a grazed knuckle resulted from home-spun tuning jobs in the driveways of suburban Britain. Mods such as straight through exhaust systems (such as those from Quinton Hazell or Peco), and carburettor swaps (eg twin SUs fitted to a Mini) were big business. By and large, such conversions were simply a nut and bolt job, easily achievable at the weekend, ready for the drive to work on Monday morning, when no doubt the modifications would be given ample roadtesting...

Many claims were made for the Stromberg CD, centreing primarily on the boost in engine performance that such a conversion would undoubtably bring. The (exchange) price was £9 10. 0. for such a carb conversion, and would fit either the 997cc or 1200cc Ford Anglia (105E) or Cortina. Some of the information from this leaflet I've included below, it may just help someone who is trying to solve a problem with their carb today. One of the most common problems with a Stromberg carb, usually on an engine that hasn't run for some time, is deterioration of the flexible diaphragm - this critical component in the carb gets a mention in the following info:

BETTER PERFORMANCE

"The Stromberg CD gives the correct air-fuel mixture that the engine needs for every variation of speed and load. It does this constantly, from starting and idling to top revs. Optimum mixture provides more actual power at less cost than when the mixture is too weak or rich."

INSTANT STARTING

"The new cold starting feature, lifting the air valve and closing off the air, ensures immediate starting under all conditions. No movement of jet orifice - less wear and no leaks."

FREEDOM FROM FLOODING

"Protection against flooding or starvation is automatic with the concentric float chamber and twin floats straddling the jet. This design permits fast cornering with no cutting out and eliminates flooding on steep inclines; rather like a binnacle round a compass. The floats themselves are of an entirely new material and cannot puncture or dent."

MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY

"A flexible diaphragm controlling movement of the air valve avoids any trouble from dirt; even the smallest speck of which can clog the motion of a sliding part. By reason of the diaphragm the metering needle and the air valve are always correctly placed for the prevailing conditions, being immediately responsive to variations of pressure at all temperatures."

FAST ENGINE RESPONSE

"When the accelerator is opened quickly, as when overtaking, the CD dispenses a slightly richer mixture immediately, and so avoids a 'flat spot', eg a time lag between pressure on the accelerator and a surge of power from the engine." On the rear of the leaflet is some interesting data about the expected lifespan of a carburettor at that time, much of which remains relevant today when setting up the engine on a classic that has a Stromberg fitted...

Picture of a Stromberg carburettor fitted to a Ford engine

When should your carburetter retire?

"A worn carburetter wastes petrol. After many thousands of miles the effect of wear and tear on the moving parts of the carburetter will eventually upset the carefully calibrated mixture and the original economy and performance will be lost.

When this stage is reached the most economical way of restoring the original performance is to fit a genuine factory engineered replacement unit. Replacement carburetters are built to original equipment specification but incorporate the latest improvements in design and technique.

When to fit a replacement carburetter. At what mileage does a carburetter need replacing? If full carburetter efficiency is to be maintained, generally speaking, the answer is about 30-40,000 miles.

In other words, it may be taken as a good guide that when the engine needs overhaul, replacement or reboring, the carburetter also needs replacing. It should be remembered however, that while in many instances the engine can be carefully 'nursed' and the need for overhaul may be postponed far beyond the average, the carburetter cannot escape the normal wear and tear resulting from vibration and road shock, apart from the natural result of a frequently opening and closing throttle and the additional physical changes occasioned by constantly changing petrol level."

Throughout the text of the leaflet, the Stromberg CD is referred to as a 'carburetter', yet more often in the UK it is spelt 'carburettor', whereas in some countries they are simply known as 'carbys' !! whether it should be carburetter or carburettor I'm not sure, but I suspect the latter is correct for us in the UK, but it probably depends where you are reading this from! Other versions I've seen, usually mis-spellings, include 'carburetta', 'carburretter', 'carburrettor' or 'carburator'.

More about tuning firms from the 1930s - 1960s can be found in the period car tuning companies section, here at oldclassiccar. Another Stromberg leaflet, this time for owners of Minis and other BMC cars, can be found here.

Custom Search

Old Classic Car (C) R. Jones 2023. Content not to be reproduced elsewhere.

Website by ableweb.